THE PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency Region (PDEA) XI is set to publicly incinerate a substantial volume of confiscated illegal drugs on Nov. 18, 2026, as part of activities highlighting Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Week.
PDEA XI regional director Benjamin Gaspi announced during the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps weekly media briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that the destruction will take place at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Davao City.
“It is important for the public to witness that illegal drugs seized by PDEA XI and the Philippine National Police are actually destroyed,” Gaspi said. “There will be multiple official witnesses present as the drugs are incinerated and cremated inside the facility, similar to human cremation.”
Gaspi also provided key regional drug threat updates, highlighting that major urban centers in Davao del Norte—particularly Tagum City and Panabo City—continue to account for the highest volume of drug confiscations in the Davao Region.
He attributed the concentration of illicit supply in these areas to rapid urbanization, higher consumer purchasing power, and extensive coastal access points, contrasting it with provinces like Davao Occidental where sparse populations and lower economic mobility result in minimal seizures.
Gaspi clarified that while local street-level pushers are frequently apprehended in various street-level buy-bust operations, the bulk of illicit drugs entering Mindanao originates outside the region.
“We have no operational shabu laboratories in the region, ” Gaspi explained. “Most supply flows in from Marawi, Cotabato, Samar, and Tawi-Tawi via Zamboanga.”
He added that while some shipments are intercepted in Tagum or Panabo, those cities often serve as transit corridors for illicit narcotics intended for downstream distribution in Caraga Region or neighboring provinces.
