2,159 Eastern Visayas villages now drug-cleared

TACLOBAN CITY, Sept. 8 --  At least 2,159 villages in Eastern Visayas have been declared as drug-cleared as of this week, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said on Friday.

PDEA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Edgar Jubay said the figure is 77 percent of the 2,797 drug-affected villages in the region.

“We were asked why we require many documents to declare a village as drug-cleared. We have to make sure that all standards are met, otherwise we don’t have the credibility to declare an area as drug-cleared,” said Jubay in a press briefing.

Of the 2,159 villages, 557 are in Leyte, 276 in Eastern Samar, 392 in Southern Leyte, 263 in Samar, 183 in Northern Samar, and 108 in Biliran. The remaining areas are in big cities such as Tacloban and Ormoc in Leyte province.

Jubay said they would continue to monitor these villages to ensure sustainability of anti-drugs campaign.

The oversight committee is looking at the possibility to revoke the drug-cleared declaration in 20 villages in the region due to failure of local officials to keep their communities free from drug trade.

The official refused to name these villages during the press briefing.

“It doesn’t mean that once an area is declared, there will be no more drugs trade. The conduct of operation will help sustain their status. We will revert the declaration if village officials are doing nothing to combat illegal drugs after the declaration,” Jubay added.

Jubay asked village authorities to step up the monitoring in their respective areas with the help of village watchmen and volunteers.

“The bigger responsibility lies on village officials to maintain, sustain, or even enhance their status,” he added.

While drug trade has been significantly minimized due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug war, PDEA said that illicit activities continue in some areas with the involvement of some government officials, modus operandi, and use of new technology.

Modus operandi of drug traders include use of inns and hotels in illegal drugs transactions, use of some jail facilities as temporary stock and releasing areas, wrapping drugs with improvised packages, placing drugs inside drinking straws, placing under soft drink bottle, and making payments through banks and remittance centers.

Identified by PDEA in the region’s drug trafficking route are Matnog port in Sorsogon, Allen and San Isidro port in Northern Samar, San Ricardo and Liloan port in Southern Leyte, Ormoc City port in western Leyte, and other small public and private ports throughout Eastern Visayas. (SQM/PNA)