PDEA-PNP CONTINUES PUSH TO DISMANTLE ILLEGAL MARIJUANA CULTIVATION IN BENGUET
Fully grown marijuana plants with an estimated total worth of P2,480,000.00 were destroyed in Barangay Badeo, Kibungan, Benguet, on March 9 to 10, 2026.
Operating troops from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency- Cordillera (PDEA-CAR)- Ifugao Provincial Office, along with the Baguio/ Benguet Provincial Office, Kibungan Municipal Police Station, and Benguet 2nd Police Mobile Force Company, uprooted a total of 12,400 marijuana plants found in four locations covering an area of 1,550 square meters.
These efforts eradicated about 2,800 marijuana plants valued at P560,000 from the first plot. The second plot yielded 2,000 plants valued at P400,000. The third site had about 5,600 plants valued at P1,120,000, and the fourth site had 2,000 plants valued at P400,000. All marijuana plants were burned on-site.
No one was taken into custody during the operation. An investigation is underway to identify the landowner and cultivator responsible for the illegal plants.
Marijuana remains prohibited in the country. Possession, sale, or cultivation is a criminal offense under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, with a penalty of life imprisonment, including a fine of P500,000 to P10,000,000. # (PDEA – CAR File photos)
