The candidate barangays are Agsungot, Binaliw, Tisa, Hipodromo, Adlaon, Kalubihan, Tabunan, Kasambagan, Kamagayan and Budlaan.
The Cebu City Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (Cosap) gathered representatives from the candidate barangays Monday, March 6, 2023, at the office of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA 7) to verify all documents before the actual deliberation by the Regional Oversight Committee.
The committee is chaired by the PDEA 7 and is composed of provincial representatives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of Health, and local government units.
Cosap head Jonah John Rodriguez told SunStar Cebu Monday that the final deliberation will happen sometime in April 2023.
Rodriguez said he is confident that all of the candidate barangays will be certified by the committee as drug-cleared.
To be declared as a drug-cleared barangay, Rodriguez said all individuals who are included in the PNP-PDEA watchlist should be accounted for by the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council.
The persons on the watchlist should also be able to graduate in the barangay’s community-based drug rehabilitation program, he added.
On top of this, the Dangerous Drug Board also requires the barangay to provide a list of suspected persons who use drugs (PWUDs), drug pushers, drug den maintainers, protectors, coddlers, financiers, and others.
The barangay should also monitor the status of the PWUDs and pushers as to interventions undertaken.
Of the 80 barangays in Cebu City, only Barangays Sto. Niño, Parian, Sudlon 1, Sudlon 2, Sapangdaku, Buot, San Antonio, Basak Pardo, Pamutan, Toong, Sinsin, Lusaran, and Kinasang-an Pardo have been declared drug-cleared.