By John Rey Saavedra | Philippine News Agency
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Thursday destroyed P489 million worth of dangerous drugs, the biggest destruction in Central Visayas since 2017, an anti-narcotics official said.
Alex Tablate, regional director of PDEA-7, said that more than 71 kilos of shabu, 3 kilograms of marijuana, 55 tablets of ecstasy, and other dangerous drugs—all amounting to P489,415,611—were fed to a thermal chamber of the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in the downtown area here, following a court order.
Tablate said the destruction was the second for this year, and the biggest in volume so far in the region in seven years.
“Before the destruction, the substances were tested by PDEA-7 chemists in front of witnesses to dispel doubts that the substances were replaced,” he told the media before the drugs were fed to the thermal chamber.
The burning was witnessed by an elected public official and representatives from the Department of Justice, Public Attorney’s Office, civil society, and media as mandated under Republic Act 9165 and Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 1-2002 on the proper custody and disposition of seized dangerous drugs.
Judge Ruelo Saladaga, Presiding Judge of Regional Trial Court 69, Lapu-Lapu City, who witnessed the destruction, highlighted in his message the importance of the holistic strategy of the country’s anti-illegal drugs campaign and of the court’s strong commitment to upholding justice.
According to Tablate, the destruction of the dangerous drugs seized from different personalities was through thermal decomposition, a method of breaking down chemicals by heat at 1,000 degrees Celsius.
The drugs destroyed were seized during various operations from 2003 to 2024 in Cebu and Bohol provinces and the three highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu conducted by the PDEA and the Philippine National Police.
Since 2017, Central Visayas has already destroyed a total of P2.36 billion worth of illegal drugs.