BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio Domogan on Monday vowed to strengthen the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs) to intensify the anti-drug abuse campaigns at grassroot level.
The mayor said that while the drug problem in the city is not as prevalent as in other areas, the city needs to exert more effort to eradicate the menace considering that it preys on the youth.
“The drug problem is a continuing challenge to us because it affects our so we have to see to it that we eliminate this problem totally,” the mayor said.
He said the barangays can contribute a lot to the campaign since they know their own constituents and environs and would be able to determine irregular activities including drug-related ones.
The BADACs were first formed in the city as part of the mandate of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) which spearheads the implementation of anti-drug abuse program in the city.
CADAC was created as per Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 98-227 dated December 1998 mandating the creation of local anti-drug abuse councils from the provincial, city and barangay levels.
CADAC serves as the focal point to which various organizations and individuals work in the planning, implementation and evaluation of programs on drug abuse prevention. The body was also tasked to provide an effective mechanism for the coordination of services and programs for the campaign and to obtain funds, deploy volunteers and make use of facilities and technical expertise.
The CADAC program focuses on “addressing the local drug situation of the city and provide a sustainable institutional support to the implementation of the program consistent with the National Anti-Drug Abuse Program of Action as formulated from the Dangerous Drugs Act and other subsequent issuances of the Dangerous Drugs Board and other authorities.
At present, the CADAC is headed by the city mayor with Councilor Roberto Ortega as action officer./A Refuerzo
