Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada ordered on Tuesday the revitalization of anti-drug abuse councils in the 896 barangays of the city, especially those that have been inactive and not functioning well, in his “urgent desire” to make Manila the first ever drug-free city in the country.
Estrada made the move in the wake of President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent decision to turn over the government’s anti-drug war to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency amid allegations of abuse against the Philippine National Police.
While each of the 896 barangays in the city already has an organized Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council or BADAC, Estrada noted that at least half have not been satisfactorily performing their tasks to curb illegal drugs in their jurisdictions.
“We need to reorient, revitalize, or re-strengthen our BADACs if we want to achieve a 100 percent drug-free city,” Estrada stressed. “We cannot do that if not all the barangays are cooperating.”
Estrada is targeting to declare as “drug-free” at least 50 percent of the city’s 896 barangays, saying the barangay drug-clearing operation of the city government is well on its way to achieving its target of 424 barangays on or before the end of December.
In Manila, 24 barangays have so far been officially declared drug-free this July.
Estrada has asked Rolynne Javier, the Manila-Department of Interior and Local Government head, to lead efforts to revitalize the barangay anti-drug councils.
DILG-Manila serves as the secretariat of the Manila Anti-Drug Abuse Council or MADAC, which Estrada, as the city mayor, chairs.
Javier noted that in their latest assessment of BADACs, only less than 50 percent are active in supporting the anti-drug campaign of the city government.
“Our question is: Are these BADACs still functioning well? We have to determine each council’s functionality so they need not only revitalization but also strict assessment,” Javier said.
For instance, she noted that only about 400 BADACs are religiously submitting their monthly updated drug watch lists to MADAC and DILG-Manila, which are also being forwarded to PDEA regularly.
With this unpleasant pattern, Javier stressed it will be a “real challenge” to achieve the city government’s goal of “drug-free” city by 2019 or earlier.
As tasked by Estrada, she said some of the “interventions” the DILG-Manila plans to do is the conduct of an extensive reorientation and assessment of every BADAC, as well as workshops and seminars to smoothen the coordination of BADACs and MADAC.
“We will also propose the grant of incentives and awards to top-performing BADACs to encourage them to work hard,” the DILG official added.
Asked why several barangays seem reluctant to go all out against drugs, Javier revealed that many barangay officials have expressed fear for their safety.
“Some are really scared,” she said, adding that they also need to address this concern to MADAC and the city’s peace and order council.
Five barangay chairmen in the city have been killed by unknown assailants since January.
While police have not publicly announced the real motives behind the slayings, some of the slain barangay chiefs were noted to have been waging a determined anti-drug campaign in their communities before their deaths.
As mandated under DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2015-63, BADAC is primarily tasked to plan, strategize, implement, and evaluate programs and projects on drug abuse prevention in the barangay.
With the barangay chairman as the chairperson, the council is also composed of at least two Sangguniang Barangay members, a public-school principal or a representative, the chairman of the Sangguniang Kabataan, a representative from a non-government organization or a civil society group, and a representative from a faith-based organization.
