The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency recently stressed that illegal drugs demand reduction, rehabilitation and reintegration are also part of its strategy in the government's campaign against the proliferation of banned substances.

According to PDEA spokesperson Derrick Arnold Carreon, drug syndicates still abound in the country due to the demand on illegal drugs which volumes are coursed through "whatever avenues they can find, mostly by smuggling.''

"This is exactly the point. What matters here is just like in the recent operation of the Philippine National Police where almost a ton of shabu was recovered is that it shows that there is still a demand for the illegal drugs and drug syndicates will continue sending to the country illegal drugs," said Carreon in a television interview.

"In order to fill that demand and this brings to the fore the importance also of putting equal emphasis on demand reduction as well as rehabilitation and reintegration," he added.

The PDEA spokesperson also said the scheme is exactly in line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that provides similar importance on demand reduction, rehabilitation and reintegration.

However, Carreon stressed that "we hold to our belief that our illegal drugs situation is still good and that right now if you will allow us to explain that out of the 42,046 barangays in the Philippines, drug cleared barangays now number about 26,093 with drug affected barangays only at 9,414."

He said that the percentage of the nationwide drug-affectation now is only at 22.39 percent with the mother program of which is going after the big-time drug syndicates.

Despite the figures, Carreon did not deny that the Philippines remains both a drug consuming country and still a potential transshipment point of illegal drugs to other neighboring countries which have an equally high demand for these dangerous drugs.

"But again, as explained by PDEA director general Wilkins Villanueva, rest assured that we are in a good situation where the government is on top of the situation," Carreon said.

He also disclosed that the anti-illegal drug campaign of the government is geared towards "the big-time syndicates."

Citing latest operations, Carreon enumerated that on 3 July, there were two successive operations, one that took place in Banawe Street in Quezon City where 40 kilos of shabu worth P272 million was confiscated.