President Duterte has declared a war on drugs and targeted a drug-free Philippines in six months.
“Bago Oktubre ng taong ito, drugfree na ang buong Bataan. Tayo ang kauna-unahang probinsiya na magiging cleared sa droga sa buong Pilipinas,” said provincial anti-illegal drug convenor chair Carlos Pizarro, Jr.
Senior Supt. Benjamin Silo, Jr., Bataan police director, said out of 211 drug-aff ected barangays as of July 1, 2016, a total of 127 have already been cleared as of August 31.
The province has 237 barangays but only 211 were listed as drug-affected.
Per validation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Unit and the Philippine National Police in Region 3, three out of 11 towns and one city were declared 100 percent clear of drugs. These are the towns of Bagac, Morong and Pilar.
“Our target is to be the first province nationwide to become drug-free before October 1, 2016,” the PD said.
He said that police and the provincial government have adopted in its campaign against illegal drugs the winning slogan “A drug-free community is the safest place to be.” It won first place in the poster- and slogan-writing contest held by the Bataan police for high school students last week.
Silo said 19 involved in illegal drugs were killed in legitimate police operations, 240 arrested and 3,616 surrendered from July 1 to August 31.
