76 C. Visayas villages cleared from illegal drugs

CEBU CITY – An additional 76 villages in Central Visayas have been declared drug-cleared as of Friday, bringing to 1,744 or over half of the 3,003 barangays the total number that were cleared from illegal drugs, an anti-narcotics agency official said.

Of the 76 barangays, 36 are from Cebu province, 30 came from Negros Oriental, four from Bohol, five from Mandaue City, and one from Cebu City.

Tudela municipality in Cebu province was conferred the status of a drug-free municipality, the ninth so far in the region, during the April 11-12, 2024, blended deliberation.

Emerson Margate, regional director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Central Visayas, who chairs the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC-7), presided over the deliberation process.

The data showed the region still has 1,143 barangays listed as drug-affected, while 116 are already drug-free.

Bohol province topped three other provinces and three highly urbanized cities (HUC) in terms of the number of drug-cleared barangays at 655 or 59 percent of its 1,109 villages, followed by Cebu province with 65 percent or 692 of the 1,066 barangays.

The provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor recorded 43 percent or 238 of the 557 barangays and 80 percent or 107 of the 134 barangays, respectively.

The report listed this capital city with only 26 or 32 percent of its 80 barangays cleared from illegal drugs, while Lapu-Lapu has 27 percent of 30 barangays and 18 of 27 villages or 67 percent in Mandaue City. (PNA)