Citizen tips lead to 33 ‘high-impact’ drug busts

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) distributed P7.4 million in cash incentives to 31 civilian informants on Monday, rewarding tips that led to dozens of successful anti-drug operations.

PDEA director general Undersecretary Isagani Nerez said information from the “tipsters” resulted in 33 “high-impact” operations.

These raids dismantled criminal networks, led to the seizure of large volumes of illegal drugs, and resulted in the arrest of several high-value targets.

The largest individual reward of P1.8 million went to an informant whose tip led to an October 2025 bust in Candelaria, Quezon.

That operation netted 24.983 kilograms of suspected shabu and the arrest of three suspects.

The rewards are part of “Operation: Private Eye,” an intelligence-driven initiative that encourages the public to report illegal drug activities. Rodolfo Teope, a committee member for the program, said the size of the reward depends on the quality of information and the success of the resulting raid.

“The larger the amount seized and the higher the purity of the drugs, the larger the reward,” Teope said. “We encourage reporting larger operations so that the rewards can also be larger.”