(Photo & caption courtesy of PDEA Top Stories Facebook page)
By Katrina Gracia Consebido
The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s intensified drug campaign led to the seizure of P30.9 billion worth of drugs in 2022, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported Tuesday, Feb. 7.
PDEA destroyed P27.8 billion worth of drugs, controlled precursors, and essential chemicals (CPECS) in 2022.
The agency also arrested a total of 53,002 drug personalities in more than 37,000 operations.
According to the PDEA, 237 marijuana sites were destroyed, resulting in the destruction of marijuana plants and derivatives worth P738.6 million, also in 2022.
To reduce the demand for drugs, the PDEA did 257,588 Preventive Education and Community Involvement (PECI) activities and set up 111 Balay Silangan Reformation Centers, where 2,000 people graduated and 894 people got jobs.
According to the PDEA, 67,045 intervention programs and 300,000 community-based drug rehabilitation programs served 300,000 Persons Who Use Drugs (PWUDs) in drug-cleared barangays.
The most commonly used drugs are shabu, marijuana, and ecstasy, according to the PDEA. The majority of those detained last year did so for shabu, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, syndicates are transporting illegal drugs, controlled precursors, and essential chemicals using seaports, airports, mail and parcel services, and the extensive Philippine coastlines, it also noted.
The PDEA prosecuted 45,850 drug personalities in 2022, reported 21,112 convictions and 1,439 dismissals from 25,306 resolved cases.
PDEA assured it is intensifying intelligence-driven and high-impact operations, enhancing inter-agency collaboration, and deterring smuggling at drug entry points to suppress supply. – gb
