DILG chief to village execs: Show gains vs drugs, graft

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael “Mike” Sueno. KING RODRIGUEZ/PPD

Barangay officials should include a report on their campaign against criminality, illegal drugs and corruption when they address their constituents on March 25.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno called on village leaders to provide updates on their anticriminality and corruption drive in the State of Barangay Address (Soba) they are expected to deliver next Saturday.

Sueno stressed that the barangay assembly would be the perfect time for officials to update their constituents on such matters and discuss further solutions.

Presidential Proclamation No. 260 designates the last Saturday of March and the second Sunday of October as barangay assembly days.

Sueno said there are now more than 42,000 barangays across the country, whose leaders are required under the Local Government Code of 1991 to disclose revenue and expense reports, and other updates on their programs.

Sueno also urged barangay officials to support the department’s antidrug campaign dubbed Masa-Masid or Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga.

The campaign aims to draw volunteers from faith-based or nongovernment organizations and from the community at large, he said.

Sueno said President Duterte would be allotting funds for the Masa-Masid program this year. “But even with sufficient funds, a program’s success lies in the participation of Filipinos,” he added. —Julie M. Aurelio