PDEA chief gets Outstanding Filipino Award
PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chair, Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva has been given an Outstanding Filipino Luminary Award for National Government Service for championing the government’s successful barangay drug-clearing program.
The 2021 Outstanding Filipino Luminary Award was given to the member of Philippine Military Academy ‘Maringal’ Class of 1988 by the Espicom Group for his notable achievements and contributions to the national campaign against illegal drug trafficking and abuse.
A Filipino luminary is someone who serves as a beacon of light and inspiration to others while making significant impacts in our country, said the award-giving group. The award also commemorates the resilient spirit of the Filipino people while honoring the leaders and prime movers of the society amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I am deeply pleased, honored and humbled to accept this esteemed recognition. I thank the organizers for placing their trust and confidence in hailing me as one of the Filipino luminaries this year,” Villanueva said.
PDEA got the award for championing the Barangay Drug Clearing Program (BDCP) – the main framework of PDEA’s anti-drug strategy that embodies a holistic and whole-of-nation approach in addressing the country’s drug problem.
According to Villanueva, BDCP is their answer to the country’s illegal drug woes. “To emerge victorious is to eliminate illegal drugs barangay by barangay until there is no drug-affected barangay left,” he explained.
Villanueva capably served the country for two decades in the field of drug law enforcement having worked in different capacities, both with the Philippine National Police’s now defunct Narcotics Group and as one of PDEA’s pioneering officers.
The Outstanding Filipino Luminary Awards 2021 was held Friday at Conrad Manila Hotel in Pasay City.
Part of the proceeds of the event will go to charity. Among the beneficiaries is the “Fight Disease End Polio Now Program” of the Rotary Club Diliman Central District 3780 and the White Cross Orphanage.
