Interior Secretary Benjamin "Benhur" Abalos Jr. on Thursday said he is against decriminalizing drug use in the country as proposed by Senator Ronald de la Rosa.

Abalos averred that drug syndicates would only spread out their illicit merchandise to more pushers so they can claim them to be mere users and not drug peddlers when caught.

De la Rosa said rehabilitating drug users would decongest jails in the country and address the problem of drug addiction as a health issue as raised by Senator Robin Padilla.

"For me, if it is black, it is black. If it is prohibited, then it is prohibited and for me, these are all prohibited. Let us just arrest them," Abalos stressed.

He then vowed to cleanse the ranks of law enforcement groups amid the supposed return of "ninja cops" or members of law enforcement engaged in the resale of drugs confiscated as evidence in drug busts.

The recycling of drugs grabbed the spotlight anew with the arrest by the police of a ranking officer and three agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in a drug sting in Taguig City.

Abalos appealed to the public to help the Philippine National Police in its campaign against illegal drugs. The PNP is overseen by Abalos' department while the PDEA is not.

The DILG chief said that a total of 26,544 or 63.13 percent of all the barangays in the country are drug-cleared, 5,987 or 14.24 percent are drug-free, and 538 or 1.28 percent are drug-unaffected.

He also added that 8,977 or 21.35 percent of barangays are still drug-affected with 329 being classified as seriously affected, 6,623 as moderately affected, and, 2,635 as slightly affected.

He said that in the 1,710 barangays of Metro Manila, 950 are still drug-affected while 754 are drug-cleared, five are drug-free and one is drug unaffected.

Before declaring that a barangay is free from illegal drug activities, the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs must validate the non-availability of drug supply, the absence of drug transit activity, clandestine drug laboratories and chemical warehouses, marijuana cultivation sites, drug dens, drug pushers and users in the area.