DESPITE THE coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, the government continues to wage a relentless campaign against illegal drugs.
In a televised briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte Monday night, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año reported that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has seized 4.13 kilos of shabu worth PHP28 million in nine anti-illegal drug operations from November 16 to 26.
“Amin pong napansin na dahil din sa kahirapang makakuha ng shabu, mukhang unti-unting bumabalik naman po sa paggamit ng marijuana ang ating mga --- ang mga drug addict (We observed that due to the difficulty to get shabu, it seems drug addicts are slowly returning to the use of marijuana),’’ Año told Duterte.
Citing a report from the PNP, Año added that three suspects were nabbed with 128 blocks of marijuana worth PHP26 million were confiscated along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) in Balintawak, Quezon City on Nov. 29.
On Nov. 24, Año noted that the police officers discovered three marijuana plantations in Kibungan and Bakun, Benguet where 28,800 marijuana trees were burned and uprooted that was estimated at PHP5,760,000.
From January 1 to September 30 this year, Año added that the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) seized PHP12.47 billion worth of shabu, cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana as the country continues its fight against illegal drugs.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame, PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas said the use of party drugs have been lessened during the pandemic.
"Have you noticed? I will speak on the experience of NCRPO (National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), we have caught many suspects using shabu and marijuana. Party drugs suddenly waned because these are usually used in discos, high-profile parties, disco house. For now, it waned and only a few suspects were arrested,” he said.
Sinas said shabu remains to be the top pick for drug addicts in the country.
Sinas, meanwhile, urged the public to be vigilant as criminal and drug syndicates are still operating using social media platforms for their usual transactions.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported that more than 10,000 drug high-value targets (HVTs) across the country have been arrested since the start of the Duterte administration's crackdown on illegal drugs in mid-2016,
Based on the latest Real Numbers data, a total of 10,721 HVTs were arrested from July 1, 2016 to October. 31, 2020.
A PDEA report showed that the apprehended HVT include 287 foreigners, 362 elected officials, 102 uniformed personnel, 445 government employees, 3,098 target listed individuals, 751 drug group leaders and members, 66 armed group members, 1,035 drug den maintainers, 232 wanted listed, 18 celebrities and 4,325 arrests from high impact operations.
With the target of a “drug-cleared Philippines’’, PDEA records disclosed that 266,126 drug suspects were nabbed in the 183,525 anti-illegal drugs operations conducted during the same period.
The same PDEA report showed that 5,942 suspected drug personalities died in the operations.
The country’s leading anti-illegal drug agency noted that 20,538 out of the country’s 42,045 barangays were already declared drug cleared while 14,308 others are yet to be cleared.
The PDEA data also added that 648 dens and clandestine laboratories have been dismantled.
Some PHP56.26 billion worth of seized drugs and destroyed equipment were destroyed during the said operations in the said period with 7,413.17 kilograms of shabu valued at PHP46.42 billion confiscated.
In the same operations, PDEA said that 3,418 children involved in the illegal drug trade were rescued.
It said the minors were being used as drug pushers, cultivators of marijuana leaves, drug den or clandestine laboratory maintainers, employees, or runners. (By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
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