The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is working to attain a zero drug inventory and zero illegal drug dependency in the country.
PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva said the goal is not farfetched as they are now working to clear the remaining 10,410 barangays from influence of illegal drugs.
In the P14,292,230.591 billion destruction of dangerous drugs in Trece Martires City, Cavite, Villanueva confirmed that there are about 1.45 tons more of shabu that will be destroyed ‘on a future date.’
He noted that the June 2 thermal destruction was the largest volume of dangerous drugs burned in the history of drug law enforcement.
“Meron pa tayong about 1.4 tons na dangerous drugs na naiiwan na shabu (There are about 1.4 tons of dangerous drugs of shabu left). Part of this is yung nahuli natin sa Zambales na 580 kilos dahil kailangan pa ng court order (if the 580 kilos seized in Zambales that needs a court order before being destructed),’’ Villanueva explained.
Villanueva also noted that the agency is still waiting for the dangerous drugs seized by the Philippine National Police (PNP) that will be up for destruction, adding that tons of illegal drugs were regularly burned since assuming the top PDEA post in 2020.
“Of course I would like to thank the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) dahil kayo ang nagpalaki dito (since you are instrumental for the large haul, that is 1.5 tons),’’ he added, referring to part of the destroyed dangerous drugs.
The PDEA chief admitted that he will gladly accept if President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decides to retain him emphasizing that his drug-busting duties were never work for him but an ‘advocacy.’
“What we are doing here together with the PNP is an advocacy against illegal drugs. Hindi na ito yung trabaho, advocacy na ito na inilaan na natin ang buhay natin dahil dito sa paglaban saipinagbabawal na gamot This is not work, this is an advocacy where we lay our lives in the fight against prohibited drugs) and we will not stop until this 10,410 barangays will be cleared and maybe on his (Marcos Jr.) term baka magawa natin (we may achieve this),’’ he added.
At the start of the President’s term, Villanueva disclosed that there about 25,000 that have yet to be cleared from illegal drugs but in the short six-year span authorities cleared 25,061 affected barangays from illegal drugs and confirmed that 6,574 were classified as drug-free barangays.
Villanueva said that more than 35,000 barangays are now drug-cleared and only 10,000 remaining barangays have yet to be cleared vowing to continue until all barangays are drug-cleared.
“Kapag naclear na natin ang barangays, ibig sabihin wala na tulak, wala na adik, wala na drug den, wala na benthan doon sa particular barangays na yun (When we clear all barangays from illegal drugs, that means that there will be no more pushers, no more drug addicts, no more drug dens, no more illegal drug transactions in the particular barangays),’’ Villanueva pointed out. (Chito A. Chavez)