DILG’s drug audit score unfair – Isko

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Mayor Isko Moreno has slammed the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for giving the city a failed score on the functionality of its anti-drug abuse council.

In a Facebook Live on Friday, Moreno boasted of the city’s accomplishments in the war on drugs.

Moreno said around 164 barangays were declared drug-free in the six months of his administration. Under the previous administration, only 59 barangays were cleared of drugs from July 2016 to June 2019.

He added that a total of 1,074 drug surrenderees underwent rehabilitation in his first six months in office, as opposed to 500 surrenderees in the previous administration.

Moreno said he has allotted P11 million for the city government’s campaign against narcotics.

“Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna and I, together with the city council, the Manila Police District and other members of the city government, we are trying our best to keep the city safe,” the mayor said during his weekly report.

“So it is quite unfair for the city government and the people of Manila to hear such commentaries na nanggagaling pa sa ahensya ng pamahalaan (coming from a government agency),” Moreno added.

??He made the statement after DILG Undersecretary Ricojudge Echiverri reportedly issued a show cause order against the city government for its failed score in the National Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Audit for Highly Urbanized Cities.

Manila is the only local government unit in the metropolis that failed the anti-drug audit with a score of 46.