The Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug-Clearing (ROCBDC) Wednesday cleared three of the city’s barangays of illegal drugs following an extensive deliberation proceeding.
Barangays Licomo, Limaong and Lapakan successfully presented their respective anti-illegal drugs campaign, complete with documentary evidence on both past and ongoing intervention programs to rehabilitate identified persons who use drugs (PWUDs) in their area of responsibility.
Zamboanga City Mayor Maria İsabele “Beng” Climaco-Salazar assured the oversight committee of her administration’s commitment to rid the city of the drug menace by working closely with the barangays.
After Wednesday’s deliberation proceedings, a total of fourteen (14) barangays of the city’s 98 barangays have now been declared cleared of illegal drugs. Eleven of the previously cleared barangays are Lumayang, Lansones, Capisan, Dulian – Upper Pasonanca, Tigbalabag, Pasilmanta, Landang Laum, SIbulao, Tictapul, Tolosa and Pamucutan.
In addition, Barangay Pangapuyan had been certified unaffected by the drug menace.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) regional director and ROCBDC chairperson Emerson Margate thanked the city government for its continuing support to the drug-clearing efforts despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“The triumph against illegal drugs can be measured not by the number of operations or the volume of drugs seized but by the number of barangays cleared. The drug-clearing program is the main and best strategy,” Margate said in his opening remarks. “We can win because we work together.”
Together with PDEA, the ROCBDC is composed of representatives from the Department of the Local and Interior Government (DILG), the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Health (DOH) and local government units. (LGU Public Information Office)