DILG: Drug war goes on

MANILA, Philippines -  Even after the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were stripped of the duty to conduct anti-illegal drug operations, the government continues the campaign against the menace, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said yesterday.

DILG Secretary Ismael Sueno said the effort to go after drug syndicates is now spearheaded by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as lead agency.

“We will not stop the war on drugs… This is being continued by PDEA and the military,” Sueno said.

He added the focus now would be on peace and order councils instead of the PNP as well as the family as the basic unit of society and not really on the barangays.

The PDEA said barangay officials should get more involved in the government’s war against drugs.

PDEA director general Isidro Lapeña said barangays should lead the anti-drug campaign at the grassroots level, as he renewed his call for the creation of anti-drug abuse councils.

“It is imperative that every barangay must have an anti-drug abuse council,” Lapeña said, citing a memorandum issued by the DILG.

The DILG memorandum stressed the importance of the barangay anti-drug abuse councils (BADACs) in the government’s war against drugs and in drug-clearing operations.

Some barangays do not have a BADAC or an anti-drug program for their constituents, which Lapeña said is a violation of the law.

Under the DILG memorandum, failure of local officials to appropriate a portion of their budgets to assist or enhance Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 is a ground for disapproval of a barangay’s annual budget.

The law also provides that administrative cases for dereliction of duty await violators.