Mandaue City envisions drug-free status by 2011

The problem on drug abuse and trafficking may still be prevalent now but Mandaue City has set its sights to achieve a drug-free status six years from now, or by 2011, according to the city consultant on substance abuse prevention and detection.

Consultant Patricio Barz Jr., a retired superintendent of the defunct Philippine Constabulary, reported to the city government that illegal drug activities still pervades in the city, the reason why measures should now be implemented to achieve the 2011 target.

Barz presented to the city council, in the recent session, his proposed action plan for this year including some amendments to the ordinance creating the Total Eradication of Drug Dependency (TEDD) Board.

The TEDD Board was created five years ago as a consolidated force in the campaign against illegal drug. Barz proposed to expand the composition of the board and its functions to include other sectors.

"The drug problem affects almost all social classes, from the elite in the exclusive subdivisions to the grass roots in the slum areas in Mandaue City," Barz said.

Barz said that, to win the war against illegal drugs and drug abuse, a tripartite alliance should be in place among the private sector, the government, and non-government organizations, under the TEDD Board.

"Mobilizing as one community, under the rule of law, can eliminate or minimize the illegal drug menace," he said.

Barz said the drug problem is common all over the country, and it takes political will and sincere actions to solve this, including the arrest of well-known drug personalities, and seizures of drug components and stocks.