Number of Cebu Villages Declared Drug-Free Rises To 65

The number of villages in Cebu Province which were declared by local authorities to be free of illegal drugs, peddlers and users has risen to 65, a police official said.

Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Eric Noble said the villages were in the towns of Dumanjug and Tabuelan in mainland Cebu and San Francisco, Poro, Tudela and Pilar in Camotes islands.

Noble said the barangays have allegedly fulfilled the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board’s (DDB) resolution, which provides guidelines for the drug-clearing operations in the barangays.

Noble said the declaration, which was made by the local anti-drug abuse councils in the different towns, would be validated by the CPPO, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 and the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CPADAO).

Noble said the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Badac), Municipal Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Madac) and PDEA must submit their certifications before these are validated and approved.

Earlier, 16 barangays in Alcoy, Boljoon and Santander towns in southern Cebu had also been proclaimed drug-free.

The reports from the barangay and municipal anti-drug abuse councils in these towns were already submitted to CPADAO for final approval.

The DDB said a village was classified as being cleared of illegal drugs when drugs were no longer available; it isn’t being used as a drug transit or transshipment point; it had no illegal drug laboratory, chemical drug warehouse, or a marijuana cultivation site; and it had no resorts or other places being used as drug dens.

The village must also have no more drug pushers, drug users or dependents, as well as protectors or coddlers and financiers. (PNA)RMA/EB/RSM