MANILA — Since the launch of the anti-drug campaign by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in mid-2022, authorities have arrested over 5,000 high-value targets and seized drugs worth approximately PHP 32 billion, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported on Wednesday.
In its latest report on the national anti-drug campaign, PDEA stated that a total of 5,366 HVTs were arrested between July 1, 2022, and January 31, 2024.
These individuals are among the 79,841 drug suspects apprehended in 58,496 operations during this period, the agency added.
During the same period, authorities confiscated illegal drugs nationwide with a total value of PHP 31.98 billion.
This included 4,317.46 kg of shabu, 50.47 kg of cocaine, 54,013 ecstasy tablets, and 3,197.19 kg of marijuana.
Meanwhile, according to PDEA, 28,247 out of the 42,000 barangays (villages) in the country have been declared «drug-cleared,» while 7,264 are still undergoing the clearing process.
These barangays received their «drug-cleared» status after being certified by members of the oversight committee for the Barangay Drug Clearing Program, the agency noted.
During the same period, authorities dismantled 856 drug dens and an underground shabu laboratory.
