ILOILO CITY - - Iloilo City’s campaign against illegal drugs received more than 50 percent of its PHP30 million peace and order funds for 2017, according to its peace and order and public safety (POPS) plan.
The POPS plan, approved by the Iloilo City Peace and Order Council (CPOC), is still awaiting to be adopted by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) although portion of the budget has already been disbursed.
It is a three-year plan that contains program and activities that can be financed from the peace and order fund, Lawyer Ferdinand L. Panes, director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for Iloilo City stressed Wednesday afternoon.
“This means that all disbursements using peace and order fund shall be reflected in the plan. No money shall be released unless it is included in the approved POPS plan,” he added.
As approved by the CPOC, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) were appropriated approximately PHP8 million each this year.
In the next three years, the two law enforcement agencies identified programs and projects in line with the promotion of drug-free workplace in the city hall and the barangays.
These include among others conduct of drug testing, community and school-based anti-drug preventives, operations against high-value targets, procurement of surveillance vehicles and motorcycles and drug clearing operations.
There were also allocations for the city health office for the rehabilitation of drug surrenderers, after care support program of the city social welfare and development office, among others.
If there are changes in the plan, the group will again gather to have it amended.
Panes said the allocation of peace and order funds in the annual budget will depend on the situation of the locality taking in inputs from the PNP, Army and other CPOC members. The budget is prepared by the Local Finance Committee.
The SP adoption was the latest requirement as mandated by the DILG central office and cascaded recently by the regional office. The guidelines for the POPS plan was crafted in coordination with the Commission on Audit (COA).
On the other hand, DILG is reiterating the need for villages to establish a barangay reading center, pursuant to Memorandum Circular No. 99-208.
The center does not necessarily mean a library but an area where reading materials can be displayed for information dissemination.
“It is just a reiteration because we will be monitoring again the compliance of our barangays,” he said. (PNA)
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