GOVERNMENT operatives arrested 11,479 drug “high-value targets” (HVTs) during the first 44 months of the Duterte administration, which ends at 12 noon on June 30 next year.
Of the number, 946 were public servants, including 375 elected government officials, according to figures from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Chaired by Director-General Wilkins Villanueva, PDEA, the law enforcement arm of the Dangerous Drugs Board, said the HVTs were nabbed from July 1, 2016 to Feb. 28, 2020.
Those arrested also included 300 foreign nationals, 108 uniformed personnel and 463 other state employees.
During the period under review, government anti-narcotics operatives likewise nabbed 279,623 individuals involved in the illegal but highly-profitable drug business.
The operatives rescued 3,595 children involved in illegal drug activities, including 2,070 tagged as pushers, 918 possessors, 405 drug users and 177 visitors of drug dens.
They seized illegal drugs, controlled precursors, essential chemicals and laboratory equipment worth a total of P57.81 billion.
As the lead agency in the all-out war against the drug menace, the PDEA has adopted a three-pronged strategy aimed at ridding the country of habit-forming substances.
It has come up with a working group to monitor and validate drug-clearing operations and prevent the proliferation of prohibited drugs in villages throughout the country.
With the help of the Philippine National Police, other law enforcement agencies and local government units, the PDEA is doing a great job fighting the dreaded “drug monster.“
