Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

At least 7.4 tons of illegal drugs have been seized by authorities since the start of President Marcos' administration last year. 

This was bared by House Committee on Dangerous Drugs Chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers in a public hearing of the panel Monday, Oct. 9. 

"On behalf of all the members of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, I would like to extend my heartfelt felicitations to our law enforcement agencies, the PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), PDEG (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency), and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), for a very, very fruitful campaign against illegal drugs under the administration of President BBM (Bongbong Marcos)," Barbers said in his opening statement. 

"From July 1, 2022, the first day in office of our President, until today we have a total drug haul of almost 4.4 tons of shabu, and almost three tons of dried marijuana leaves, aside from other drugs that have been seized," he noted. 

Barbers said the figure included the huge drug confiscations from Pampanga that have grabbed headlines recently. 

Monday's hearing resulted from the filing of House Resolution (HR) Nos. 1346 and 1351 by Senior Deputy Speaker Pampanga 3rd district Rep. Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales Jr. and Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, respectively. 

According to Barbers, the street value of the sezied "shabu" alone is over P30 billion. Shabu--methamphetamine hydrochloride--is also known as "poor man's cocaine". 

"All your hardwork, diligence and perseverance are bearing positive accomplishments. May you continue your dedication to duty and may none of you be tempted to sell this country and our youth to this evil," he said. 

"This amount can most definitely finance the elections and victory of drug lords in our political arena," pointed out Barbers. 

During the hearing, Gonzales expressed deep concern that areas in Pampanga are being used for smuggling illegal drugs. 

“Nakakalungkot at nakakaalarma na ang dating tahimik na bayan ng Mexico at siyudad ng Mabalacat ay nabahiran ng ganitong klaseng kontrobersiya (It's saddening and worrisome that the once quiet town of Mexico and City of Mabalacat have been tainted by this controversy). For the information of all, the municipality of Mexico, which is under my jurisdiction, is a booming economy in Central Luzon,” he said. 

“The good people of Mexico worked hard to achieve where they are now. And I will not let these incidents hinder future investments and other economic opportunities. We will get to the bottom of this problem and all people involved will have their day in court,” declared the senior deputy speaker. 

Both Barbers and Gonzales vowed to unveil the names and personalities involved in the smuggling of illegal drugs in the country. 

“We will thresh out the whys and hows our country continues to be the favorite destination of illegal drugs and who are the big personalities or even bigger entities behind these shipments to flood us with these contrabands with fictitious and non-existent consignees,” Barbers said. 

Gonzales said, “We will dig deeper and uncover the mystery behind this smuggling because I believe that there are personalities who knowingly facilitated this shipment. Maparaan at talagang wala ng takot ang mga smugglers na sumisira sa ating bansa (The smugglers who hurt the country know how to improvise and are fearless)."