16 PDEA informants get P3.6 million reward

MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen civilian informants received yesterday a total of P3.6 million in cash rewards from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency under the PDEA’s Operation Private Eye, a citizen-based information collection program.

PDEA chief Wilkins Villanueva said tips from informants George, Quarang, Dambo, Hagibis, Hapon, Johnny, Panda, Pantalan, Alvin, Kobid-19, Pogi, Chuckie, Summer, Tukil, Mambo and Je resulted in the arrest of several high-value drug targets.

Pantalan received the highest cash incentive of P722,076 for information that led to the seizure of around 12,000 grams of shabu in Mandaue City last year.

Villanueva said the informants helped PDEA agents seize a total of 40,027 grams of shabu amounting to P272 million, 4,305 tablets of Ecstasy and 732 grams of marijuana.

“Unmindful of the dangers involved, private individuals still go out of their way to report illegal drug activities to PDEA. This is a strong indication that the agency has the trust and confidence of the public,” he said.

The Operation Private Eye rewards committee, composed of members from the academe, non-government organizations, law enforcement, religious and business sectors, approved a resolution granting the monetary rewards to the informants.