The Taguig Anti-Drug Abuse Council (Tadac) has taken the war against illegal drugs into its most vital battlefield—the school classroom.

In doing so, Tadac recently spearheaded the holding of the School Anti-Drug Abuse Program (Sadap), which brought together the city’s stakeholders in mapping out a multi-faceted, school-based anti-drug campaign aimed at shielding campuses from drug personalities and other undesirable elements.

Leading the seminar were city Vice Mayor George Elias, who is chairman of Tadac, and Baby Valencia, Tadac coordinator.

Elias on Monday stressed the importance of a collaborative effort in the fight against illegal drugs as it cannot be done by the city government alone. “We can win if we all work together,” said the official.

The city government is in the middle of a renewed commitment to capture all drug suspects.

One of the key speakers during the two-day event was the police drug enforcement head, Chief Inspector Jerry Amindalan. He discussed the status of drug-related cases and statistics of apprehended and prosecuted drug peddlers and users in all barangays of Taguig.

Over 90 drug suspects have been arrested and charged by Taguig police since October 2008, the Bulletin/ Tempo gathered.

Signal Village Elementary School’s Joselito Mataac, one of the 32 school National Drug Education Program coordinators, who attended the seminar, praised the organizers for holding a “very timely” event.

“This is a very timely move on the part of our local officials because aside from our homes, education against the evils of substance abuse must first be observed in schools,” said Mataac, who holds the position of Master Teacher I.

The Sadap was made possible through the joint efforts of Tadac, Inter-agency Council Drug Abuse Prevention Education of the Philippines, Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Health, and Department of Education.