DRUG-FREE.Mayor Robella Gaspar of Carasi town, Ilocos Norte province receives a certificate as a drug-free workplace from officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Ilocos Norte police on Feb. 15, 2023. Prior to its declaration, all personnel of the municipality including its policemen underwent surprise drug testing and all test results yielded negative.(Photo courtesy of PDEA Ilocos Norte) LAOAG CITY -Employees of local government units (LGUs) and uniformed personnel in the province of Ilocos Norte are leading the way to make their communities drug-free. Of the 23 barangays in Piddig town, only one barangay is up for deliberation to be declared as drug-free, and the remaining 22 now enjoy drug-free status. Farlyne Vinluan, public information officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), reported that 521 or 77.11 percent of the 559 barangays in Ilocos Norte are drug affected since December 2022. As part of the intensified drive to get rid of prohib