By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) director, Police Colonel Romeo Baleros, is requiring all police chiefs across the province to have at least one drug cleared barangay per month. According to the law enforcement official, as of November 12, they have cleared 74 of a total 601 barangays.
Baleros said the order was made during a weekly staff conference.
He also ordered his deputy directors to call a meeting with local Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADAC) in order to discuss how to conduct drug-clearing operations in their respective areas.
“The problem here is that some BADAC are not functional,” Baleros said.
The NOPPO director also requested local BADACs to fully cooperate with their respective police chiefs.
Baleros hopes, in six months time, prior to his impending retirement in June, the large majority of barangays in the province will be cleared of illegal drugs./DGB, WDJ