Under the leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., a new system for the rapid destruction of confiscated illegal drugs is now in place, a move praised by law enforcement officials for effectively preventing the “recycling” and reselling of narcotics.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced the new policy during a discussion following the President’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA). “Now, there is a system for immediate destruction within a certain number of days,” Remulla said. “There is no more recycling of drugs in the Philippines.”
Undersecretary Isagani Nerez, Director General of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), detailed the key procedural change. Previously, a court order was required to destroy all seized illegal drugs. The new policy allows for the immediate destruction of narcotics from operations where no suspects were arrested, upon certification by the PDEA in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
This initiative follows President Marcos Jr.’s report in his recent SONA that more than PhP83 billion worth of illegal drugs have been confiscated just three years into his term. This figure nearly surpasses the total amount seized during the entire six-year term of the previous administration.
Secretary Remulla credited this significant accomplishment to the President’s clear directive to focus on major drug sources and to ensure all confiscated drugs are destroyed quickly and efficiently. The new policy is a major step in the administration’s sustained campaign to eliminate illegal drugs from the country.
