BAGUIO Mayor Benjamin Magalong is looking into getting international support for the Baguio City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) in order to improve the functionality of the anti-drug effort at the grassroots.
The offer of support was broached by Dr. Raquel Tolentino, in-country coordinator of the Community Anti-Drug Abuse Coalition, part of the Association of Anti-Drug Abuse Coalitions of the Philippines Incorporated, which is partly funded and supported by the Community Anti Drug Coalition of America (CADCA).
As part of the cooperation effort, the coalitions will provide capacity building training to members of the city’s CADACs and its smaller councils at the barangay level.
Magalong said that with the assistance, the city’s few underperforming barangay drug councils as identified by the recently released assessment reports will be brought up to a better level.
Only eight of the city’s 128 barangays have received an unsatisfactory rating in terms of barangay drug council performance, but Magalong says the city can aim higher.
Data from the audit team of the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Cordillera Administrative Region (DILG-CAR) gave the city a total score of 89.50 percent for barangay drug council functionality based on the calendar year 2022 review of accomplishments.
However, the mayor said he is not satisfied with the BADAC’s result of assessment.
“Our target score should be 95 points or more and to reach that goal we need to have an outlook of our BADACs performance at least twice a year before the audit of the DILG,” the mayor said.
