THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Davao has declared 176 of the 1,162 barangays in Davao Region drug-free.
PDEA-Davao legal counsel Behn Joseph Tesiorna said the 176 barangays were among the 538 drug-affected barangays.
PDEA-Davao records showed that 38 barangays had been declared as drug-free in Davao del Norte, 35 in Davao del Sur, 57 in Davao Oriental, 34 in Compostela Valley, and 22 in Davao Occidental.
"The PDEA has yet to clear one barangay in Davao City as drug-free, because we're trying to figure out how to iron out the mechanics of the Office of the City Mayor, Sara Duterte-Carpio," Tesiorna said.
He added that the mayor wanted a full assessment of the barangays previously declared as drug-free that suffered a relapse, and that all the contingency measures should be in place before declaring a drug-free barangay.
Tesiorna said the agency already recommended two barangays — Langub and Lamanan — in Davao City to be declared as drug-free and is waiting for the approval.
He said 122 of the 182 barangays in Davao City are under the watchlist of PDEA 11 for the widespread use and sale of illicit drugs, specifically shabu.
As of June 2018, PDEA 11 arrested 75 drug suspects. Nine of them were considered as high- value targets. It has confiscated 241.51 grams of shabu worth P2,898,120 and 3,456 grams of marijuana worth P414,720.
Based on the assessment of the agency, Tesiorna said, the volume of drugs in the region dropped to 30 percent since the intensified war on drugs of President Rodrigo Duterte started.
In a Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Regulation No. 3, Series of 2017, a drug-cleared barangay is defined as a previously affected barangay, subjected to drug-clearing operation, and was declared free from illegal drug activities by the oversight committee.
