BAGUIO CITY — Government troops destroyed a total of PHP6.1 million worth of marijuana in Tinglayan town, Kalinga, the 5th Infantry Division (5ID) base in Isabela reported on Tuesday.
Captain Jefferson Somera, Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO) chief, said three plantation sites of fully grown marijuana plants at Mount Chumanchil in Tinglayan municipality were discovered by combined elements of the 50th Infantry Battalion of the 5ID, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera and Region 2, Kalinga Police Provincial Office, and Tinglayan Municipal Police personnel last February 11.
The raiding team burned the uprooted grown marijuana plants on site.
The officer said the sites, with a combined estimated land area of 5,200 square meters, are at around 11 kilometers aerial distance from the center of Tinglayan town.
“Protecting the people from the influence of illegal drugs is everybody’s responsibility. We will continue to work with the other law enforcement agencies until the dream of our President to have a drug-free community is achieved, and this means clearing the whole of Cordillera and Cagayan Valley regions of drugs,” Brig. Gen. Perfecto Rimando Jr., commander of the 5ID, said.
Rimando commended the raiding teams, who jointly executed the operation. He assured them of the 5ID’s support for all law enforcement operations under its jurisdiction. (Liza Agoot/PNA)
