Police in the Cordillera Administrative Region seized illegal drugs worth ₱6,288,200 and arrested five drug personalities during a series of anti-drug operations conducted in Kalinga, Benguet, and Baguio City on March 12, 2026.
The operations were part of the intensified campaign of the Police Regional Office Cordillera Administrative Region (PRO CAR) against illegal drugs.
During marijuana eradication operations in Barangay Butbut Proper, Tinglayan, Kalinga, police discovered a plantation containing 9,520 fully grown marijuana plants with a standard drug price of ₱1,904,000. The operation involved personnel from the Tinglayan Municipal Police Station, Lubuagan Municipal Police Station, the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit of the Kalinga Police Provincial Office, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Kalinga.
Authorities also discovered five additional marijuana plantation sites in Benguet. The plantations, located in Barangay Kayapa in Bakun, Barangay Eddet in Kabayan, and Barangay Tacadang in Kibungan, contained a total of 18,700 fully grown marijuana plants valued at ₱3,740,000.
The operations were conducted by personnel from the Bakun, Kabayan, and Kibungan Municipal Police Stations; the 1st and 2nd Benguet Provincial Mobile Force Companies; several units of the Benguet Police Provincial Office; Regional Mobile Force Battalion 15; and intelligence units of PRO CAR, with support from PDEA-CAR.
All discovered marijuana plants were uprooted and burned by the operatives.
Authorities said investigations are continuing to identify possible additional plantation sites in nearby areas and determine individuals involved in cultivating the illegal crops.
Meanwhile, four men listed as High Value Individuals were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Caponga, Tublay, Benguet after selling a sack containing 4,000 grams of dried marijuana leaves and stalks with fruiting tops worth ₱480,000 to an undercover operative.
Police also seized another 1,000 grams of dried marijuana valued at ₱120,000 from the suspects.
In a separate operation, one Street Level Individual was arrested in Barangay Irisan, Baguio City after authorities seized three sachets of suspected shabu weighing 6.5 grams worth ₱44,200.
The suspects and confiscated evidence were placed under the custody of the respective operating units for documentation and proper disposition.
They will face charges for violating Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
