The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) commended Antique province for its intense anti-drug campaign despite the prevailing unfavorable circumstances due to the coronavirus disease- 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic, Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs) in the Province of Antique continue to intensify their capacities and implement strategies in the fight against illegal drugs,’’ the DILG said.
DILG Antique Provincial Director Cherryl Tacda said that 415 barangays of Antique that rated low in the most recent BADAC Functionality Audit underwent the Strengthening the Institutional Capacities of Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (SICAP-BADAC) which aims to capacitate barangay officials on how they could help in the government’s campaign against illegal drug abuse, the enabling laws and issuances, and the monitoring process.
But Tacda noted that the recent national BADAC Functionality Audit showed that majority of the barangays in Antique still have to improve their performance.
With these findings, Tacda stressed that “the DILG sees the training as a way to refresh the barangay officials’ zeal in the anti-drug abuse campaign.’’
The DILG Antique chief also hopes the conduct of SICAP-BADAC training will result in a significant improvement in the next BADAC Functionality Audit.
Held on the whole month of Nov. 2021, tacda disclosed that the participants were composed of the newly-minted punong barangays, sangguniang barangay committee heads on peace and order, and women and children, BADAC focal persons, chief tanods (village security officer) and civil society organization/non-government organization (CSO/NGO) representatives.
The stakeholders were oriented on their roles in the Barangay Drug Clearing Program, Drug Prevention Program, Community-Based Rehabilitation Program, and Aftercare and Reintegration Program.
Resource persons for the training program include representatives from the DILG, Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Youth Commission (NYC). (Chito A. Chavez)