BAGUIO CITY – Newly elected barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials should prioritize the strengthening of their Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) programs to weed out drug addiction in their areas of responsibility.
The City Council made this call via Resolution No. 187-18 moved and adopted by all members last June 11 and signed by Mayor Mauricio Domogan last week.
In the resolution, the Body cited the report of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) and the Regional Oversight Committee chaired by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that the number of drug affected barangays in the city has increased from six in 2017 to 24.
The aldermen said the report was alarming and that a concerted effort is needed to make the city truly drug-free and one way is the active involvement of the barangay and SK officials through the BADAC.
“The Barangay and SK officials have the principal responsibility in supporting the overall government and local efforts to address peace and order in their respective barangays in the City particularly to curb illegal drugs and other addicting substances. They will be able to assist the law enforcement agencies to strategize the implementation of the appropriate measures to neutralize the presence of drug personalities in the barangays, thus maintaining their status of being a drug cleared barangays,” the resolution noted.
The BADAC is considered as the first line of defense against the proliferation of prohibited drugs in the community since its members primarily consists of barangay officials and barangay sectoral representatives having first-hand information about the members of the AOR.
Based on Dept. of Interior and Local Gov’t Memorandum Circular No. 2015– 66, the BADAC is composed of the Punong Barangay as chair, barangay council member who chairs the committee on peace and order as vice chair with the following as members: barangay council members who chair the committee on women and family, SK chair, school principal (Public, or Principal of any school present in the barangay), Tanod Chief/Executive Officer and representatives of a Non-Government Organization or from Civic Society and of a Faith-Based Organization.
Its functions include planning, strategizing, implementing and evaluating programs and projects on drug abuse prevention in the barangay; coordinating and collaborating with other institutions implementing drug abuse programs and projects; and continuously gathering and updating data on all drug-related incidents and its effects on the peace and order situation in the barangay including listing of suspected drug users and pushers.
By Aileen P. Refuerzo
