CPADAO sets sights on new goal

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Anti-drug Abuse Office (CPADAO) is now taking on the challenge to comply with one of the indicators to achieve the other award of the Seal of Good Local Governance for Cebu Province this year.

CPADAO Chief Ivy Durano-Meca said under the Peace and Order criteria, one of the indicators to achieve is that 20 percent of the total number of barangays in the province should be declared drug cleared.

Considering that there are a total of 1,066 barangays in Cebu Province, only 160 barangays have been declared as drug cleared. They need 213, which is 20 percent of 1,066 to achieve the indicator.

There are 30 additional barangays that are subject to onsite validation of the anti-drug oversight committee of the province which is composed of CPADAO, the Department of Health, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7, and the Cebu Provincial Police Office.

“As of this date, 160 ang drug cleared and sustained, we have 30 that is with the oversight committee ang kulang na lang nila kay onsite validation for DOH to approve the community-based program of these 30 barangays” Meca said.

The onsite validation is set for April 18 to 20. She added that in the whole of Region 7, Cebu is the only province conducting onsite validation for the barangays endorsed for drug clearing

If these 30 barangays are declared drug cleared, this would bring the number of drug cleared barangays up to 190, just 23 barangays short of their goal to comply with the given indicator.

The data gathering for the SGLG in the provincial level is set for the fourth week of April to the second week of May.

Meca said they are doing their best to comply with the needed requirements but assured they will not short cut the process for compliance.

“Actually with the process that we have that it has to go through with the oversight committee… again I don’t think we will just be doing this for compliance, especially with the guidance of the governor that he wants an honest-to-goodness drug clearing of the barangays,” Meca said.

Other indicators of the Peace and Order criteria include the functionality of the Anti-drug Abuse Council and the 75-percent completion or utilization of funds allocated for anti-drug programs, which according to Meca is achievable.

She said, they are on track with the schedule of submission with the papers and the documents for the said requirements are now being prepared by their office.

The Cebu provincial government has been consistent as an SGLG awardee for three consecutive years since 2015. —/BRP (FREEMAN)