THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said P22.27 billion worth of illegal drugs have been seized during the first 11 months of the Marcos administration.
PDEA said the seized drugs included 3,033.79 kilos of shabu, 19.51 kilos of cocaine, 43,939 pieces of ecstasy, and 2,425.16 kilos of marijuana.
These illegal substances were seized in 35,145 anti-drug operations conducted from July 1 last year to May 31 this year, PDEA said.
A total of 557 drug dens and a clandestine laboratory were also dismantled during the period.
PDEA said the anti-drug operations also resulted in the arrest of 48,843 suspects, including 3,371 high-value targets.
PDEA spokesman Derrick Carreon said the numbers only show the success of the ongoing war against drugs during the Marcos administration.
“It’s a narration of our progress. Comparing it to data of the previous months, there’s an improvement,” said Carreon.
“The number of drug-cleared (barangays) are increasing while drug-affected (barangays) are decreasing,” said Carreon.
Asked to compare the success of the war on drugs during the current administration and the past Duterte administration, Carreon said: “I wouldn’t be in a position to make the comparison.
“We’re just coming out with actual data on that (drug war). This is not really meant to do a comparison…It’s no way to make any kind of comparison between the previous and the current (administrations),” he said.
In a report released by PDEA in June last year, the agency said P89.79 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized from July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2022 during the Duterte administration.
A total of 239,218 anti-drug operations were conducted during the period.
These operations led to the arrest of 345,216 suspects, including 15,271 high-value targets, and the death of 6,252 others.
Asked why PDEA is no longer reporting the number of deaths in the war against drugs under the current administration, Carreon said: “It’s no longer relevant to report. It only breeds, it only fuels further questions. Anyway, it’s no longer that significant.”
Police seized P321,640 worth of suspected dangerous drugs and arrested two persons in a buy-bust operation in Binangonan, Rizal last Monday night.
Col. Dominic Baccay, Rizal PNP provincial director, identified the two as Ace Harshey San Juan and Jane Cestina, residents of Barangay Darangan, Binangonan, Rizal.
Seized from them were three sachets containing more or less 47.3 grams of suspected shabu. — With Christian Oineza
