FOLLOWING the “go signal” from the court, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Davao Region (PDEA-Davao) in collaboration with PDEA-Soccsksargen, destroyed nearly P20 million worth of confiscated illegal drugs in a Davao City funeral home’s incinerator for cremation on Monday, December 2, 2024. This significant operation marks one of the biggest achievements of the drug agency for this year.
According to Edgar T. Jubay, PDEA-Davao regional director, the court mandates that all seized narcotics and other dangerous drugs collected over years of anti-drug operations should be disposed of in a thermal facility to curb recycling schemes or being peddled back in the streets.
Of the number provided by the agency, they have disposed of approximately 1,661 grams of shabu worth P11 million and 40,236 grams of marijuana worth nearly P5 million. Meanwhile, it has also destroyed around P1 million worth of expired substances.
As defined in Article 1, Section 3 of the Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, dangerous drugs include, but not limited to, heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine or cocaine hydrocholoride, marijuana, marijuana resin, marijuana resin oil, methamphetamine hydrochloride or "shabu" methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), or "ecstasy" paramethoxyamphetamine (PMA), trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), lysergic diethylamine (LSD) and gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
Under the Prompt Dangerous Drugs Destruction Act of 2023, PDEA said that the destruction of seized illegal drugs in operations will put an end to the cycle of drug pilferage and recycling.
The PDEA will select the cremation facility that will carry out the drug annihilation procedure, giving preference to the facility closest to the location where the dangerous drugs were found or to the court with jurisdiction over the matter.
Any crematorium or incinerator facility that would provide services under the legislation would receive tax incentives in exchange, which would allow them to receive a tax credit of 10 percent of their taxable gross income for a maximum of P50,000 over a two-year period. DEF
