COTABATO CITY – Seventy-six villages in Lanao del Sur province have been declared free of illegal drugs, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) said Monday.
“This came about after the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing Program (ROCBDC) of PDEA-BARMM completed its validation and evaluation process on the villages,” the agency said in a statement.
The latest to be validated and awarded certificates as “drug-free” barangays were those from the towns of Amai Manabilang (13), Pualas (4), Pagayawan (3), and Wao (5).
Earlier, the committee declared “drug-free” 20 villages in Marogong, Masiu (10), Piagapo (7), Kapatagan (8), and Pagayawan (6).
A village is declared drug-free when no illegal drug activities exist in the barangay, no laboratory or chemical warehouse, no marijuana cultivation, drug den, drug pusher, and drug users. (PNA)