Almost 5,000 drug personalities have died in police operations since July 2016, the latest data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) released on Tuesday showed.
Records from the PDEA showed that over a two-year period from July 2016 to September 2018, some 4,948 drug suspects were killed while 158,424 persons were arrested in 110,395 anti-drug operations.
Authorities also confiscated over P25-billion worth of illegal drugs, chemicals, and laboratory equipment from police operations. Of the total value, P18.27-billion worth of “shabu” were recovered.
PDEA said 255 drug dens and laboratories in the country were busted during the same period.
According to the agency, the most common entry points of smuggled “shabu” are coastlines, airports, seaports, malls, and parcels.
PDEA further said that the police had arrested 582 government workers, including 250 elected officials, 270 government employees, and 60 uniformed personnel.
Records also show that 8,766 barangays have been declared drug-free since 2016. However, a total of 23,262 barangays have yet to be cleared by the agency.
PDEA said 286 government law enforcers were dismissed for drug use, while another 105 were dismissed due to other drug-related offenses in two years.
Meanwhile, Bureau of Customs Commissioner (BoC) Isidro Lapeña denied on Tuesday allegations that he is involved in a cover-up of the smuggling of an estimated P6.8 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) through the port of Manila.
Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, deputy collector for passenger service at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, has claimed that Lapeña did not do anything about intelligence reports on alleged illegal drugs concealed in two magnetic lifters at Manila International Container Port (MICP).
The statements that I did nothing with this incident and trying to do cover-up is but absolutely false and I say were imputed with malice,” Lapeña said in a press briefing.
“The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and almost everyone from the BoC know that (I) immediately took action right from the beginning when the lifters were discovered by MICP,” he added.
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