Barangay chiefs warned: Activate anti-drug council or face suspension

Newly-elected barangay captains who will fail to implement a functional Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) will be facing suspension, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) warned Saturday. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Joe Bishop/Released via Naval Surface Warriors/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

MANILA — Newly-elected barangay captains who will fail to implement a functional Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) will be facing suspension, an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) warned Saturday.

According to DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin B. Diño, all elected barangay captains who will assume their post starting July 1 should start to form their anti-drug abuse councils to lead the fight against illegal drugs and criminality in their respective communities.

“After 2 months, if they fail to create their BADAC, I will start suspending barangay captains,” Diño said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.

Diño added that as chief of villages, barangay captains should be at the forefront in ensuring that their villages are free from all illegal drug activities.

“BADAC will be our weapon against illegal drugs in the barangay,” the DILG Official said.

Citing his personal experience as a barangay captain several years ago, he said that village chiefs should be the first one to lead the fight against criminality and illegal drugs in their respective areas of jurisdiction.

“It is an open knowledge that whenever there is trouble in a barangay, the first responder is the barangay captain,” he said in Filipino.

Meanwhile, he said that he will seek President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval to give DILG authority to issue suspension over erring village officials.

“I will ask the President. I will ask him the power to suspend so that we do not need to file it through the Office of the Ombudsman,” he said.

Aside from being active on the campaign against illegal drugs and criminality, he added that barangay officials should also properly implement rules on parking, sidewalk use and responsible dumping of garbages.

“For the first time, we will also suspend them on illegal parking, misuse of sidewalk and neglect of duties to protect waterways,” he warned.