75 villages still drug-affected

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Cordillera said 75 out of 1,176 barangays in the region remain drug-affected.

In his report to the Regional Development and Peace and Order Council (RDC-RPOC) in its 4th quarter meeting at the Presidential Mansion in Baguio City, PDEA-Cordillera Director Edgar Apalla explained the data was based on their fourth quarter monitoring from October 1 to December of this year.

PDEA said of the 159 drug personalities being monitored, 61 have been placed on the target list while 98 are on the watchlist.

During the period, PDEA and other law enforcement units and agencies including the military have conducted 269 operations in their respective areas of responsibility or AOR.

These anti-drug operations resulted in the seizure of dangerous drugs with a total street value of P11.6 million.

Meanwhile, the PDEA in the region said they are continuously monitoring the entry of illegal particularly during this holiday season as it believes traffickers may take advantage of this time as many tourists are expected to visit the highland.

“This holiday season, thousands of tourists are expected to flock to the region. Drug peddlers might take advantage of it, posing as tourists, bringing in illegal drugs,” Apalla said.

Based on its records, shabu remains to be the drug of choice of users citing data from arrested personalities. As of December 11, 2018 majority of arrested drug personalities have been involved in shabu cases.

Cordillera however remains the top source of marijuana grown in different parts of the region, particularly in Kalinga.

“Marijuana plantations are believed to be located in the hinterlands in the municipality of Tinglayan, Kalinga based on the previous eradication operations conducted," he added.

Apalla noted marijuana extracts are allegedly being processed in Tinglayan, where plants are reaped, dried, compacted into bricks and transported outside of the region, aside from hashish and hash oil.

PDEA also noted the resurgence of marijuana cultivation in the municipality of Kibungan, adding marijuana is brought out of the region for some parts of Luzon using PUVs, private and rented vehicles passing through major routes.

It also added the Cordillera and Ilocos police are closely monitoring the possible re-emergence of shabu and marijuana in the boundaries of the provinces of La Union, Benguet and Ilocos Sur as part of pre-emptive measures.