NAVOTAS Mayor Toby Tiangco Monday cried foul when he learned that he
and Valenzuela City Mayor Emmanuel Carlos might be held culpable for
the operation of a shabu warehouse and laboratory in their respective
jurisdictions.
"Does it mean that if there are criminals caught in my turf, it
follows that I am the protector?" an upset Tiangco asked.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Interior
and Local Government are investigating the mayors to determine if they
are culpable.

"It's unfair if indeed the DILG said we should be included in the
investigation," Tiangco said.

He added that the announcement should have come from the National
Bureau of Investigation, which is the lead investigating agency.

It was learned that it was Tiangco who called up the municipal judge
and urged him to issue the search warrant that made the raid possible.

Formal charges have already been filed against the two Chinese who
allegedly leased and operated the shabu laboratory and warehouse in
Valenzuela City and Navotas.

Wang Yashi, alias Willy Ong, and Lin Tsung Huan, have been charged
with the capital offense of manufacturing shabu before the Valenzuela
City Prosecutor's Office.

The two Chinese allegedly leased the warehouse at the LBICA Compound,
Sitio Malinis, Barangay Lawang Bato, Valenzuela where the shabu
laboratory was discovered.

Two other Chinese, identified only as Atie and Apien, and several John
Does were also included in the charge sheet.

All suspects are at large, police said.

On Friday, Lee Yuk Sau, the alleged owner of the compound where the
gutted warehouse stood, surrendered to the Valenzuela City police and
denied she was part of the drug syndicate.

Northern Police District Office director Senior Supt. Marcelino Franco
Jr. said they have yet to determine if Lee would be considered a suspect.

On Dec. 9, police accidentally uncovered the Valenzuela laboratory
when a fire broke out in the premises.

An alleged employee of the laboratory then led police to a warehouse
in Navotas where the drugs were supposedly stashed.

The Valenzuela laboratory alone yielded about 2.2 billion pesos in
shabu, materials, and equipment, making it the biggest drug haul in
the country, Franco said.