PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the PNP and Philippine Coast Guard to ensure the closure of all possible entry points of illegal drugs in the country and immediately destroy confiscated narcotics to prevent their re-entry into the streets.
The President, in the second part of his Podcast Episode 2 that was released yesterday, said the campaign against illegal drugs should be strengthened and sustained.
Marcos said this is part of efforts not just to improve the crime index but to ensure that the people would feel safe and feel the impact of the improved crime rates.
“We still have a drug problem in this country. Siyempre pumapasok pa rin ‘yung shabu. So sabi ko, continue… pero ‘yung hulihin niya ‘yung malalaki. At saka puntahan kung saan pumapasok. ‘Yun ang isara natin and we’re slowly doing that (We still have a drug problem in this in this country. Shabu is still there. So, I said, continue… but arrest the big ones. And go to the entry points and close it, and we’re slowly doing that),” he said when asked about his marching orders to PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III, who assumed his post recently.
Marcos said he also directed the PNP and the PCG to ensure that seized illegal narcotics are properly accounted for and immediately burned or destroyed to prevent them from being returned to the streets.
The President’s directive came on the heels of massive hauls in Zambales, Bataan, Ilocos Sur, and Pangasinan provinces on June 10 that yielded 66 sacks containing 1,297.9 kilos of shabu valued at P8.8 billion.
Marcos reiterated that the anti-criminal campaign should not be limited to the big-time syndicates but also address small-scale criminal activities that directly affect communities.
He said the PNP is now implementing measures such as the “Cops on the Beat” that increased foot patrol and police visibility, and the hotline 911 that assured police and emergency response within five minutes of the call or report to the police.
MORE DRUGS RECOVERED
Some 16.4 kilos of shabu worth P111.5 million were recovered in Cagayan and Ilocos Norte last Sunday and Monday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported yesterday.
The illegal drugs were in addition to 2,290.47 kilos of shabu valued at P8.77 billion earlier recovered by fishermen floating in Bataan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Cagayan he past three weeks.
PDEA earlier said the shabu was dumped by Sam Gor, a five-drug triad alliance operating in the Asia-Pacific region, hoping they would be recovered by their local contacts.
The shabu was found by the fishermen and turned over to law enforcement agencies.
In a statement yesterday, PDEA said 15 plastic packs each containing a kilo of shabu worth P102 million were fished out by a fisherman between Babuyan Island and Gonzaga town in Cagayan last Sunday.
Last Monday, another fisherman found a plastic pack containing 400 grams or .4 kilo of shabu worth P2.72 million off Sta Ana, Cagayan.
Also on Monday, a concerned citizen found a pack of shabu, weighing one kilo and worth P6.8 million, at the shoreline of Barangay Pasaleng in Pagudpud town in Ilocos Norte, PDEA said.
PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez commended the people who found and subsequently turned over the shabu to authorities, saying: “We do not want these dangerous substances to fall into the clutches of the wrong people.”
Nerez urged the public to report to authorities if they find similar packs of shabu.
“We are appealing to the public, if and when you stumble upon any of the floating contraband, do not hesitate to report it to the authorities,” said Nerez. “Doing so will help shield our communities from the sinister ways of illegal drugs.”
Police seized P272,000 suspected dangerous drugs and arrested a delivery rider in a buy-bust operation in Pasig City last Tuesday night.
Col. Hendrix Mangaldan, local police chief, identified the suspect as alias Gigi, 37, a resident of Barangay Cembo, Makati City.
Seized from him were several sachets containing more or less 40 grams of suspected shabu. – With Victor Reyes and Christian Oineza
