THE House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers met with government enforcement agencies on Monday to discuss the apparent use of Subic Bay Freeport Zone as an entry point of illegal drugs into the country, after illicit drugs were confiscated in Pampanga.
The meeting, which was held based on House Resolution (HR) 1346 filed by Senior Deputy Speaker (SDS) Aurelio Gonzales Jr., and HR 1351 filed by Zambales Rep. Jefferson Konghun, was attended by representatives from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Customs (BOC), and Philippine National Police (PNP).
SDS Gonzales said he filed HR 1346 to find answers on how some 700 kilograms of illegal drugs were smuggled in Pampanga.
This year, the NBI Manila Task Force against illegal drugs and the PNP Mabalacat City discovered 200 kilograms of suspected shabu in an abandoned vehicle at a mall parking lot. On September 24, 2023, a total of 530 kilograms of shabu valued at P3.6-billion were confiscated from a warehouse owned by a certain “Mr. Willy Ong.”
The said warehouse is in Barangay Malino, Mexico, Pampanga.
NBI Forensic Chemist Juliet Maghilum confirmed that the substance seized was “dimethyl sulfone,” which can act as an extender or adulterant of shabu.
“It only shows that there is a clandestine shabu laboratory in the Philippines right now. And those substances that we were able to seize are going to be used in the manufacture of illegal drugs,” NBI Task Force Against Illegal Drugs (TFAID) Chief Atty. Jonathan Galicia explained.
SDS Gonzales estimated billions worth of suspected illegal drugs were confiscated and intercepted in Mabalacat City and Mexico, Pampanga from 2021 to October 4, 2023. An executive session was held to further go into the specifics of these drug bust operations.
