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WAR ON DRUGS TARGET

Only 48 barangays, 40 towns, cities to go - PPPO

BAYAMBANG -- With only 48 barangays of 1,267 drug-affected villages still waiting to be cleared,
the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) said it is confident it can accomplish its objective
to declare Pangasinan drug free by December.

P/Chief Inspector Norman Florentino, head of the police community relations, said the status of
the war on drugs in the province was discussed during a district meeting of the Police Advisory
Council (PAC) held Wednesday at the Bayambang Events Center.

League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Pangasinan (LMP) President Silverio Alarcio Jr, Mayor
of Laoac, presided the meeting.

To date, six towns and one city have already been officially declared as cleared by the Philippine
Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Cleared were the towns of Laoac, Agno, Dasol. Mapandan, San Nicolas and Natividad and
Alaminos City.

The town of Sto. Tomas was declared by PDEA as drug unaffected.

He said the remaining 48 barangays are in the 37 towns and three cities still considered drug-
affected.

The scorecard in Pangasinan stands at-

1) 35 towns have been cleared in the Pangasinan Provincial Police Office level (7 have
been officially declared by PDEA as drug free, 28 waiting for validation)
2) 48 Barangays remain to be cleared.
3) 20,320 selfconfessed drug personalities that surrendered (1,403 were pushers and
18,917 are users);
4) 94 high value targets; 20, 226 street level targets and 191 under rehabilitation, are in
custody.

Florentino earlier said a barangay cannot be considered cleared if whereabouts and status of all
its known drug personalities cannot be accounted for.

PPPO reported it has recommended 28 more towns for validation by PDEA.

The towns of Calasiao and Malasiqui are expected to be declared drug-free by PDEA this week.
(Leonardo Micua/Nora Dominguez)