Iloilo City sees 16 more ‘cleared’ neighborhoods

As of February 27, the Regional Oversight Committee declared 38 Negros Occidental barangays “drug-cleared,” or “officially unaffected;” of the 38, 36 are in Negros Occidental and two in Bacolod City.
Across the Western Visayas, 263 barangays applied for drug-clearing evaluations with 111 successfully passing the deliberation process.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Region VI (PDEA-6) Director Alex Tablate emphasized the role local government units play in the successful deliberation of barangays and highlighted the efforts of the Philippine National Police, Department of Health, and Department of the Interior and Local Government in the initial on-site validation process.
According to the PDEA, the Western Visayas is currently 76.92 percent cleared of illegal drugs with 3,116 barangays, out of the region’s 4,051 barangays, successfully cleared.
Meanwhile, the committee noted 16 Iloilo City barangays received the declaration.
Among the newly-cleared neighborhoods were Barangays San Felix, Tanza Bonifacio, and Liberation in the City Proper district; Bantud and Burgos in the La Paz district; Jalandoni Estate in the Lapuz district; Arguelles, Buhang, Buntatala, Dungon A, and Montinola in the Jaro district; and Cochero, Infante, North Fundidor, San Pedro, and Tap-oc in the Molo district.
Taking into account the latest declarations, 77 of the city’s 180 barangays are now considered “drug-cleared.”/DGB, WDJ