Six Bohol towns on brink of 

getting totally drug cleared 

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, August 14 (PIA)—The race for Bohol towns to get a pink slip on drugs continue to hound local chief executives as Calape, Jagna, Lila, Trinidad, Batuan and Pilar carry the burden of sweeping a remaining barangay, to finally own the bragging rights as the first totally drug cleared town. 

Trinidad Mayor Judith del Rosario Cajes, Lila Mayor Regina Cahiles Salazar, Jagna Mayor Fortunato Abrenilla, Batuan Mayor Antonino Jumawid, Calape Mayor Nelson Yu and Pilar Mayor Eugenio Datahan are all getting the curse of progress: in the backstreets and dark corners of their town hubs also thrive traces of illegal drugs. 

“The struggle continues as we dedicate the next weeks in running after those who have persisted in the illegal drugs trade despite serious efforts to finally get our residents off the illegal trade,” Trinidad Mayor Judith Cajes said at the sidelines when the Regional Oversight Committee (ROC) publicly declared 321 barangays in Bohol as drug cleared. 

Dangerous Drugs Board Chairman and former Department of Interior and Local Government undersecretary Catalino S. Cuy, ROC representative and Argao Drug Rehabilitation Center Chief Dr. David Baron, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Bohol Chief and Bohol local officials including Center for Drug Education and Counseling Dr. Cesar Tomas Lopez led town mayors, municipal health officers, chiefs of police, barangay captains and former drug dependents now to be let off in the mainstream in the Declaration and Awarding Ceremonies of Drug Cleared barangays in Bohol August 13, 2018 at the Bohol Cultural Center. 

Secretary Cuy, in his message admitted this was his first attended event with so many cleared barangays. 

321 barangays cleared is a strong evidence of your support to the President’s campaign, he said as he challenged local officials and every one to keep the status by remaining drug free, and keep up with the standards and expectations of the awards. 

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte has made it his campaign promise to get the country free from drugs which has started to bring the communities to waste. 

When he took the helm as the country’s top leader, he demanded the help of local government officials in the fight, as he insinuated that leaders who do nothing could be in many ways connected with the illegal trade as financier to protector and should be given the boot. 

Along this, with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as lead agency and supported by law enforcement allies, the government put in serious supply and demand reduction operations after seeing the magnitude of the problem after the series of Toktok-Hangyo Operations. 

As nearly 40,000 Boholanos surrendered to put up a personal clean slate from the taint of drugs, community based rehabilitation programs opened to assure the physical and psychological assessment of confessed drug users for their formal rejoining the society’s mainstream. 

The Barangay Drug Clearing Program has been the Inter Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) method of seeking and enlisting the assistance of the public and the private sector in coming up with an integrated, balanced, holistic, synchronized and united approaches in supply and demand reduction to choke the drug menace in the barangays. 

The Dangerous Drugs Board has earlier issued Resolution No 3, series of 2017 creating the Regional Oversight Committee whose tasks include assessment and validation of Barangays and their drug affectation based on 14 parameters. 

Among the parameters are the non-availability of drug supply in the barangays, the absence of drug related activity, drug processing laboratory, chemical warehouse, marijuana cultivation site, drug den or dive, pushers, users, protectors and financiers. 

The same parameters also include anti-drug activities by the barangay officials, working SK into anti-drugs, existence of drug awareness, prevention, information education and communication activities here focus on sweeping the remaining barangays from the smear of drug addiction and the existence of compulsory drug treatment and rehab processing desk. 

A total of 137 barangays in Bohol’s 321 come from the five towns, while the rest would come from 18 other towns whose barangays have submitted complete documents to prove their compliance to the 14 DDB parameters, to be declared drug cleared and have been awarded the ROC certificates. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) 

Dangerous Drugs Board Chairman and former DILG Officer in Charge Catalino Cuy admits this is the first time he witnesses this much number of LGUs cleared from drugs and awarded the recognition, during the Declaration and Awarding Ceremony of the 321 drug cleared barangays August 13. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)