Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos described the Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (Adacs) at the provincial, city, and municipal levels as “heroes” of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.
According to Abalos, the Adacs — numbering 81 in the provincial level, 146 in the cities, and 1,488 in the municipalities — were at the forefront of this ongoing battle.
“This war on drugs will always be fought at the grassroots level. And Adacs are the first in line in this war. You are the heroes of the country in fighting illegal drugs,” he said during this year’s Adac Performance Awards in Quezon City.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Wednesday recognized 246 local governments for their remarkable accomplishments and success in the battle against illegal drugs in their respective areas.
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The awardees were chosen based on the Adac functionality and sustainability of drug-free or drug-cleared status.
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Based on data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, 27,903 out of the 42,045 barangays in the country were declared drug-cleared. This figure was 11.3 percent higher than the 25,061 drug-cleared barangays by the end of the previous administration in 2022.