ORMOC CITY, Leyte March 7 (PIA) — The municipality of Matag-ob and two other towns in Leyte province were officially declared recently as drug-cleared municipalities.
The two other towns in Leyte province declared as drug-cleared are Mahaplag and San Isidro.
Matag-ob Mayor Michael L. Torrevillas in his message,thanked the people of his town, the town’s officials and the police forces for the support in making the town as drug-cleared during the official declaration of his town as drug-cleared in a ceremony held at the town’s gymnasium in February 26.
“This is a big achievement for a small town like Matag-ob,” Mayor Torrevillas said noting that his campaign against illegal drugs took place even before the PRRD’s war on illegal drugs.
Matag-ob has 460 accounted personalities involved in illegal drug activity but most of them were users and not pushers, PSI Bryan Vicedo, Matag-ob chief of police reported.
Vicedo clarified that the declaration of the town as drug-cleared meant that all personalities involved in illegal drugs were accounted, that is, they voluntarily surrendered or arrested by authorities or died. In the case of Matag-ob, only one drug personality died due to illness.
For his part, PSupt Federico N. Sanchez, deputy provincial director for operations of Leyte PNP, urged the town’s officials not to rest in their campaign on illegal drugs despite being declared as drug-cleared.
“One single mistake and you will start all over again,” Sanchez said as he reminded the town’s officials to continue conducting monitoring and surveillance of their accounted persons involved in illegal drugs.
Antonio O. Ida, provincial DOH officer of North Leyte also requested the town’s officials to help the NDP nurses in the conduct of medical assessment of drug surrenderers for further psycho-social interventions. (ajc/rvictoria/PIA Ormoc Desk)
