The drug-cleared barangays in Western Visayas have hit 90.25 percent, with Bacolod City still the lowest performer at 22.95 percent, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported Wednesday, July 14.
The topnotchers are Aklan and Guimaras with drug cleared barangays at 100 percent, followed by Antique at 99.66 percent, Iloilo province – 98.55 percent, Capiz – 91.12 percent, Negros Occidental – 67.89 percent and Iloilo City – 52.22 percent, the PDEA reported during the Regional Peace and Order Council meeting at the Negros Residences in Bacolod City,
The report also said that P87.22 million in illegal drugs have been seized in Western Visayas from January 1 to May 31.
Iloilo City had the highest amount of drugs seized at P29.7 million, followed by Bacolod City with P26.6 million, Iloilo province – P12.8 million, Negros Occidental – P9 million, Capiz – P8.1 million, Guimaras- P554,848, Antique – P125,892, and Aklan – P70,028.
Western Visayas was ranked as the region with the fifth lowest drug affectation in the country for the first quarter of 2023.
The PDEA also reported that after NCR where shabu is sold at P14,333 a gram, Western Visayas has the second highest price in the country at P9,122.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said it is believed that if drug prices are high there is a scarcity in supply in the area.
This is an indication that the shabu supply in Negros is low, Lacson said.
There are no clandestine drug laboratories and chemical warehouses that have been dismantled in Western Visayas, the PDEA said.
WV in a consuming and transshipment region, it added in its report.*