AUTHORITIES recovered 43 sacks of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, along a coastal area in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro, March 10, 2026.
Brigadier General Melencio Ragudo, 203rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the contraband bore foreign markings.
Soldiers recovered the items from a speedboat that ran aground near the shore of Barangay Harrison.
Ragudo said residents saw two foreign-looking men operating the boat who refused assistance.
“Sumadsad siguro may natamaan siyang medyo matigas nabutas ‘yung speedboat. Nung nilapitan sila ng mga tao ayaw nilang tumanggap ng tulong so ‘yung mga tao nagduda kasi hgindi sila naiintindihan hindi marunong mag-Tagalog tapos ayaw nila ng tulong, tapos parang nagmomotion sila na hindi nila kailangan ng tulong tumabi lang sila para magpahinga ngayon,” Ragudo said.
(It probably ran aground and hit something somewhat hard, which punctured the speedboat. When people approached them to help, they refused the assistance. So the people became suspicious because they couldn’t understand them—they didn’t know how to speak Tagalog—and they kept refusing help. They were making gestures that they didn’t need assistance and had only stopped to rest.)
“Kaya ‘yung mga tao tumawag sa patrol base, nung nakita nung dalawa na may papunta na naka-uniporme tumakbo na ‘yung dalawang Chinese,” he added.
(So the people called the patrol base, and when the two saw that someone in uniform was approaching, the two Chinese men ran away.)
Ragudo said the illegal drugs have an estimated value of P17 billion to P20 billion.
Manhunt operations against the two passengers continue. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)