Illegal drug haul in 2023 valued at P10.4B, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Approximately P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated while more than 27,000 barangays were cleared of narcotics in 2023, the Palace announced on Thursday.

FILE PHOTO: Law enforcement authorities seize P754.8 million worth of “shabu” or crystal meth from two buy-bust operations in Barangay Pampang in Angeles, Pampanga on February 19, 2023. Courtesy of PDEA

Malacañang attributed the government’s drug haul and anti-drug achievement last year to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s renewed, holistic approach against illegal drugs. Marcos previously said the illegal drug problem is a mental health issue, emphasizing the importance of rehabilitation.

“The Marcos administration had reported confiscating around P10.41 billion worth of illegal drugs from January to December 2023 and cleared more than 27,000 barangays of narcotics under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s new approach to address the menace,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement.

Citing data from the Philippine National Police (PNP), the PCO said 56,495 suspects were arrested following the conduct of 44,000 anti-illegal drug operations.

It also said that a total of 23 provinces, 447 municipalities, and 43 cities have created community-based drug rehabilitation programs as of December 27, 2023.

The campaign against illegal drugs under the Marcos administration has been called less intense by Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who was the chief of the PNP during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.

Last year, Marcos acknowledged abuses in the anti-drug campaign of his predecessor.

“It could be said that there were abuses by certain elements in the government, and that has caused some concern with many quarters about the human rights situation in the Philippines,” Marcos said in May 2023.