Drug-Free Barangays in Urdaneta City declared

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

URDANETA CITY – Three villages in this burgeoning city have been cleared by the police as drug –free.

MAYOR BOBOM. Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo "Bobom" G.E. Perez IV in a tête-à-tête with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte while Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s chief Isidro Lapena looks on when the mayor visited the president through the intercession of Lapena in Davao City. The mayor and Lapena come from the same Barangay San Vicente in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.  PHOTO: Mortz C. Ortigoza

According to Mayor Amadeo Gregorio "Bobom" E. Perez IV they were Barangays Cabaruan, Otama, and Tipuso.

The basis of the police in declaring these villages as narcotic free were the absence of drug users, pushers, and financiers.

“Ito iyong mga barangays na kakaunti. Tinitingnan namin mga barangay na surveillance nila Tipuso, eleven  lang ang nandoon (users) e,” Senior Police Officer-4 Roberto Reyes, the chief of the non-commissioned police officer here, said.

He cited that these three villages are the smallest barangays in this eastern Pangasinan city.

This city has been considered as one of the places in Pangasinan if not in Region-1 that faces serious proliferation of dangerous drugs in the 44 towns and four cities’ province.

 “The eleven former drug users are no longer hooked in narcotics. Beside, no pushers have attempted to sell illegal drugs there,” the policeman cited one of the three villages why it was declared as drug-free.

SPO4 Reyes cited that freeing these villages under the menace of narcotics had been attained through hard work.

“Medyo mahirap siya, trabaho talaga tayo, kaya natin gawin pag nagtrabaho talaga”.