Vice President Leni Robredo. Photo from OVP
MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Leni Robredo has urged various local government units (LGU) to imitate Quezon City’s style and approach toward resolving the drug problem in their locality just like what QC did in Barangay Culiat.
According to Robredo, who visited the Salam compound in the said barangay on Friday, the coordinated move of the barangay, the local government, the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) helped in limiting the drug trade.
“So dito, pinag-aralan natin ano iyong mga factors na nag-bring about noong success dito sa Barangay Culiat, kasi ang gusto sana natin, gawin siyang modelo doon sa mga barangay na similarly situated sa kaniya dati, pero mapakita na posible pala—posible palang ma-turn around,” she told reporters.
(We are studying what are the factors that bring about the success in Barangay Culiat, because what we want is to make it a model to other barangays experiencing the same problem but it showed it can be resolved.)
“Ang pinaka-lesson niya talaga, ano ito, eh, iyong parating sinasabing ‘it takes a village.’ Hindi talagang puwedeng local government lang iyong gumagalaw […] Iyong kabutihan dito, kasi ang claim nila wala ditong namatay kasi from step one, nag-uusap na kaagad iyong city, iyong PNP, saka iyong barangay,” she added.
(The lesson here, this is like, saying that “it takes a village.” It is not just the local government that function here. What’s good here, because they claim no one was killed here, from step one the city, PNP and barangay started to talk and coordinate.)
Robredo, who accepted the co-chair post of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) based on a desire to stop senseless killings, commended the coordination — which meant that all Oplan Tokhang operations were conducted with barangay officials, thus promoting transparency.
“So, walang Tokhang na nangyari na walang presence iyong barangay officials. Walang bumababa sa mga bahay na hindi dumadaan sa city saka barangay officials,” she explained.
(So, there was no tokhang that happened without the presence of barangay officials, no one goes out of the house that does not go through the city and barangay officials.)
“So iyong kagandahan ng partnership, siya talaga iyong… siya talaga iyong nakapa-turn around. At tingin ko, kaya hinihingi namin iyong tulong nila na mag-mentor, para iyong ibang mga lugar na hindi pa na-a-achieve iyong pagiging drug-free, matuto sa lessons na nangyari dito sa Culiat,” Robredo added.
(Partnership is the key here. What I see it, that is why we want them to mentor the other, so they can achieve drug-free community and learn from the lessons of Culiat.)
She also cited the ability of Barangay Culiat to compile a single comprehensive list on drug users and pushers — contrary to other areas where barangay, police, and local government data differ.