March 29, 2024

Close to P130 million worth of marijuana plants were destroyed in a series of operation conducted by government forces in the region’s biggest plantation sites located in Tinglayan, Kalinga from July 29 to Aug. 19.
Bulk of the destroyed marijuana plants was recorded during the four-day operation conducted at Mount Sumanchil in Loccong, Tinglayan with ranking law enforcement and anti-narcotics officers witnessing the destruction of more than P80M worth of the illegal plant.
Police Regional Office-Cordillera Director B/Gen. R’win Pagkalinawan reported last week that around 404,300 fully grown marijuana plants were destroyed in more than 21 hectares of plantation site at Mount Sumanchil by government forces from Aug. 16 to 19.
Pagkalinawan personally joined government forces in uprooting marijuana plants in one of the plantation sites following a meeting with concerned leaders to support the all-out campaign against marijuana trade in the province.
“Our government forces are relentless in the government’s campaign on illegal drugs, especially marijuana trade in the Cordillera. The support of local leaders and community residents is crucial in winning this campaign,” Pagkalinawan said.
He said the Kalinga Police Provincial Office, Regional Mobile Force Battalion 15, 503rd Brigade of the Philippine Army, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Philippine Navy, National Bureau of Investigation Region 2, and the regional offices of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Cordillera and Region 1 made the anti-marijuana eradication successful.
The PRO-Cor director also reported that around P6M worth of marijuana plants planted in almost five hectare of land were destroyed by government forces in Loccong on Aug. 14.
He added that more than 210,000 pieces of marijuana plants worth P42M were likewise uprooted by composite police and anti-narcotics operatives in Tinglayan on July 30.
PRO-Cor, PDEA-Cordillera, and their support units launched the anti-marijuana eradication operation three months ago, as the months of June to September are the harvest season for the prohibited plant.
In August 2016, a total of P2.2 billion worth of marijuana plants were destroyed by government forces in a series of operation at Mount Sumanchil and Kasablotan, both in Tinglayan.
The marijuana plants were discovered in more than 15 hectares of plantation sites.
Cordillera, particularly the provinces of Kalinga, Benguet, Mountain Province, and some parts of Ifugao, remain as the main source of marijuana plants supplying bulk of demand among users in Luzon. – Harley F. Palangchao