DRUG PROSECUTORS RESIGN, BUT ORDERED TO STAY PUT

Twenty-three government prosecutors resigned from an anti-narcotics
task force to protest insinuations that some of them were bribed to
dismiss cases against drug traffickers, but Justice Secretary Raul
Gonzalez rejected the mass resignation and told them to stay on.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuno, who heads the Justice
Department's task force on illegal drugs, said the prosecutors wanted
to be relieved of their drug cases because they "cannot work under
this cloud of suspicion and with all these insinuations."

"They also told me that their morale is very low and [they are]
disgusted with the things happening," Zuno added, referring to the
accusations of some operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency that the prosecutors were bribed to drop cases.

At the same time, Zuno demanded that agency substantiate its charges
with evidence.

"Our message to [the agency] is: if you cannot name names, please stop
making allegations," he said, adding that enforcement service head
Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino should identify the person who was
said to have offered a P50-million bribe to drop the cases against
suspects Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson.

Marcelino was summoned by military chief Gen. Alexander Yano so he
could advise the Marine major to resist being used by unidentified
groups.

Yano met Marcelino for 15 minutes at the general's office in Camp
Aguinaldo in Quezon City, and he told the young officer to preserve
his moral courage and be wary of some groups who might take advantage
of the situation.

"He was told to be wary of some groups who might approach him,"
military spokesman Ernest Tores Jr. said.

"He was told to assess well and be objective. Some groups might take
advantage of him and he might end up being used for their hidden agenda."

Marcelino has yet to reveal the identity of a former classmate who
allegedly tried to bribe him to release the drug suspects.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo has backed a proposal to create a
consolidated prosecution arm for the Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Dangerous Drugs Board in a bid to strengthen the government's campaign
against illegal drugs.

Presidential Management Staff head Secretary Cerge Remonde said he met
with DDB chairman Vicente Sotto III and Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco of
the House committee on drugs to discuss the reforms needed following
the controversial case of the Alabang Boys.

"We believe something good will come out of this investigation. We
talked about reforms for the DDB and PDEA because it will be better if
our campaign against drugs are more coordinated," he said.

The Palace made the announcement after the PDEA legal prosecution
service listed at least nine drug cases that were dismissed by the
Justice Department from 2003 to 2008, mostly for lack of evidence and
illegal arrests.

In 2006, government agents raided a laboratory in Calumpit, Bulacan,
and arrested members of one of the biggest drug syndicates in Asia,
but the case was dismissed in 2007.

Another laboratory in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, was raided on Oct. 30, 2007,
but the case was also dismissed on Jan. 10, 2008 for insufficient evidence.

On Feb. 22, 2008, agents arrested Ivan Sarmiento in a sting operation
in Makati and seized 200 pieces of ecstasy worth P417,000 from him,
but the case was dismissed on June 16, 2008 for insufficient evidence.

An estimated P4.62 billion worth of shabu was seized while in
transport to Subic on May 25, 2008, and investigation led authorities
to the warehouse owned by Anthony "Anton" Ang, where 60 more boxes of
illegal drugs were found, but his case was dismissed three months
after his arrest.

A laboratory in Naguilian, La Union, was also raided on July 9, 2008
and six trucks of evidence were seized and six suspects arrested, but
the cases were dismissed four months after the raid. With Jaime
Pilapil, Joyce Panares and Joel Egco