TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan – In the recent report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 2, about 95.89 percent of Barangays are ‘drug cleared’ in Cagayan Valley.
Out of 2,311 barangays, there are 1,637 drug-cleared, while 579 were validated or unaffected barangays.
The report shows that only 95 remain drug affected barangays or 4.11 percent.
PDEA Regional Director Joel B. Plaza said region 2 has established a total of 51 ‘Balay Silangan’ where 18 are in Cagayan, 23 in Isabela, one is Santiago, one in Quirino, 9 in Nueva Vizcaya, while the island province of Batanes is yet to put up establishments.
The director said the Balay Silangan project is a community-based reformation program aimed at rehabilitating surrendered drug personalities, seeks to build temporary shelters for drug offenders with the objective of reforming them into self-sufficient and law-abiding members of society.
Currently, the regional formation center is being set up in the regional office of PDEA in Tuguegarao, which is partnered with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that offers training courses while being constructed such as Masonry course, carpentry, electrical installation and maintenance, SMAW and title setting.
Meanwhile, the Community Based Anti-Illegal Drug Advocates (CBAIDA), a training of force multipliers in different LGUs to support the barangay drug clearing program of the agency has been reported to have reached 21 towns.
Director plaza encourages the partner agencies and the public to help and support in the drug clearing program to accomplish drug free streets. TNF
