ZAMBOANGA CITY: Mayor Maria Isabelle “Beng” Climaco-Salazar has reaped another award from the Duterte administration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Health (DoH) citation of the city government’s exemplary performance in various national programs.

The DILG cited Climaco-Salazar’s exemplary projects in the drug war. She implemented and sustained the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program (CBDRP) and Aftercare Program resulting in 2,773 rehabilitated drug users, which is one of the highest since 2017.

The DILG team arrived in Zamboanga on May 25 for the conduct of the two-day CBDRP Onsite Monitoring, Assessment and Documentation that concluded Friday with the presentation of the Certificate of Recognition to the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council led by the mayor.

Climaco-Salazar said the award goes to everyone who helped sustain the local government’s antidrug campaign and rehabilitation program. She thanked and praised the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Zamboanga City Police Office, the Regional Police Office, and other law enforcement agencies, including the military, for their hard work and contribution to sustaining the anti-drug campaign.

The mayor also handed over the city government’s cash incentives to the Zamboanga City Police Office headed by Col. Alexander Lorenzo in recognition of its outstanding anti-drug efforts.

The DILG and DoH also lauded Climaco-Salazar and her team for their aggressive campaign and continuous efforts in the national government’s Covid-19 vaccination program and for achieving a record high vaccination rate of more than 90 percent of its nearly one million population.

The Regional Inter-Agency Task Force (RIATF) through the DILG and the DoH awarded Climaco-Salazar in a recent ceremony. Together with Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Cathy Garcia, Climaco-Salazar received the award during the 32nd joint meeting of the RIATF and Regional Task Force Covid-19.

The mayor, who heads the local Covid-19 task force, thanked the DILG and DoH for the recognition and said the prestigious award was the result of the sacrifices of all medical frontliners, the city, village health workers, and other stakeholders and partners. As of May 18, Zamboanga City has vaccinated at least 93 percent of its population.