MANILA, Philippines—Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor Sunday described as “public assistance” his phone call to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Dec. 19 to ask why it was not releasing three drug suspects even after state prosecutors had cleared them.

Defending the call, Blancaflor said he was merely heeding a request from an uncle of one of the suspects.

“Philip Brodett called up my office. He introduced himself and asked how come the three suspects were still detained when they have been cleared by the prosecutors,” Blancaflor said in a phone interview from Iloilo.

Attending to many inquiries was part of his job, the official said. “As (Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez) says, ‘if it’s for public assistance, we should go out of our way,’” he said.

“It was a simple inquiry. And it was a valid inquiry,” he added.

In a statement, Blancaflor categorically denied “any involvement in any wrongdoing in connection with the PDEA drug bust!”

It was Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, head of the PDEA’s Special Enforcement Service, who identified Blancaflor as the justice undersecretary who rang him up to follow up on the release of Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson.

Form of pressure

Marcelino’s men arrested the so-called “Alabang Boys” on Sept. 20 in Ayala-Alabang, Muntinlupa City, and at the Araneta Center, Quezon City, for possession of Ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana.

Marcelino considered the call “a form of pressure.”

PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago said Blancaflor had no business calling up Marcelino about the release of the suspects. “Is the case directly under him? I don’t think so,” Santiago earlier said.

Just doing job

In his statement, Blancaflor said he was just doing his job when he called up the agency.

“I was only performing a valid and legal function by inquiring at the PDEA why a Dec. 2, 2008 resolution was not yet implemented three weeks after such was made,” he said in a statement.

The undersecretary said he was informed by the staff of Santiago that an appeal was being made. “So I asked for a copy and I left it at that. In fact, I already forgot about it until the aforementioned article appeared,” he said.

Blancaflor was referring to the Inquirer banner Sunday “PDEA names DOJ Usec” that identified him as the official who followed up on the case of the “Alabang Boys.”

The resolution, signed by Chief State Prosecutor Jovito Zuño, ordered the release of the three suspects, citing, among others, illegal arrest and search.

But the PDEA said the suspects could not be set free because the resolution had yet to be reviewed by the justice secretary.

Release order

A Department of Justice (DoJ) insider said it was the secretary of Blancaflor, Janette Payoyo, who brought the release order on the “Alabang Boys” to the justice secretary’s office before the Christmas break for his signature.

Last week, Gonzalez said someone from his department had “tried to pull a fast one on him” that would have him sign the release order. He said he did not sign the order placed on his desk. He has called for an internal investigation of the matter.

The PDEA earlier said it received information that P50 million “changed hands” that resulted in state prosecutors recommending the dismissal of the case against Brodett, Joseph and Tecson.

Moreover, three bribe offers, ranging from P32 million to P20 million, were made to Marcelino in exchange for the release of the suspects, he said.

The families of the suspects denied offering bribes to the DoJ or to the PDEA. Zuño also denied that he and the prosecutors who investigated and reviewed the case had been bribed into recommending the dismissal of the charges.

Blancaflor said he was not involved in the DoJ’s handling of the drug case. He also said he neither knew Philip Brodett nor was he related to one of the suspects.

The undersecretary said he was used to attending to inquiries, especially on matters such as smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism. “If I don’t know the answer, I’ll make phone calls,” he said.

Examine record

Stung by the Inquirer report, Blancaflor said he didn’t want his reputation to be sullied by one headline.

“The headline makes it appear that I am involved in a syndicate,” he said. “This is too much.”

The undersecretary, who has served the government for 16 years, dared anyone to examine his record as a public servant.

Blancaflor said he would do everything to clear his name, citing the fact that his 90-year-old mother did not deserve to hear about reports linking him to illegal drugs.

“It will break her heart and if that happens I will go underground again,” he said.

RAM member

Blancaflor was part of the original civilian component of the military rebel group Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) headed by then Army Col. and now Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan.

He was with Honasan when the rebel officer went underground after leading coup attempts against the Aquino administration.

“My mother is in the hospital (here in Iloilo). Now, I have to go back to Manila to answer these charges,” he said.

Blancaflor Sunday asked Santiago to have Marcelino join him at a press conference in the DoJ “to clear his name.”

Marcelino confirmed that after several calls from Blancaflor, he agreed to join him at the presscon.

“I will just state the facts. He called me. He did not deny making the call, so what I told you is true. There was a call. He’s just denying that it was a form of pressure. It’s subject to interpretation, of course,” Marcelino said.