More Drug-Free Brgys, Fanged Warns Cops on Indiscriminate Firing

 CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO – The Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC) chaired by the  Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has convened yesterday, December 20, 2022, at Camp Diego Silang, Carlatan, City of San Fernando, La Union, for the deliberation of forty one applicant barangays for a drug-cleared status.

As a result, the 41 applicant barangays and two new Municipalities (Balungao, Pangasinan and Dingras, Ilocos Norte) were conferred with Drug-Cleared status, while four other applicant barangays were categorized as Barangays having no presence of active drug personalities.

BRASS. Police Regional Office 1 Regional Director Brig. Gen.  John C. Chua (left, photo) and Pangasinan Police Provincial Office Director Col. Jeff Fanged.

During the activity, a validation was conducted with 471 out of the 474 barangays who were already declared Drug-Free has maintained their Drug Cleared Status while three barangays are subject for Re-Validation for existence of Drug Personalities as per earlier validation of PRO1-Regional Intelligence Division.

Currently, the PNP-PDEA Database has only 15.55% or 508 out of the 3,267 barangays in the region remained Drug-Affected.

 PBgen. John C. Chua PRO 1 Regional Director, has directed his Chiefs of Police and all line commanders to focus on the clearing of the remaining affected barangays through the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council. “We have to constantly coordinate with our counterparts with the PDEA and the Local Government Units (LGU)s, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)s, Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s and Faith Based Organizations (FBO)s,” Chua said and quoted the statement of DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, “Inaasahan po naming ang pakikiisa ninyo sa ating hangaring matuldukan ang iligal na droga sa bansa.”

Meanwhile, Police Provincial Office Director Col. Jeff Fanged of Pangasinan reiterated recently his warning against erring policemen including those who will engage in indiscriminate firing especially this holiday season. Fanged said he would not tolerate any illegal acts of his fellow cops.

“We will arrest erring cops even if they are part of our organization. The Philippine National Police (PNP) is relentless in its internal cleansing efforts to rid of scalawags and misfits in the organization,” he said. (PIO PRO-1, PIA)