Villanueva says small PDEA budget would affect barangay drug-clearing ops

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Director General Wilkins Villanueva on Wednesday said that its barangay drug-clearing operations could be adversely affected if the budget for the agency is too small.

In an interview on Dobol B sa News TV, Villanueva said that PDEA's barangay drug-clearing operations are anchored in the Philippine Anti-Drugs Strategy. He said the agency needs over P400 million for clearing at least 7,000 barangays from narcotics.

"For those government agencies na nabigyan, eh zero ang budget ng PDEA doon. 'Yun lang ang medyo nag-ano siya, dito namin dapat ipapasok 'yung program namin for barangay drug-clearing program... 'yung PADS kasi anchored ito doon sa barangay drug-clearing program," Villanueva said.

"Ang pinaglalaban sana natin dito is about P492 million sana para makapagclear pa kami ng more than 7,000 barangays. Doon kasi nakaanchor 'yung main strategy natin..." he added.

Senator Panfilo Lacson has said PADS allocation in the P4.5-trillion proposed national budget was only 0.4%. The Executive Order 66 institutionalized the PADS which outlined the balanced efforts of the government to strengthen the campaign against the use of illegal drugs and its precursors.

Earlier, PDEA said more than 14,000 barangays are yet to be cleared from illegal drugs.

Villanueva, however, assured the public that the anti-illegal drugs agency would continue its mandate even if the budget that would be given to it will be small.

The PDEA initially requested P4.9 billion but the Department of Budget and Management endorsed only P2.7 billion in the National Expenditure Program for fiscal year 2021.

"Ang PDEA naman kung ano ibigay mo magtratrabaho pa rin eh. Kasi diyan kami nag-umpisa eh, bigyan kami ng maliit na budget, trabaho pa rin eh," Villanueva said.—AOL, GMA News