SAN FERNANDO CITY (PIA) - A total of 2,380 barangays in Region 1 were already validated and declared drug-cleared by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), as of Sept. 2022.

This number of drug-cleared barangays is more than 80 percent out of the 2,929 drug-affected villages of the region, of which 1,081 are located in Pangasinan; 451 in La Union; 397 in Ilocos Norte; and 451 in Ilocos Sur.

According to Assistant Regional Director Jet G. Cariño, some 549 barangays in the region remain to be drug-affected of which 191 are located in Pangasinan; 50 in La Union; 180 in Ilocos Sur; and 128 in Ilocos Norte.

PDEA regularly conducts lectures and other related activities on drug-free workplaces and communities among drug-cleared barangays to sustain its peaceful status.

“During the third quarter of 2022, a total of 990 sustainability activities and some 505 seminars on the drug-free workplace were staged," Cariño said.

Likewise, PDEA remains steadfast in its supply reduction efforts, being consistent in its collaboration with the police on conducting buy-bust and marijuana eradication operations.

Cariño also noted that their office is continuously undertaking intensified demand reduction efforts in the region as it is one of the most effective strategies in the campaign against illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, 10 Balay Silangan Reformation Centers were already established in the Ilocos of which one facility was newly inaugurated in Umingan, Pangasinan on Monday, Oct.17. (JCL/JPD/CGC, PIA Region 1)

--