CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-10 is urging
local government units (LGUs) and communities across Northern Mindanao to sustain anti-
illegal drug programs as 1,600 of the region’s 2,022 barangays, or 79%, have been declared
drug-cleared.

PDEA-10 said the figure reflects progress under the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP),
while emphasizing that drug-cleared status requires continued local action to prevent the re-
emergence of illegal drug activities.
“The Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP) is a whole-of-nation approach, combining
enforcement, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, reintegration, and most especially, sustained
community participation,” PDEA-10 Legal and Prosecution Unit Chief Glenice Joy Jornales
said.
Of the region’s 2,022 barangays, 156, or 7%, are categorized as drug-free or unaffected, while
266, or 13%, remain drug-affected.
Jornales said that being declared drug-cleared should not be treated simply as an administrative
accomplishment, but as part of an operating system that local governments need to
institutionalize and sustain.
“Gina-encourage nato nga ang mga LGUs that they must look at it as an operating local system
(We are encouraging the LGUs that they must look at it as an operating local system),” she said,
urging local chief executives to provide the necessary resources and ensure the continued
operation of their Anti-Drug Abuse Councils.
She also clarified that a drug-cleared declaration does not provide permanent immunity from the
re-emergence of illegal drug activities.
If new drug personalities are identified in a cleared barangay, the BDCP provides mechanisms
for localized interventions, including Community-Based Rehabilitation Programs, referrals to
Balay Silangan, and appropriate law enforcement operations.
PDEA-10 also discussed updates on Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 11, Series of 2025.
The revised guidelines include drug-cleared protocols for controlled jail facilities, including
those managed by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Corrections,
as a prerequisite for declaring an entire province drug-cleared.
Under the amended guidelines, PDEA will assist detention facilities through intelligence
validation, canine unit search operations, and institutional drug testing.

Meanwhile, PDEA-10 encouraged barangay LGUs to submit their documentary requirements
ahead of the Regional Oversight Committee validation scheduled for late September.
Jornales also called for continuity in anti-drug programs amid possible leadership and personnel
changes associated with the upcoming local elections.
Maintaining designated focal persons and ensuring uninterrupted rehabilitation interventions, she
said, would help keep community-based anti-illegal drug programs operational despite political
transitions. (RMND/PIA-10)