Natividad eyed as 2nd drug-free town
DRUG-FREE BARANGAYS, 78%
THE municipality of Natividad will likely be the second town in Pangasinan to be declared as drug-free.
This was bared by Supt. Jackie Candelario, deputy police provincial director for operations, who said only a validation and certification from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is holding back the declaration that Natividad is drug-free.
Sto. Tomas is the only town so far that has been declared drug-free in the province even before President Rodrigo Duterte declared war on drugs on July 1 last year.
Candelario told the KBP Forum here on Thursday, that Natividad will be the first town in Pangasinan to be declared drug-free during the war on drugs of the Duterte administration.
He said as soon all the documentation needed to confirm Natividad’s new status are presented, “we will go there and invite local officials of the town Coco Rafael as mayor and the chief of police to a program to award them the distinction that their town is the first to be drug-free.”
Natividad is located in the foothills of the Caraballo mountain range in eastern Pangasinan.
ALAMINOS CITY
He added that Alaminos will likely become the first city to be declared drug-free with only one of its barangays yet to be cleared.
However, he said it could still take time because the drug-affected barangay is the Poblacion. While there may no longer be drug users, and confirmed to have no clandestine drug laboratory in Alaminos, the fact that drug personalities can still easily go in and out to sell drugs, the village will still be categorized as drug-affected.
FEBRUARY DEADLINE
Meanwhile, Candelario revealed that February is the deadline set by higher headquarters for all the 48 towns and cities in Pangasinan to be finally cleared of illegal drugs.
He maintained that there is a good indication that Pangasinan can meet the deadline, citing records as of January 25 this year.
Out of 1,364 barangays in the province, 95 barangays are deemed unaffected by drugs while 1,010 barangays are already declared drug-free. He said, that only leaves 259 drug-affected barangays to work on.
Candelario, however, admitted that during their recent validation, some barangays previously cleared indicated resurgence of drug operations.
He said these barangays will again be classified as drug-affected but he did not identify which and how many barangays became drug-affected anew. (Leonardo Micua/Tita Roces)
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