By HENRY EMPEÑO | August 14, 2025

MASINLOC, Zambales — Authorities in Bataan recovered six sacks of suspected methamphetamine hydrocholoride or “shabu” off the coast of Mariveles, Bataan, the Bataan Provincial Police Office (PPO) said late Thursday.

The illegal drugs, contained in 118 packs weighing a total of 118 kilos, was worth about P802.4 million, the Bataan police added.

The drugs were concealed mostly in food packets marked with Chinese characters. Photos released by the Bataan PPO also showed packs labeled as “dried durian.”

Police seized the illegal drugs following a tip from a concerned citizen, who discovered the sacks near a lighthouse at Barangay Sisiman in Mariveles.

Combined elements of the Mariveles Police Station, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Bataan, along with drug enforcement and intelligence units of the Bataan PPO then recovered the items and made an inventory before the media, barangay officials and a representative from the Department of Justice.

The drug haul thereafter was turned over to the Bataan Forensic Unit for examination and proper disposition, the police said.

Police Region III commander PBGen Ponce Rogelio Peñones III, who witnessed the inventory, commended the cooperation of the public and the swift action of the Bataan PNP that resulted in the drug seizure.

“This significant recovery is a testament to what can be achieved when the community and law enforcement work hand-in-hand,” Peñones said. “Every kilo of drugs we take off the streets is a step closer to safeguarding our communities and securing a better future for our nation,” he added.

The recovery of illegal drugs on Thursday is the latest in a string of seizures of shabu found in the West Philippine Sea.

The first incident was last May 29, when a fishing crew from Bataan found 10 sacks of “shabu” floating at sea west of the Scarborough Shoal. The fishermen brought home the extraordinary catch also to Brgy. Sisiman in Mariveles and reported the discovery to the local police.

The Bataan PPO said the May 29 shabu haul weighed 222 kilos and was worth P1.5 billion.

Since then, local fishermen have discovered floating sacks of shabu in the waters off Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and Cagayan provinces, the PDEA said.

The biggest recovery so far was made last June 20 when the Philippine Navy through its Northern Luzon Naval Command, along with PDEA agents, intercepted a 1.5-ton shabu shipment worth P10 billion from a fishing boat off the Zambales coast. 