PNP OFFICIAL ASSAILS PASIG CITY MAYOR FOR DESTROYING DRUG DEN

A Philippine National Police official yesterday assailed Pasig City
Mayor Vicente Eusebio for ordering the demolition of a drug enclave
without coordinating with his office.

PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOFT) chief
Director Marcelo Ele Jr. said the Pasig City Mayor's Office should
have first coordinated with PNP officials before ordering the
destruction of shanties inside a compound that housed a "shabu flea
market," which was the subject of a raid last Friday.

Calling the shanties "real and actual evidence," Ele said the order
was "interfering with the administration of the law." He added that
the demolition could be deemed as obstruction of justice.

"They should have coordinated first before anything was done. We were
surprised at the mayor's reaction. The entire colony is real and
actual evidence. It is fundamental that this compound, along with the
shanties, be probed," he explained.

Despite the destruction of the compound, however, Ele said he was
confident that AID-SOFT operatives have a strong case against the 302
suspects arrested in the area. He disclosed that his personnel, along
with members of the media, have file photos of some of the suspects
arrested in the area, and that these could be used as evidence in court.

"We are confident that we still have enough evidence despite the
demolition. But the demolition somehow preempted some of the pending
investigations [in the raided enclave]," he said.

Ele's original plan, he said, was to continue probing the site for
further evidence.

"Paano na yun [What will happen now]? The local police should have
prevented the demolition," he said.

He explained that after the Feb. 10 raid, his agents padlocked the
area and placed police lines to ensure that the area be kept under
police surveillance.

Earlier, Eusebio ordered the demolition of more than 50 shanties
inside the U-shaped, 600 sqm compound in Barangay Sto. Tomas, which
housed the shabu den.