Gordon believes ‘drug queen’ a diversionary tactic on ‘ninja cops’

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon said Thursday he believes the issue on a Manila-based drug queen was only floated either to divert the attention of the public from the “ninja cops” issue or to eliminate a possible witness against involved senior police officials.

Speaking to Senate reporters, Gordon said he was curious as to why police allowed the alleged drug queen — later identified as Guia Gomez Castro, a former barangay chairperson in Sampaloc, Manila — to leave the country if they already knew her alleged large-scale involvement in drugs a long time ago.

“Consider this also… Bakit biglang lumabas ‘yang lady na ‘yan na drug queen (Why did this issue on the drug queen suddenly surface)? Parang may (It seems there is an) attempt to focus the camera away from what is happening. That even makes me more curious,” he said.

“It could be a diversionary tactic or a way of eliminating a possible witness against the senior officials. You cannot operate drugs in the fashion na (that you are a) big time drug queen ka tapos hindi ka mahahagip (and then you will not be caught). Impossible,” he said, adding that Castro might know “a lot of things” against senior police officials.

He questioned the timing of the drug queen’s surfacing when Benjamin Magalong, the former director of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, was revealing before Senate the “agaw bato” scheme, or the alleged practice of police officers tagged as “ninja cops” to recycle confiscated illegal drugs.

READ: Magalong to name ‘Agaw-Bato’ cops in executive session with senators

“I have been in politics for a long time… You have to analyze what is really happening,” said Gordon.

He also said he is trying to invite to Senate an active police officer who might help “corroborate” the information revealed by Magalong during an executive session at the Senate on September 19. During the executive session, Magalong had named police officials allegedly involved in the recycling of illegal drugs.  /muf