The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency led by Undersecretary Arturo Cacdac, PDEA director general, destroyed P4.4 million worth of assorted illegal drugs at the crematorium of the Acropolis Gardens in Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City, yesterday.

 The destruction of the illegal substance, that  had been  used as evidence in drug-related cases filed in various Regional Trial Courts in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental, was witnessed by Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella, the police, media, and representatives from the RTC.

The P4,435,990.72 million worth of illegal drugs, include about 716.76 grams of shabu worth P4,300,056 and 3,883.85 grams of marijuana worth P135,934.72.

Cacdac yesterday said PDEA Region VI recovered P9.9 million worth of illegal drugs for the whole of 2013. And from January to June this year it was able to recover P14 million worth of illegal drugs, which means that their supply reduction effort is improving, he said.

In terms of drug affectation, Cacdac said Western Visayas ranked number 16 out of 17 regions, while the National Capital Region ranked number 1, which means that 92 percent of the barangays in NCR, or nine out of 10 barangays, are drug-affected.

Paul Ledesma, PDEA regional director, said that for Western Visayas to rank number 16 means it is  second to the lowest in terms of barangay drug affectation.

Cacdac urged the public to help the Bacolod City Anti-Drug Abuse Council in the campaign against illegal drugs, during the Barangay Anti-Drug Clearing Operation orientation yesterday in Bacolod City conducted by the Bacolod City Government and the Department of Interior and Local Government.

 “We should not be complacent that we rank low in terms of barangay drug affectation but we have to be pro-active and not wait until it’s too late to recover an affected barangay,” Cacdac said.

They will not hesitate to apprehend persons involved in the illegal sale and distribution of drugs, he said.

Cacdac said that under R.A. 9165 or the Comprehensive Drugs Act, the PDEA is authorized to take custody and facilitate the destruction of all drug evidences covered by court order for destruction.

He said the destruction of drug evidence of assorted illegal drugs is done through burning or thermal  decomposition. The process of burning evidence into ashes will make it impossible to reconstruct the original composition of the substance.

Cacdac said this is PDEA’s way of assuring the public that the confiscated drugs under their custody are indeed destroyed and are not recycled back into the streets.

He encouraged everyone to be vigilant and to be  on guard to keep the city free from the harmful effects of illegal drugs.

“With your support behind PDEA I am confident that we will be able to continue facing the challenges brought about by the nature of law enforcement. We will continue doing this until such time that the last gram of dangerous drug is destroyed and until such time that every Filipino can safely walk the streets of a drug-free community,” Cacdac added.

Meanwhile, Puentevella, who is the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council chairman, congratulated PDEA for a job well done. He said he plans to intensify monitoring activities to prevent the entry of illegal  drugs in the seaports of Bacolod.

He also pointed out that the Bacolod City Police Office received an award for having the most number of drug bust operations Region VI.*CGS

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