PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO
The chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) denied on Friday that his agents planted evidence in the 2017 raid that led to the arrest of Diana Yu Uy, daughter of convicted “drug queen” Yu Yuk Lai.
Uy was freed from detention on Thursday, after Judge Daniel Villanueva of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 49 cleared Uy of drug charges, citing that the agents committed irregularities and that they had an hour to plant evidence against her before the actual raid.
READ: Yu Yuk Lai’s daughter cleared of drug charges
“PDEA never planted drugs or evidence against anyone. It is never a practice in the agency,” Aquino said in a statement. “PDEA strongly disagrees with the decision and condemns the same.”
Aquino also denied Uy’s claim that one of the agents asked her to name another big-time drug dealer, an alleged practice known as “palit ulo,” or pay P5 million to cancel the raid.
According to Uy, the amount was even lowered to P3 million, but she only had P500,000 in her vault that time. Uy said the raid still pushed through despite the agents taking all her money.
READ: Convicted drug queen, daughter face drug raps
Aquino stressed that they will file a petition against the court ruling and is now evaluating available pieces of evidence against Uy.
He lamented that the decision is “more like a pleading arguing in favor to the accused” instead of a ruling that resulted from a “fair, impartial, and careful trial and deliberation.”
Aquino, likewise, said that what bothers the PDEA most is that the ruling had no factual and legal basis.
Aquino also questioned the timing of the decision, as he said that the supposed date of its issuance was originally set for a hearing on the continuation of the presentation of additional or rebuttal evidence for Uy’s prosecution.
He said PDEA is looking at chasing the responsible government officials that led to the “premature and hasty” decision on Uy’s case.
“The agency will not take this absurdity sitting down,” Aquino said. /jpv