Drop boxes not just for illegal drug reports – Belmonte

MANILA, Philippines — The standardized drop boxes distributed to Quezon City barangays last week will not be limited to reporting cases involving illegal drugs, according to Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte.

Belmonte, the head of the city’s anti-drug abuse advisory council, said the drop boxes may also be used by citizens to report other violations such as corruption and other crimes.

Citizens who do not wish their identities to be revealed may also use the boxes to give suggestions to barangay officials and other agencies, the vice mayor said Friday.

“One of the criteria that we set for barangays in order for them to be declared as drug-cleared is for them to come up with suggestion boxes. We noticed that these boxes are different and not standardized,” Belmonte said in Filipino.

“We decided to come up with a standardized suggestion box that will not just focus on illegal drugs but also other problems such as corruption and all forms of anomalies,” she added.

Belmonte said the initial implementation received criticisms partly due to the lack of standardization, noting that one barangay even wrote that the reports will be used as part of Oplan Tokhang, the deadly anti-illegal drug campaign of the Philippine National Police.

She assured that the confidential information that will be submitted through the suggestion boxes will be assessed and evaluated by competent officials to ensure its veracity.