The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Friday revealed that close to 28,000 villages across the country have been cleared of illegal drugs since the start of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Data released by the PDEA showed that a total of 27,903 out of the 42,045 barangays have been declared drug-cleared, while 7,634 barangays were drug-affected as of October 2023.

The drug-clear status follows the certification of members of the oversight committee on the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program.

Under the BDCP, law enforcement agencies take care of supply reduction efforts to disrupt the manufacture and distribution of dangerous drugs, while government agencies and local government units focus on demand and harm reduction strategies to prevent people from taking and wanting illegal drugs and reform drug offenders to become productive citizens of society.

The PDEA also said that authorities have seized P30.10 billion worth of narcotics across the country as of October 2023.

It added that the total amount of seized narcotics included more than 4,000 kilograms of shabu, 47.80kg of cocaine, 53,023 ecstasy tablets and 2,974.12kg of marijuana.

The same data also showed 68,599 suspects were arrested, including 4,731 high-value targets in 49,863 anti-illegal drugs operations from 1 July 2022 to 31 October this year.

Authorities also dismantled 781 drug dens and one clandestine shabu laboratory during the same period.