Palace exec blames PDEA for missing pages in drug-cleared barangays report

MANILA — The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is the one responsible for submitting a 74-page report of supposed drug-cleared barangays that contained several blank pages, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Tuesday.

The Presidential Communication Office (PCO) earlier reported that there are numerous drug-cleared barangays in the Philippines and provided a stack of paper supposedly containing the list of areas that the PDEA has certified as drug-free.

“Bakit may blangko? Paano ko naman tatanggalin kung yun yung binigay na print from PDEA?” Castro told reporters when asked why the report had several blank pages.

“Kung may blangko yun, PDEA na tanungin niyo kasi siguro hanggang doon lang yung report at nagkataon lang na nung prinint, ganoon,” she said.

“‘Pag hindi ko lahat binigay, baka sabihin nag edit ako so kung ano yung binibigay sa akin, binibigay ko sa inyo,” she added.

In January, the PDEA reported that some 42,000 barangays have been cleared of illegal drugs.

On the other hand, 6,113 barangays nationwide, or 14.55 percent, remain drug-affected, according to data from the agency.

RELATED VIDEO