GLORIA DARED TO GO AFTER PASIG DRUG DEN 'PROTECTORS'

Insinuating that high officials of the local government of Pasig City
were somehow involved in its unmitigated operations, Pasig Rep. Robert
"Dodot" Jaworski Jr. yesterday challenged the Arroyo government to
look deeper into and prosecute those found to have had a hand in the
operations of a big drug den in the city that was recently busted by
the authorities.

Yesterday, during a media forum held weekly at a hotel in Quezon City,
Jaworski said the continued and practically open operations for two
years of the "shabu tiangge" (public market for the illegal drug)
located less than a kilometer away from the Pasig City Hall and the
headquarters of the Eastern Police District imply that the racket has
been "untouchable" and enjoying protection from local officials. This,
he said, shows how the city's officials have been "blatantly
disregarding the law" and the government therefore should act to
emphasize upon them the potency of the law.

Jaworski said if the Arroyo administration is truly sincere in its
vaunted intensified campaign against illegal drugs, it should use this
opportunity to show its seriousness and determination in its drive to
wipe out the drug menace and prosecute not only the so-called small
fry but its bigger beneficiaries - the local government and police
officials who are either protectors of the manufacturers and sellers
of the illegal drugs or are themselves their producers and
distributors.

"This is a challenge to the Arroyo government, this is an acid test
for President Arroyo," the Pasig lawmaker maintained.

Jaworski reiterated his call for Pasig City city officials including
Mayor Vicente Eusebio to be held under preventive suspension so as not
to jeopardize the follow-up operations being conducted by the
Philippine National Police on the other suspects linked to the busted
drug den's operations.

Jaworski earlier questioned why Eusebio ordered the demolition of the
shanties used by suspected drug dealers inside the Mapayapa Compound
in Barangay Sto. Tomas in Pasig that were raided by police last Feb.
10 when, he said, more pieces of evidence could have been obtained
that could lead authorities to the source of the illegal substances.

He said the Pasig City government should not have ordered the
immediate demolition of the shanties but should have carried it out
after the police's investigations in the area had been concluded.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) also earlier said it was
studying the possibility of filing charges against Pasig City
officials in connection with the "destruction" of vital evidence
against the drug dealers involved in the operations of the "shabu tiangge."

Chief Inspector Eduardo Quiocho, PDEA assistant public information
officer, said vital pieces of evidence were destroyed in the
demolition of the "shabu tiangge."

Quiocho also said PDEA had been receiving reports that some officials
of the city are involved in the drug trade and it was allegedly the
reason the drug den was swiftly ordered demolished to destroy
implicating evidence that could point to them.

Jaworski said the hasty demolition of the shanties that made up the
"shabu tiangge" was ordered by Eusebio done to cover up "evidence."

He added he was just waiting for the Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special
Operating Task Force (AID-SOTF) to come out with its findings of its
investigation before he files a case against Eusebio at the Office of
the Ombudsman.

He said he would charge the mayor with gross inexcusable negligence
and violation of Presidential Decree 1829, which penalizes the
obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of (illegal drug) offenders.

The AID-SOTF, which wanted the shanties preserved as evidence, also
said it is contemplating on lodging a similar case against Eusebio.

Jaworski the other day also claimed the Pasig mayor was harrassing
witnesses and dissuading them from testifying and linking him to the
so-called shabu market.

On Thursday, an anti-crime watchdog and a number of senators also
criticized Eusebio for ordering the demolition of the drug den.

Last Feb. 10, police swooped down on the 600-sqm Mapayapa Compound on
F. Soriano Street in Barangay Sto. Tomas, Pasig, arresting 302 persons
and seizing P4 million worth of shabu, or metampethamine
hydrochloride, a banned substance, two pistols and bales of drug
paraphernalia.

After having them undergo a medical examination, 168 of the 302
persons arrested tested positive for drug use.

Twenty-five policemen and barangay officials were also ordered
relieved after the raid.

PDEA estimates that 3 million Filipinos are presently hooked on
illegal drugs. It said the illegal drugs trade is a P300-billion
"industry."