The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has reported a total drug haul amounting to Php592 million in January under the Marcos administration’s intensified anti-illegal drugs campaign.
In its Operational Assessment Report dated January 2023 forwarded to Malacañang, PDEA said aside from the multi-million peso haul of illegal narcotics, it also arrested 4,499 drug personalities and filed 7,720 drug cases.
Among the major illegal drugs seized during PDEA operations were shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) worth Php403.4 million; cocaine powder, Php15.9 million; ecstasy tablet, Php19.9 million; kush, Php19.8 million and millions worth of marijuana in forms of dried leaves, bricks, plants, and stalks.
PDEA said under its Barangay Drug Clearing Program, 26,952 barangays, or 64.1 percent were declared drug-free out of 42,046 barangays nationwide.
Some 8,585 barangays or 20.4 percent remain drug-affected, with Metro Manila recording the highest number of drug-affectation with 53.9 percent.
Mimaropa has the lowest affectation with 2.8 percent.
As to the overall number of drug-free barangays, a total of 6,109 barangays were declared free as of January this year, the majority of which were from Eastern Visayas with 1,380 barangays.
PDEA said data show shabu and marijuana are the two most frequently abused drugs in the country, with 4,258, or 94.6 percent of arrests were shabu-related, while 240 or 5.3 percent were marijuana-related.
Authorities have intensified their surveillance and monitoring of the country’s airports, seaports, as well as mail and parcel services to prevent the smuggling of illegal drugs and controlled precursors and essential chemicals into the country.
PDEA said part of its intensified anti-drug campaign is strengthening international cooperation involving multiple countries and entities such as the United States, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and the United Nations.
PDEA and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime signed a Declaration of Cooperation in Makati City last January, which entailed the turn-over to the agency 34 tablets containing anti-drug operations modules and references.
The US government, on the other hand, donated last January two Toyota Hilux fleet vans to PDEA at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group (NAIA-IADITG) Operations Center in Pasay City. (PND)
