By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – Authorities seized close to P166 million worth of narcotics in simultaneous anti-criminality law enforcement operations in the past two weeks, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Monday (Feb. 7) night.
“In our campaign against illegal drugs, our law enforcement agencies conducted 1,974 anti-illegal drug operations from January 23 to February 5. We arrested 2,792 drug pushers, in total we confiscated an estimated worth value of P165,995,762 in the past two weeks,” Año said in his report to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Talk to the People briefing.
He added that in the same period, another 144 drug suspects have surrendered.
In a related development, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. said the effective campaign and operations from the five police districts of the NCRPO led to the clearing of an additional 44 barangays in Metro Manila from illegal drugs.
The five police districts under NCRPO are the Manila Police District (MPD), Quezon City Police District (QCPD), Northern Police District (NPD), Southern Police District (SPD), and Eastern Police District (EPD).
“The additional list of declared drug-free barangays in the region is a manifestation of the concerted efforts of your police force, local government units, and other agencies as well as the support from residents of each barangay. We assure the public that we will do our utmost to continuously rid more barangays of this illegal substance,” Danao said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb. 8).
Danao, meanwhile, urged the public to support the government’s anti-drug campaign.
“Please do not hesitate to report to the authorities any suspicious activities and persons in your area and we assure you that your identity will remain confidential,” he added.
Records showed that 44 barangays in Metro Manila were issued certification for being cleared from illegal drug infestation on Dec. 15, 2021, during the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing (ROCBDC) meeting chaired by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The ROCBDC is composed of provincial representatives of the DILG, the Philippine National Police, Department of Health, and local government units.
These new barangays listed are under the jurisdiction of the NPD with one barangay cleared; MPD with -23 barangays; SPD -12 barangays, QCPD – five barangays, and EPD with three barangays.
Prior to the declaration of a barangay as drug-free, the Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing must validate the absence of drug supply, drug shipment activity, marijuana farming site, drug den, covert laboratory, drug pusher, and user, and other similar drug related activities in relation to the guidelines of the Dangerous Drugs Board as provided in Section 8 of Regulation No. 3 Series of 2017, otherwise known as “Strengthening the Implementation of the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program.”
Based on the latest Real Numbers data released by the PDEA the number of barangays declared drug-free as of Dec. 31, 2021, reached 24,253 while a total of 11,175 barangays have yet to be cleared of illegal drugs. (PNA)
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