A provincial official on Friday said that stickers which will be used to identify drug-free homes are not meant to humiliate families amid flak on the community-based approach against drugs.

Provincial Administrator Ae Damalerio during the weekly “Kita ug ang Gobernador” program belied comments on the initiative which indicated that it is meant to shame households.

The same criticisms have prompted the Department of Interior and Local Government to defend the project as it noted that the initiative is intended to urge drug personalities in families to come clean.

According to Damalerio, the printing of the “drug-free” stickers has begun and these will soon be posted in Bohol homes with no resident linked to illegal drug activities.

Damalerio said that peace and order councils in towns continue to evaluate households down to the purok level including those in remote areas as they clear homes that do not have drug-linked residents.

After the evaluation, the stickers will be signed by the municipality’s chief of police and the concerned barangay captain then posted in homes.

The Bohol League of Municipalities, Liga ng mga Barangay, the Tagbilaran and Tailbon dioceses, law enforcement agencies and other concerned sectors had given their approval on the implementation of the initiative, said Damalerio.

For its part, the provincial government has been supporting the initiative since it was announced by DILG Sec. Ismael Sueno who said that posting of stickers will start in March.

Sueno has repeatedly defended the project against critics including Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman who deemed the sticker posting as an indirect shaming tactic.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have also criticized the DILG’s plan. (Rey Tutas)