THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has cleared 2,073 villages or 89.70 percent of its target in Region 2 as of December 3. PDEA regional director Joel Plaza, who is also the chairperson of the regional oversight committee on barangay (village) drug clearing, said they are targeting to clear 90 percent of the barangay in the entire region by year end. He said there are 238 villages remaining to be cleared. On December 3, an additional 19 villages in six towns in Cagayan were declared drug-free. Plaza is urging the public and barangay officials to cooperate for successful operations. 'We can have a peaceful and fruitful year to come if we can report zero illegal drug incidents in this region, and I'm very happy we are about to reach our target for this year,' the director said.
