Manila: The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) urged citizens to take part in its anti-drug campaign through the ‘Operation Private Eye’ (OPE) program. OPE, which was initiated by the Dangerous Drug Board (DDB), offers cash rewards of up to PHP2 million for information leading to successful drug operations, according to lawyer Joseph Calulut, spokesperson of the PDEA.

“We are inviting the public to join the campaign and be a part of nation building for a better Bagong Pilipinas,” he said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. The program, he explained, was put up to encourage public participation in the fight against illegal drugs while keeping informants’ identities protected. Registered informants are assigned a confidential code instead of using their real names. The reward will be based on the amount of the confiscated drugs and the arrest of persons involved, he added.

“The highest reward per successful operation is PHP2 million in cash if the confiscated items are shabu, cocaine, heroin, ketamine and ecstasy,” he said. Information resulting in the seizure or destruction of marijuana can earn up to PHP500,000, or 2 percent of its value.

Calulut said that from 2023 to the present, nine individuals in the Cordillera region have benefited from the program, receiving a total of PHP1,621,801 in cash rewards. He added that since the start of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration in 2022, PDEA has processed 171 reward claims nationwide, amounting to PHP81,880,751.05. A total of 710 claims have been granted to informants whose tips led to successful anti-drug operations across the country since the program started in 2003.

Calulut urged the public to report drug activities through PDEA’s confidential hotlines: 0995-354-7020 and 0931-027-8212.