820 villages in C. Luzon cleared of illegal drugs, says PDEA

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The number of Central Luzon villages still plagued by the drug menace has gone down to 2,282, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

The agency’s records showed 820 villages had been declared “drug-cleared,” the latest of which were Balucuc, Colgante and Paligui in Apalit town in Pampanga province.

There are more than 5,000 villages in the region.

The three villages were subjected to barangay drug clearing operations at the start of the Duterte administration, said Supt. Wilson Alicuman, Apalit chief of police.

Glenn Guillermo, PDEA information officer in Central Luzon, said the campaign against illegal drugs by the police and PDEA, the support of local governments and the mandatory establishment of a reformatory center (Bahay Pagbabago) helped in bringing down the number of drug-influenced villages.

In Quezon province, the police launched a multisectoral campaign that could serve as a model for a community-based action to solve the drug problem.

Conceptualized by Senior Supt. Antonio Yarra, Quezon police director, Project United Stand Against Dangerous Drugs (Project Usad) covers advocacy and awareness, law enforcement, reformation and rehabilitation, and empowerment.

Yarra said local governments would equip drug surrenderers with skills training to provide them with alternative livelihood for their reintegration into mainstream society. —TONETTE OREJAS AND DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.