2,231 Eastern Visayas villages now drug-cleared: PNP

PALO, Leyte, Oct. 16  -- At least 2,231 villages representing 80.86 percent of the total drug-affected villages in Eastern Visayas have been cleared of illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional office here reported.

Out of 4,390 villages in the region, 2,824 have been validated as drug affected with only 1,566 as non-affected, said Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos, PNP Eastern Visayas regional director.

“I must say that indeed our men and women are doing their job excellently and I’ll be expecting more of their accomplishments in months ahead,” Carlos said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Local anti-drug abuse councils in cities, towns, and villages in the region declared 2,796 villages as certified drug cleared and 28 remains to be cleared. About 2,759 areas cleared by respective drug abuse councils have been endorsed to the oversight committee for validation.

The committee is composed of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, PNP, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Health, and local government units.

The PNP Leyte provincial office recorded 783 or 77.45 percent drug-cleared villages validated by the oversight committee, out of 1,011 villages cleared by local councils.

In Southern Leyte, all 462 villages were certified drug-cleared. Biliran also achieved the same status with 108 villages validated as drug-cleared.

All 91 villages in Ormoc City and 127 villages in Tacloban Ctiy have been certified as free from drugs.

Other provinces also posted significant gains in the anti-drug war. Samar has 216 drug-cleared villages (65.06 percent) Eastern Samar has 294 villages (79.03 percent), Northern Samar has 150 villages (58.59 percent). (LAAA/PNA)