A total of 93.21 percent of the 4,051 barangays in Western Visayas are considered drug-cleared as of August 31 this year, data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed.
“The illegal drug problem in Western Visayas is generally manageable,” as stated in the executive summary of the presentation of Intelligence Agent III Ruben Pilar Jr. during the Regional Peace and Order Council third quarter meeting presided by its chairperson, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City on Wednesday, Sept. 11.
Of the 4,051 barangays, the 93.21 percent includes 3,776 barangays, of which 2,457 are drug-cleared and 1,319 are drug-free.
Only 275 barangays, or 6.79 percent, remain to be cleared.
A drug-cleared barangay refers to a village previously classified as drug-affected and underwent the Barangay Drug Clearing Program and declared as drug-cleared by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC).
A drug-free barangay is a barangay unaffected by illegal drugs that has been vetted and confirmed by the ROCBDC.
Based on the data of PDEA-Western Visayas, the provinces of Aklan, Antique, and Guimaras are 100-percent cleared.
Of the 327 barangays in Aklan, 220 are drug-cleared while 107 are drug-free; Antique, with 590 barangays consisting of 288 drug-cleared and 302 drug-free; and Guimaras, with 98 barangays composed of 82 drug-cleared and 16 drug-free.
Drug-cleared data of other provinces, including Capiz, 93.45 percent; Iloilo province, 99.59 percent; and Negros Occidental, 81.36 percent, while for highly-urbanized cities, Iloilo City has 52.78 percent and Bacolod City, 34.43 percent.*PNA