MANILA, Philippines?Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has cleared Amin Imam Boratong, the suspected owner of the P900-million shabu market in Pasig City, and three others of murder charges for the killing of a GMA 7 informant who had infiltrated the drug compound in November 2005 before it was raided by the police in February last year.

In a May 23 resolution, Gonzalez reversed the finding of Department of Justice prosecutors and said there was no sufficient evidence to charge Boratong, his wife Memie Sultan Boratong, PO2 Ramir Along and Nashir Labay for the death of German Colisao, who was reportedly caught with a hidden video camera inside the compound located just a few hundred meters from Pasig City Hall and Pasig police headquarters.

Police authorities expressed shock at Gonzalez? decision.

?We are disheartened with the decision because this is a huge setback of our legal offensive campaign against illegal drugs,?? said Police Director Geary Barias, the commandeer of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSSOTF) and head of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management.

In his decision, Gonzalez questioned the credibility of witness Samer Palao and ordered the withdrawal of the information for murder filed against the respondents in court. Palao is said to be Boratong?s brother, but Palao denies kinship with the drug suspect.

Insider was trusted ally

Palao claimed that he was a trusted ally of Boratong, an insider who supposedly knew the extent of Boratong?s alleged drug operations.

According to Gonzalez, the evidence failed to show that the respondents were responsible for Colisao?s death.

?After a careful scrutiny of the evidence of record, we hold that complainants failed to clearly establish that probable cause exists against herein respondents for the crime charged,? he said.

Gonzalez however clarified that the dropping of murder charges against Boratong would not affect the latter?s case for allegedly operating the Pasig shabu market, in which Palao is also a witness.

?These are different cases. He can be a murderer without being a shabu vendor and vice versa,? he said.

Palao had told police that the Boratong couple ordered Colisao killed after the latter was discovered taking video footage of the shabu market on Nov. 14, 2005.

GMA 7 ?asset?

Colisao was allegedly kept at the Mapayapa compound. A barangay official went to Boratong?s house to look for Colisao with a promise from GMA 7 that the TV network would not air the video footage if Colisao was released, but Memie denied keeping him. She then allegedly ordered Colisao killed.

Police said Colisao was killed on Nov. 17, 2005. His body, with three gunshot wounds, was dumped on a Pasig street.

?Walk-in complainant?

Police also said that Colisao was an asset of the GMA 7 show ?Imbestigador.? Police had furnished the Inquirer a purported letter from a GMA 7 ?researcher? seeking police assistance in locating Colisao. The letter bore a GMA 7 logo and was signed by ?Israel del Mundo, Researcher.?

But Viney Ibarra of GMA 7?s law department earlier said Colisao was not a paid informant of the network but a ?walk-in complainant ... who volunteered to observe goings-on in this Pasig community.?

According to Gonzalez, Palao?s statement was not backed by corroborative evidence that would lead to the conclusion that nobody but the respondents could have done the alleged crime.

?Simply put, the circumstances as reflected under the sworn statement of Palao failed to present a complete chain of events leading to no other conclusion that Boratong spouses authored the killing of Colisao and carried out by respondents Along and [L]abay,? he said.

Misgivings

The justice secretary also said his office has misgivings about the credibility of Palao?s statements.

Gonzalez pointed out that Palao was charged with kidnapping and murder for the death of Memie?s brother, and he could have used the murder charge for Colisao?s death as leverage to counter his case.

?It is quite possible that he may have harbored ill-motives so as to compel himself to falsely testify against respondent-spouses Boratong as leverage for the said case,? he said.

Gonzalez also wondered why it took Palao so long to reveal what he knew.

He said the nine-month delay between Colisao?s death and Palao?s revelation about the identity of the killers renders his testimony dubious. He noted that Palao only came out with his statements after he was charged with the death of Memie?s brother.

Leverage

Palao also offered, on record, to drop the cases in which he testified against the respondents if they would also drop the kidnapping and murder case against him, Gonzalez said.

Palao also failed to refute Along?s claim that he was in Camp Bagong Diwa when Colisao was supposedly killed.

?Finally, these observations persuaded us to conclude that the present complaint may have been skillfully concocted by private complainant Palao so as to create leverage against Boratong spouses with the end view of evading himself from the earlier charges filed by Memie?s relative against him,? Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez earlier questioned Palao?s credibility as a witness in Boratong?s case for allegedly operating the shabu market, the discovery of which shocked many because the illegal drugs were being sold openly.

On Feb. 10, 2006, the police raided the place and took more than 300 people into custody, including about 50 women and children.

Authorities believed the Pasig shabu market, which started in 1997, had grown to a P900-million industry by the time police demolished it in February last year.

The DOJ chief had described Palao as a ?polluted witness? and also believes the evidence against Boratong was weak.