6 PDEA AGENTS RELIEVED FOR 'SHABU MARKET' FIASCO

Include DILG, PNP In Probe - Miriam

Six team members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) were
relieved of their duties yesterday for their alleged failure to detect
the existence of a "shabu market" that was discovered by a police
raiding team in Pasig City last week.

Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido Jr., PDEA executive director, yesterday
ordered the six PDEA team members to undergo investigation for
possible neglect of duty following the discovery of the shabu den on
E. Soriano St., Sitio Mapayapa, Barangay Santo Tomas in Pasig City.

The relieved PDEA personnel were identified as SPO2 Arsenio Gregorio
Jr., team leader; and members SPO2 Oscar Rudas, SPO1 Tomas Calicdan,
PO3 Eleonito Aptuhan, PO2 Celino Sumauang and PO2 Ramil Policarpio.

Assistant Secretary Rodolfo Caisip, PDEA deputy chief, said the six
will be placed under investigation for possible lapses in their duty.

"They will also be subjected to drug tests to be supervised by the
PNP Crime Laboratory Service to determine if they are users of
prohibited drugs such as shabu and marijuana," Caisip added.

Immediately after the raid, PNP chief Director General Arturo C.
Lomibao ordered the relief of 19 policemen assigned at the Police
Community Precinct (PCP) 20, Pasig City Police Anti-Narcotics Unit,
and Eastern Police District (EPD) Drug Enforcement Unit.

Lomibao expressed disgust over the discovery of the "shabu market"
located just a few meters away from PCP 20. Lomibao did not rule out a
connivance between police authorities and drug syndicates.

"The drug den could not have lasted this long without the cooperation
of corrupt police officials and men. They should be unmasked and
punished. No one should be spared," Avenido stressed.

A total of 319 persons - 216 of them adults while the rest minors -
were picked up by elements of the Anti-Illegal Drugs -Special
Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF) during the raid last Friday.

Last Sunday, the PNP-CLS authorities found 179 of those arrested
positive for using shabu and marijuana. Of the 179, 11 are minors.
They are now detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame in
Quezon City.

As of press time yesterday, PNP authorities were still waiting for the
arrival of the prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DoJ) in
Camp Crame to file the appropriate criminal charges against those
found positive of using illegal drugs.

AID-SOTF authorities also recovered two kilos of shabu, several drug
paraphernalia and two handguns during the raid in the 1,000-square
meter shabu den.

Heads Will Roll

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago filed a resolution yesterday
mandating the proper Senate committees to investigate, in aid of
legislation, public officials who allowed a slum area in Pasig City to
become a virtual public market of illegal drugs.

Senate Resolution 442 also directed the Senate to include in its probe
the liability of officials of the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG), the local government of Pasig and the Philippine
National Police (PNP) as well as barangay officials of Palatiw in
Sitio Mapayapa, Pasig City.

"The compound is composed of numerous 'one-stop-shop' shabu
restaurants where users could rent shabu paraphernalia and buy drugs
at R5,000 per gram," said Santiago adding that the operation has been
going on for almost a year without being caught by local barangay and
police officers in the area.

Santiago pointed out that under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive
Dangerous Act of 2002, the government shall pursue an intensive and
unrelenting campaign against the trafficking and use of dangerous
drugs and other similar substances through an integrated system of
planning, implementation, and enforcement of antidrug abuse policies,
programs, and projects.

The latest incident, however, where rampant peddling of illegal drugs
remained unabated for almost a year in broad daylight means that
authorities may not be taking the law seriously.

According to Santiago, it is alarming that reports by the United
Nations (UN) indicated that the country, despite its stringent penalty
being imposed by the law, has remained one of the countries with a
high incidence of drug addiction especially in Asia.

The same report also claimed that the Philippines is one of the
leading countries with a high volume of shabu being manufactured locally.