GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Authorities have expanded the manhunt against a fugitive marijuana cultivator linked to another upland plantation discovered over the weekend in a hinterland village in Tampakan town, South Cotabato province.

Naravy Duquiatan, director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Soccsksargen (PDEA-12), said on Monday that various law enforcement units are currently tracking suspect Jimben Sinaya, the reported cultivator of the PHP2.4 million worth of marijuana uprooted last Saturday at Sitio Tukaymal, Barangay Tablu in Tampakan.

She said the suspect was also the cultivator of the 13,000 marijuana plants that were found by joint operatives last January 14 in the middle of a corn farm in Sitio Bong Sbang, Barangay Danlag.

Sinaya, a resident of Danlag, reportedly escaped during the operation then and was charged with violation of Section 16 or “cultivation or culture of plants classified as dangerous drugs,” under Article II of Republic Act 9165, also known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

“The suspect will be facing the same case,” Duquiatan told reporters.

The plantation area at Sitio Tukaymal was reached around 10 a.m. last Saturday by elements from PDEA South Cotabato Provincial Office, South Cotabato Police Provincial Office, Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit, and the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion.

Col. Nathaniel Villegas, South Cotabato police director, said around 12,000 fully grown marijuana plants were uprooted and eventually burned on-site.

He said the burning was witnessed by an official of Barangay Danlag and a reporter of a local radio station.

The official said in a statement late Sunday night that the operation was a manifestation of “our desire to make South Cotabato a drug-free community.”

“The uprooting of marijuana is one major way to deter criminal and terrorist acts. In this way, we could ensure a brighter future for the younger generations," he said.