NCRPO confiscates P39.6-M in drugs after 'one time, big time' stings
MANILA, Philippines — A fifth of barangays in the Philippines are still listed by the government as being "drug-affected," the Department of the Interior and Local Government disclosed Tuesday.
This comes after districts of the National Capital Region Police Office confiscated P39.6-million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 516 suspects from December 5 to 9.
In a press conference at the rollout of the BIDA Program at the NCRPO headquarters in Taguig, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said 8,977 or 21.35% barangays are still drug affected in the country with 329 being classified as seriously affected; 6,623 as moderately affected and 2,635 as slightly affected.
This, while a total of 26,544 or 63.13% of all the barangays in the country are drug-cleared; 5,987 or 14.24% are drug-free and 538 or 1.28% are drug-unaffected.
He said that in the 1,710 barangays of Metro Manila, 950 are still drug-affected while 754 are drug-cleared, five are drug-free and one is drug unaffected.
Earlier, Abalos said that while the government was shifting to a more health and rehabilitation-focused anti-drug campaign, the Philippine National Police's anti-narcotics operations would continue.
In November, the PNP admitted that anti-drug operations have also led to the deaths of 46 drug suspects, though Dahas PH — a running count of reported drug-related killings by the Third World Studies Center at the University of the Philippines — says the death toll is closer to 127.
New York-based rights watchdog Human Rights Watch then hit the PNP for what it said was its underreporting of deaths in the Marcos administration's anti-drug campaign.
Confiscations
Abalos said that the NCRPO presented their “one-time big-time” illegal drugs haul confiscating 5,790.35 grams of shabu and 2,074.32 grams of marijuana following 300 anti-drug operations.
“This is a huge victory in our noble cause to rid our country of illegal drugs and its repercussion in our society. The hard work of PNP-NCRPO...is a testament to what we can do if we commit ourselves to our vision,” he said. "There is still more to be accomplished."
According to PNP-NCRPO data, the police districts were able to confiscate the P39.6 million, including:
- Southern Police District with P28.16-million from 4,129. grams of shabu, 306.5 grams of marijuana, and four grams of cocaine
- Northern Police District with P6.2-million from 911.6 grams of shabu and 762.8 grams of marijuana.
- Western Police District with P2.45-million from 353.9 grams of shabu and 380 grams of marijuana;
- Eastern Police District with P1.53-million from 224.7 grams of shabu and 35 grams of marijuana;
- Quezon Police District with P1.2-million from 171.1 grams of shabu and 306.5 grams of marijuana.
Abalos said that from December 5-9, PNP-NCRPO arrested 516 illegal drug suspects, 18 of which were high-value targets; 384 street-level individuals; and 114 not listed in the drugs watch list.
The Department of Health received 4,400 persons who used drugs in Metro Manila after the latter voluntarily surrendered to undergo recovery wellness and drug rehabilitation program through the cooperation of the local government units. — Franco Luna
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