SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) — More than P1.3 billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated and surrendered to Ilocos Region authorities in the first half of 2024, data presented by the Police Regional Office 1 (PRO1) during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas program on August 6 shows.
PRO1 Regional Director, PBGEN Lou Evangelista, says that the figure includes P615 million worth of drugs confiscated from 720 arrested individuals from January 1 to June 30, 2024.
The confiscated items include 89,796 grams of shabu as well as 37,083 grams of marijuana.
The figure also includes a total of 111 surrendered packs of shabu reported by fisherfolk in the coastal areas of Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, and Ilocos Norte, worth a combined P751.5 million.
As of August 2, 94 of the surrendered packs have been destroyed, while 17 are for destruction at a later date.
Evangelista says that the anti-drug operations in the Ilocos Region netted zero casualties, underscoring the Philippine National Police’s commitment to safeguarding the rights of arrested individuals in accordance with relevant laws.
“Our efforts were focused on arresting drug personalities and rehabilitating drug dependents [who are] destroying our community,” Evangelista said of the regional office’s goals under its drug campaign for the first half of 2024.
Evangelista also underscored the importance of its close coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) as the lead unit in the anti-drug campaign and the support of the community.
As of June 30, 2024, PRO1 reports that out of 3,267 total barangays in the Ilocos Region, 2,660 have already been drug-cleared from a total of 2,929 affected barangays.
The same report shows that 338 barangays in the region remain unaffected by drugs, while 269 barangays are left for drug clearing by relevant government authorities.
Evangelista mentions that the successful drug-clearing operations in barangays throughout the Ilocos Region can be attributed to the collaboration and support of the public and private sectors, which made the operations seamless.
“This is the result of the efforts of local police stations, together with the local government unit of a city or municipality, and the cooperation of drug surrenderers,” Evangelista said.
The Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas is a weekly program led by the Presidential Communications Office through the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), providing a platform for agencies to present their accomplishments in accordance with the Marcos administration’s adherence to transparency and active engagement with the people. (AMB/CCMT, PIA La Union)
