PNP’s ’23 anti-drug feats: 56,495 arrests, P10.4B drug haul
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) agents in 2023 sent 56,495 drug suspects to jail and seized more than P10.412 billion worth of shabu and other illegal substances, the Journal Group learned Sunday.
It was also another ‘less bloody’ war on drugs as out of the 44,426 anti-narcotics operations from January 1 to December 31, 2023, only 113 armed suspects were killed.
A report to PNP chief General Benjamin S. Acorda Jr. showed that the National Capital Region Police Office, headed by Major Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr., sent to jail 13,808 suspects.
The NCRPO also accounted for more than P782 million worth of illegal drugs during the period.
The Police Regional Office 4-A in Calabarzon region headed by Brigadier Gen. Kenneth Paul T. Lucas arrested 12,306 drug suspects and seized nearly P417 million worth of prohibited drugs.
In Central Visayas or PNP Region 7 under Brig. Gen. Anthony A. Aberin, it jailed 7,078 target personalities and confiscated over P934 million worth of shabu and other illegal substances.
Police Regional Office (PRO)-2 in Cagayan Valley under Brig. Gen. Christopher C. Birung arrested 651 targets and confiscated over P16 million worth of illegal drugs; PRO-3 in Central Luzon headed by Brig. Gen. Jose S. Hidaldo Jr. accounted for 7,503 targets and seized P163 million worth of prohibited drugs; PRO-5 in Bicol headed by Brig. Gen. Andre P. Dizon arrested 988 targets and confiscated nearly P87 million worth of shabu and other illegal drugs; PRO-6 in Western Visayas under Brig. Gen. Sydney N. Villaflor arrested 2,610 offenders and hauled nearly P367 million worth of shabu; PRO-9 in Western Mindanao headed by Brig. Gen. Bowenn Joey M. Masauding nabbed 1,163 drug targets and seized nearly P49 million worth of shabu; PRO-12 in Soccsksargen region under Brig. Gen. Jimili M. Mararaeg jailed 1,162 drug personalities and confiscated nearly P29 million worth of shabu; PRO-13 in Caraga region under Brig. Gen. Kirby John B. Kraft arrested 701 targets and seized more than P40 million worth of shabu; and the Cordillera Police Regional Office headed by Brig. Gen. David K. Peredo arrested 291 targets and uprooted and destroyed over P3.9 billion worth of fully-grown marijuana plants and seedlings.
The PNP Drug Enforcement Group headed by Colonel Dionisio B. Bartolome Jr. launched a total of 653 ‘high-impact operations’ which resulted in the arrest of 765 top drug targets and the confiscation of nearly P1.565 million worth of shabu and other prohibited drugs.
The Marcos administration last week reported confiscating around P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs from January to December 2023 and cleared more than 27,000 barangays of narcotics under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s new approach to address the menace.
Through the consolidated efforts of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agencyand the PNP, the government cleared 27,968 barangays of illegal drugs, with 23 provinces, 447 municipalities, and 43 cities establishing their respective community-based drug rehabilitation programs (CBDRPs) as of December 27, 2023, the administration said in a separate annual accomplishment report.
The report added that 50 provinces, 1,160 municipalities and 30 cities have functional Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (ADACs) implementing anti-drug priorities at the local level.
In addition, 74 established in-patient treatment and rehabilitation facilities were also put up.
The recent government successes was under President Marcos’ new approach to address illegal drugs by focusing on rehabilitation, reintegration and preventive education programs specifically for the youth.
To reduce the supply of illegal drugs, the PDEA headed by Director General Moro Virgilio M. Lazo last year intensified its efforts against top-level drug personalities, not only by arresting them but also by strengthening financial investigation to immobilize their assets.
A PDEA report showed that from July 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023, the agency, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies led by the Philippine National Police, went all-out against illegal drug trafficking and abuse, regardless of who will be affected.
As a result, the anti-drug accomplishments of the Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. administration during the period, courtesy of the PDEA includes the arrest of 72,676 drug personalities and the confiscation of around P30.39 billion worth of shabu and other prohibited drugs.
In 2023, the major anti-drug operations conducted by the PDEA and other law enforcement agencies include the following: a raid on a drug warehouse in Barangay Irisan in Baguio City on March 1 which led in the confiscation of 574.80 kilos of shabu and the arrest of one Chinese national.
The seizure of 560.15 kilograms of shabu during an anti-drug operation in Mexico City in Pampanga last September 27; the recovery of 323 kilograms of shabu inside the Manila International Container Port in Tondo last October 5; the confiscation of 80.79 kilograms of shabu and the arrest of a foreign national during a sting in Timog Hills Townhouse in Barangay Pampanga in Angeles City, Pampanga last February 19.
The recovery of 58.44 kilograms of shabu and the arrest of two top drug targets during an interdiction operation at the NAIA Complex in Pasay City last March 20; and the recovery of 20,96 kilograms of shabu and the arrest of a foreigner during a buy-bust operation in Bgy. Pampanga in Angeles City, Pampanga on February 19.
