NINE villages in Quezon City have been declared drug-free, but 133 others are still “invaded with drugs,” the Quezon City Police District said Monday.
Damar, West Triangle, Blue Ridge B, Libis, Quirino 3B, Mangga, Valencia, Horseshoe and Kalusugan are clear of drugs, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said at a news conference with officers of the Dangerous Drugs Board, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
“I think it is very clear that the local government, DILG and various government agencies are very supportive of one another,” Belmonte told reporters.
The Quezon City Anti-Drug Abuse Advisory Council under Belmonte’s supervision came up with the expanded parameters in coordination with the DDB, QCPD, DILG-National Capital Region, PDEA, Liga ng mga Barangay, Ugnayan ng Barangay at mga Simbahan, and Mamamayang Ayaw sa Iligal na Droga to identify drugfree villages.
“This is not a moro-moro thing. There is no politics involved,” QCPD Director Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said.
Eleazar, however, was alarmed over the involvement of the other villages in illegal drugs.
“There are 142 barangays within the police’s 12 stations. Basically, the bigger the population is, the chance of drug problem is much higher,” he said, citing barangays Batasan Hills, Commonwealth and Holy Spirit as examples.
The drug problem is prevalent in depressed areas, he said, and 14 barangays in Quezon City are “seriously” drug-affected.