BAGUIO CITY”•Armed Forces Chief Eduardo Año on Saturday said they were mulling over the creation of a battalion-sized task force to help in the ongoing war against illegal drugs.
“We have no figures yet but we are talking about a battalion-sized formation,” Año said at the sidelines of the annual PMA Alumni Homecoming at Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City.
He said the task force would be helping the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in its anti-drugs operations and providing intelligence support if needed.
The task force would also be augmented by additional troops if needed, Año said.
“Task forces were flexible formations that can be reduced or augmented depending on the security requirements,” he said.
He made his statement even as the PDEA outlined the guidelines in the implementation of its village drug-clearing program to curb the proliferation of illegal drugs in the communities.
“Barangays, as the first line of defense, should be tapped as force multipliers of the national anti-drug campaign at the grassroots level,” PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña said in a statement on Sunday.
Among PDEA’s general guidelines are the mandatory creation of Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils nationwide; the conduct of barangay drug-clearing operations that is divided into three phases; the classification of barangays in determining the priority areas for clearing operations; the duties of local chief executives in the barangay drug-clearing program; and the penalty for non-compliance.
“It is imperative that every barangay must have an anti-drug-abuse council. Failure to do so is a direct violation of the law,” Lapeña said.