Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Sunday said that officials of the 42,046 villages in the country must employ assemblies to gain support for the government's anti-drug campaign.

The anti-drug campaign was referred to as the "Buhay Ingatan, Droga Ayawan" (BIDA) program, a nationwide anti-narcotics drive that aims to curb illegal drugs by focusing on demand reduction and rehabilitation of communities.

Abalos said that barangay assemblies, which are set this month, should be taken advantage of by the officials to comprehensively discuss the program with their constituents and make them advocates of BIDA.

According to him, the assembly can become an opportunity to reach out to communities and tackle the cooperation that the government would want to build to battle against illegal drugs.

Abalos reminded local government units to hold barangay assembly days every semester, as required by the Local Government Code, in Memorandum Circular No. 2023-032.

This semester’s Barangay Assembly Day has the theme "B-BIDA KA! Barangay BIDA Ka sa Pagpapatupad ng Kapayapaan, Pangangalaga ng Kalikasan, at Pagpapaigting ng Pagkakaisa Tungo sa Isang Ligtas, Mapayapa, Maunlad at Masaganang Pamayanan (implementation of peace, environmental protection, and strengthening unity towards a safe, peaceful, prosperous community), can be held on any Saturday or Sunday of March.

It can be held either face-to-face or in blended mode (face-to-face and online).