DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) XI reported that 86 percent, or 967 barangays, of the 1,128 barangays in the Davao region have been declared drug-cleared.

PDEA XI spokesperson Noli Dimaandal said in a radio program over Davao City Disaster Radio that this figure would likely increase this year, as there are several barangays that are currently undergoing the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program of the government to be tagged as drug-cleared.

“Actually, naa nay mga barangay nga naga-submit og mga documents. Siguro naa napod tay mga barangay na ma-declare na drug-cleared this year,” Dimaandal said.

(There are barangays that have already submitted documents. We might have barangays that will be declared drug-cleared this year.)

The towns of Talaingod and San Isidro are the only drug-cleared municipalities in the province.

In Davao de Oro, 213 barangays have been declared drug-cleared, while 12 barangays are drug-free from the province’s 237 total barangays. The municipality of Mawab is the only drug-cleared municipality in the province.

Of the 232 total barangays in Davao del Sur, 199 are declared drug-cleared, and seven are drug-free. Malalag and Matan-ao are the drug-cleared municipalities in the province.

In Davao Oriental, 174 of its 183 total barangays are declared drug-cleared, while five are drug-free. The municipality of Boston is the sole drug-cleared municipality in the province.

“Pag-validate sa barangay, walay presence ng illegal drug user or drug personality or wala gyud nasudlan ba illegal drugs,” he described in a drug-free area.

(When validated by the barangay, there’s no presence of an illegal drug user or drug personality, or it’s not infiltrated by illegal drugs.)

“Pag drug-affected barangay subject sa (A drug-affected barangay is subject to a) Barangay Drug Clearing Program,” he added.

The BDCP aims to reduce drug affectation in a community by taking away drugs from people, taking people away from the lure of illegal drugs, and minimizing the impact of the drug problem in the community, Dimaandal explained.

“Every now and then, monitored na sila, gina-monitor ng ilahang mga lihok kay basin nibalik sila in illegal drug activities. Every now and then naa pod na silay drug testing,” he explained.

(Every now and then, they are being monitored. Their movements are being monitored. They might go back to illegal drug activities. Every now and then, they are also undergoing drug testing.)

Dimaandal said that the implementation of BDCP in a drug-infected barangay will be the primary basis of the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROBDC), chaired by PDEA, to declare a certain barangay drug-cleared.

Although revocable, he emphasized that drug-cleared status could be maintained, especially if the barangay responds immediately to dismantle the monitored illegal drug activities in their barangay. 

“Sila gyud ang pinakadako nga (They really have the biggest) contribution. Why is it that those drug perpetrators operating in the region atoa gyung madakpan (are apprehended)?” he said.

In 2023, Dimaandal revealed that they had conducted 2,012 anti-illegal drug operations in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine Navy, among others.

In these operations, 2,547 illegal drug perpetrators were nabbed, while 5,093.693 grams, or more than five kilos, of shabu and 56 kilos of marijuana with an estimated market value of P41.3 million were seized. (ASO/PIA Davao/Thumbnail photo from PDEA XI)