FIGHTING DAVAO DRUGS MENACE THE CEBU PROVINCE WAY

'Perhaps, our City Council ought to send some of its members to study the
Cebu Province way of fighting the drug menace.'

SO MUCH has been said, both "pro" and "con", about the way drug pushing and
drug addiction are being addressed in Davao City. Human rights groups
deplore the series of summary killings of drug pushers by nameless
motorbike-riding gunmen as an infringement of the principle called "due
process". Other concerned citizens consider the victims' deaths as good
riddance of bad rubbish.

The debate on the issue is expected to drag on as long as the proliferation
of illegal drugs in the city continues.

Perhaps our own city officials can take the cue from Cebu Province on how to
successfully address the problem of illegal drugs. A report coming from that
province shows how it has "cleared" 61 drug-affected barangays out of the
targeted 88, and that the remaining 27 barangays are expected to be cleared
by the end of this month or early October.

Cebu Province Police Office (CPPO) director, Senior Supt. Naximo Calimlim,
identified 146 barangays and sitios of 35 municipalities as the ones beset
with the drug problems, which the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
assigned to the CPPO for clearing. Four component cities and 11 towns were
considered drug-free.

Among eight parameters, a barangay is considered "cleared" if the barangay
officials have attested through a formal communication that illegal drugs
are already non-existent in their respective areas of responsibility (AOR).
A barangay is considered cleared if pushers and drug syndicate members have
been arrested or denied access to drug dependents, who are either arrested
in turn or brought to rehabilitation centers.

Moreover, residents are active in the campaign against drugs,
vandalism/graffiti, and heinous crimes. This has resulted in the sudden
decline of index crimes formerly attributed to drug cases. Helping in the
campaign are the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (Badac). However, despite
the initial success of the campaign, Calimlim says the lack of funds is
hampering sustainable implementation of the program.

Be that as it may, the Cebu Province way of fighting the illegal drug
problem shows that it can be licked if there is cooperation between
officials and residents, and the necessary funds are available to sustain
such a laudable campaign.

Perhaps, our City Council ought to send some of its members to study the
Cebu Province way of fighting the drug menace.

That would be one "lakbay aral" worth the time, effort and taxpayers' money,
unlike the previous "lakbays" that haven't produced results commensurate to
the expense.

Unless this is done, the Davao City way would continue to be debated no end
by the "pros" and "cons", a phenomenon unheard of in Cebu Province.