Koronadal City - DILG XII Regional Director Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO V, expressed her appreciation for the attendees who showed up in large number to join the two-day ‘Training-cum-Orientation on the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program and BADAC Functionality Indicators’ held on April 29- 30 in the City of Koronadal.

Participants were composed of Punong Barangays and kagawads from more than 92 barangays in Region XII, particularly those which garnered low rating on the BADAC functionality indicators during the CY 2017 ADAC/ BADAC assessment. Among them were barangay officials from the cities of General Santos and Cotabato, and the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato and Sarangani, with actual attendees reaching up to 126 individuals.

In her message to the attendees, Rd Leysa articulated clearly what the final outcome of the event is: to promote more functional and effective BADACS.

 “We conducted this one-on-one coaching to help you (the barangays) because our goal is to eliminate low functional BADACs in the Region,” RD Leysa declared.

The PBs in attendance were all receptive of the challenge posed by RD Leysa, as they recognize how vital and rewarding the efforts are towards clearing their barangay from the influence and proliferation of illegal drugs.

She also emphasized the big role of the barangay officials and the youth in the Government’s campaign against illegal drugs and other harmful substances. She added that DILG XII is dedicated to ‘achieving peace and order, particularly in the elimination of illegal drugs’. Those who are directly and adversely affected are the youth and families at the grassroots level, highlighting the critical role that the barangay officials play being the primary planning and implementing unit of government policies, plans, programs, projects and activities in the community. For her part, RD Leysa rallied the support of the barangay officials who attended the Orientation to be consistent in their campaign and that the anti-illegal drug advocacy had to be more intensive, massive and participatory.

The reorientation program emphasizes the principal responsibility of the barangays, which include, among others, being equipped with skills on how to address issues concerning illegal drugs, implementation and evaluation of programs on drug abuse prevention in their barangays and the continuous gathering and updating of data on all drug-related incidents, including the listing of suspected drug users and pushers.

The said activity tapped resource persons from the Philippine National Philippine (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to help enlighten the BADAC Chairpersons in their partnership and their important role during the conduct of drug-clearing operations.

A representative of the Department of Health (DOH) discussed the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP), a venue for care and service provided to Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDS).

In the said two-day orientation, the issue on the delayed submission of the required data for BADAC was traced to the failure to encode such data. In an interview with PB Victor Siao, Sr., of Brgy. Burias, Glan, Sarangani Province, he revealed that their barangay managed to pass the most recent assessment with good scores. However, the ‘documents were not encoded on time’ due to their distance from the town center and the intermittent internet connection that they have.  The problem had been the most common one as it was revealed by the other attendees.

For his part, Regional ADAC Focal Person Muhammad G. Nanding, Jr., highlighted some other means which can be employed to ensure timely submissions, including the designation of a person to attend to it, constant coordination with the local DILG point persons and the adherence to scheduled activities outlined in the respective calendars of each LGU. Mr. Nanding also shared the good news contained in the most-recent BADAC audit wherein Region XII garnered good points in the overall performance/ functionality and encourage those who were present to continue with their efforts to rid their barangay of the harmful illegal drugs.