Executive Order No. 15 series of 2017 dated March 6, 2017 mandated the creation of an Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) and Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force to suppress the drug problem in the country. Its primary function is to ensure that each member agency shall implement and comply with all policies, laws and issuances pertaining to the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign in an integrated and synchronized manner.

Determined to materialize the organization of the Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) Coordinating Group (RICG) in the region, DILG Caraga Regional Office committed to sponsor the organizational meeting of the said committee and its succeeding activities for the year 2018.

As a result, the region successfully convened and organized its Regional Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) Coordinating Group (RICG) last October 8, 2018 at Butuan Grand Palace Hotel, Butuan City.  

The organizational meeting was presided by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Caraga Regional Office through its Regional Director Aileen T. Lovitos. The member agencies were represented by their respective Regional Directors or its permanent representative.

Highlighting the said activity was the discussion on the fundamentals of ICAD by Resource Speaker, Mr. Elyvenson D. Plaza, Acting Deputy Director, PDEA Plans and Operations Service and ICAD Secretariat. Further, with the valuable assistance of the resource speaker, the said regional committee was able to group together, establish the four (4) ICAD clusters, formalize its cluster leaders and members and formulate their expected output for CY 2018.

                      

Caraga Regional Office	Designation
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency	RICG –Caraga Chairman Enforcement Cluster Leader
Department of the Interior and Local Government	Advocacy Cluster Leader
Department of Health	Rehabilitation and Reintegration Cluster Leader
Department of Social Welfare and Development	Rehabilitation and Reintegration Cluster Leader
Department of Justice- National Prosecution Service	Justice Cluster Leader
Armed Forces of the Philippines	Member
Bureau of Fire Protection	Member
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology	Member
Commission on Higher Education	Member
Department of Agriculture	Member
Department of Budget and Management	Member
Department of Environment and Natural Resources	Member
Department of Education	Member
Department of Labor and Employment	Member
Department of Trade and Industry	Member
National Bureau of Investigation	Member
National Intelligence Coordinating Agency	Member
Public Attorney’s Office	Member
Philippine Information Office	Member
Philippine National Police	Member
Parole and Probation Administration	Member
Philippine Postal Corporation	Member
Philippine Statistics Authority	Member
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority	Member
Bureau of Immigration	Member
Bureau of Customs	Member
Bureau of Corrections	Member
Department of Foreign Affairs	Member
Philippine Coast Guard	Member
Philippine Ports Authority	Member

As Advocacy Cluster Leader, DILG Caraga Regional Office strongly formulated action programs specifically on the completion of the 2017 Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Audit, the upcoming Barangay Assembly on October 14, 2018, Barangay Leaders Symposium on Anti-Illegal Drugs on November 19-23, 2018 in line with the celebration of Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week and Orientation and Consultative Meeting on Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center (DATRC) with LGUs on October 24, 2018.

            To ensure that the committee will be functional and sustainable, the members agreed to gather again on October 26, 2018 and November 23, 2018 in the same venue. Significantly on the next meetings, the clusters will need to update the committee on the progress status of their respective action plans.

            The campaign on illegal drugs should be an advocacy of everyone; of every government agency. This organizational meeting is only the beginning.  With the commitment of all member agencies, RICG-Caraga will have a big and positive contribution in the region’s fight against illegal drugs.

 

By: Suzette T. Tinampay & Renelle L. Escuadro

      ADAC Regional Technical Assistants