‘Tuwang-tuwa ako,’ Aquino on Lapeña changing his mind

PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino. INQUIRER.NET / NOY MORCOSO

Director General Aaron Aquino, chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), said Thursday that he was very glad that Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña finally conceded that the four magnetic lifters found in Cavite could have contained shabu.

Lapeña said in a hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday that become inclined to believe that the magnetic lifters contained illegal drugs after hearing testimonies supporting that conclusion.

He previously maintained that there were no illegal drugs inside the magnetic lifters since they were already empty when found and that a swab test conducted by the PDEA showed them negative for shabu.

Aquino, on the other hand, insisted that the containers had shabu in them, saying their drug-sniffing dogs sat after checking them. Specially trained dogs sit when they sense the presence of illegal drugs.

The Customs chief was convinced that the magnetic lifters probably had illegal drugs after a team from the Department of Public Works and Highways examined the metal cylinders and found evidence that supported the theory that they were used as containers.

“Kahapon, tuwang-tuwa ako at nagkamayan kami ni Commissioner. [I said] ngayon, pwede natin birahin ang mga ito,” Aquino said in a news forum.

Aquino lamented that the PDEA and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) could not conduct a proper joint investigation since Lapeña had a different view on the confiscated magnetic lifters.

“Noong una hindi namin mabira. Why? Kasi magkaiba iyong mga pananaw namin. Siya, wala. Ako, meron,” he said. /cbb