Gov. Edgar Chatto has taken the war against illegal drugs as a personal commitment while empowering in his barangay rounds the citizens to get active and help defeat the resistant menace. He met with the barangay newly-elected officials (BNEO) in separate seminars over the week, heightening his advocacy for drug-free barangays. The provincial leader himself acknowledged the commitment of an empowered citizenry to eradicating illegal drugs and other forms of criminality. In yesterday's simultaneous annual barangay assemblies as mandated by law, separate provincial composite teams conducted information drive in selected areas on suggested concerns that included drug awareness.

The campaign was coordinated by the Department of Interior and Local Government thru Provincial Director Ma. Loisella Lucino. The governor, who is the Provincial Peace and Order Council chairman, urged for greater vigilance of the whole community---and at homes and schools, in particular, where basic strong values are first taught and consistently nurtured. What he called “iLEAD” should come into foreplay, according to the governor who summarized it for information, leadership, education, advocacy and development. “Way ginikanan nga ganahan mag-drugs ang ilang anak. Kinahanglang mangusog ang mga opisyal sa barangay aron dili makasulod sa komunidad ang ginadiling kalihukan,” said Chatto, a model parent and a well-admired public figure. He directed to strengthen the campaign thru the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA), citing the first PTA congress in Danao town where parents and teachers joined in a drug awareness-prevention symposium.

NO LET-UP

Chatto declared during his weekly Kita ug Ang Gobernador live broadcast that there must be no let-up in the fight against drug abuse and the circumstances that make it rooted. His statement was taken as a reaction, too, to the pervading concern of low conviction rate in drug cases. While the recent string of successful operations netted known drug characters, conviction rate has been perceived to be dismal and less-convincing, with several cases being dismissed for technicalities. The governor has this awakening issue been seriously looked into by concerned agencies and authorities involved in the PPOC. He said while this may be maddening, the multi-sector council is fine tuning a continuous training program involving law enforcement authorities as well as prosecutors and judges. The training ought to get frequent as it seeks to connect the gaps in procedures, including evidence handling and admissibility for cases to prosper in courts. Chatto said a serious review of the drug abuse law is being undertaken while the different local anti-drug abuse councils, including barangay level, is inventoried to know which are active or sleeping on their job.