Manila  - Twenty people were arrested Thursday in anti-drug operations in a town and a city outside the Philippine capital, a regional police chief said.

Twelve suspected drug dealers and users were arrested in separate raids in the resort town of Pagsanjan in Laguna province, 40 kilometres south of Manila, Chief Superintendent Perfecto Palad said.

Palad said another eight suspected drug dealers and users were arrested in near-simultaneous raids in the nearby city of San Pablo.

"There will be no let-up in our drug campaign," he said. "We are determined to make our area drug-free."

Dionisio Santiago, chief of the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency, said an estimated 6.7 million Filipinos are using illegal drugs and the illegal trade rakes in 6.4 billion to 8.4 billion dollars annually.

The most abused illegal drugs in the Philippines are methamphetamines, hydrochloride and marijuana, Santiago said.

Last month, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed herself as anti-drug czar in a bid to boost the fight against the illegal drug trade, which her government has called a major national security threat. (dpa)