The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), today (Friday), August 21, 2020, destroyed ₱13,359,157,093.00 worth of dangerous drugs at the Integrated Waste Management, Inc. (IWMI), Barangay Aguado, Trece Martirez City, Cavite.
The first destruction ceremony co
nducted since the assumption of PDEA Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva, and the biggest volume in the history of the PDEA with a total net weight of two (2) tons of confiscated drug evidences during anti-drug operations and those turned over by authorities that were recently ordered by the court to be destroyed.
Majority of the confiscated drug evidences to be destroyed were from the different anti-drug operations of the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement units.
Justice Jose Midas P. Marquez, Court Administrator, Supreme Court of the Philippines, was 
the Guest of Honor and Speaker, during the ceremony.
Destroyed through thermal decomposition were a total of 2,103,904.93 grams or 2.10 tons of assorted pieces of drug evidence composed of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, ephedrine, ketamine, diazepam, methylephedrine, Nalbuphine, MDA (Methylenedioxyamphetamine), GBL (Gamma-Butyrolactone), 2C-B, liquid ecstacy, and expired medicines.
Thermal Decomposition, or thermolysis, is a process of breaking down chemical compounds by heat. At 1,000 degrees centigrade, all dangerous drugs are totally decomposed or broken down.
Based on the consolidated report of the PDEA Laboratory Service, destroyed were:
1,938,395.26 grams of Shabu, with an estimated street value of ₱13,181,087,768.00;
77,921.73 grams of Marijuana worth ₱9,350,607.60;
9,213.28 grams of Cocaine worth ₱48,830,384.00;
3,240.01 grams of MDMA or Ecstasy worth ₱11,016,034.00;
21,606.12 grams of Ephedrine worth ₱108,030,600.00;
1.05 grams of Ketamine worth ₱5,250.00;
10.05 grams of Methylephedrine worth ₱16,080.00;
55.45 grams of Diazepam worth ₱4,297.38;
4.48 grams of MDA worth ₱72.58; and
400 ml. liquid shabu worth ₱816,000.00.
“I would like extend my gratitude and sincere appreciation to the Philippine National Police, other law enforcement units and different Regional Trial Courts (RTCs) through our RTC Judges and court personnel for the expeditious disposition of these illegal drugs that is no longer needed as evidence in court”, says PDEA chief.
The destruction of the dangerous drugs is in compliance with the guidelines set on the custody and disposition of seized dangerous drugs required in Section 21, Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 1, Series of 2002.
PDEA key officials, Local Government Officials of Barangay Aguado, Trece Martires City, representatives from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies (LEAs), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), non-government organizations (NGOs) and media partners witnessed the destruction activity.
“We want to assure the public that PDEA, as the lead agency in the national anti-drug campaign, adheres to transparency, gives credence to accountability that strictly follow the existing laws and rules, to dispel the public notion that these illicit items are being reused, recycled or sold back in the streets. Never po mangyayari at kailanman hindi nangyayari ang ganung scenario.” Villanueva pointed out.
From July 1, 2016 to present, a total of ₱41.39 billion worth of illegal drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals have been destroyed under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
