Illustration by RENE ELEVERA
Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña, an Aug. 14 hearing at the House of Representatives, disputed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) Aug. 10 announcement that a ton of “shabu” (crystal meth) worth P6.8 billion had slipped past scrutiny at the Port of Manila and may have entered the drug market.
Lapeña, who previously headed the PDEA, said a swab test on four empty magnetic lifters found in a Cavite warehouse showed they were negative for drugs.
PDEA Deputy Director General for Operations Ruel Lasala, however, insisted that sniffer dogs had confirmed that the lifters earlier contained shabu.
But President Rodrigo Duterte echoed the Bureau of Customs’ position.
Aquino, it was later learned, went on leave shortly after.