Sen. Richard Gordon. INQUIRER.NET PHOTO/CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Richard Gordon said Thursday he will invite Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and the “ninja cops” earlier identified by former Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Benjamin Magalong to appear at the Senate.
“Definitely, they will be invited,” Gordon told reporters in an interview when asked if he will invite before the Senate Albayalde and police officers involved in the alleged irregularity in an anti-drug operation in Pampanga province in 2013. He said the meeting at the Senate will be held on October 1.
But Gordon said Albayalde will only be invited to the meeting as PNP chief. He refused to confirm if Albayalde will be invited as former Pampanga police director, a post the country’s top cop held during the 2013 operation against a suspected drug dealer in the town of Mexico.
Gordon said letters of invitation are already prepared but have yet to be sent to the concerned officers.
Magalong, who is now Baguio City mayor, will also be at the meeting, said Gordon. He added he is trying to invite an active police officer who will “corroborate” the allegations of the former CIDG director on police officers allegedly involved in the “agaw bato” scheme or the recycling of drugs seized in operations.
If police officers involved in the Pampanga incident refuse to appear before the Senate, Gordon said he will send a subpoena demanding their presence in the upper chamber.
“They will have their day in court if they are the ones [involved in drug recycling],” the senator added.
Without specifying the case in Pampanga, Gordon mentioned a previous incident where police officers took items from a drug suspect but did not declare the same in the police report.
He said the investigation on the case was halted by a certain “bossing.”
“Prinenohan, hindi pa ininplement ‘yung dismissal, dinemote lang nang konti. Prinomote sa magandang posisyon,” he said. “Dapat tanggal lahat, dinemote lang nang konti.”
(The investigation was ordered halted. The dismissal was not implemented. They were only demoted a little then promoted to a good position… Everyone should have been removed, but they were only demoted a little.)
“Alam naman niyo yung Pampanga incident diba? Tingnan niyo na lang kung saan napunta yung mga tao doon (You know the Pampanga incident, right? Just look at where the police officers involved there are now),” he then said.
In 2014, then Central Luzon police director Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta announced that former provincial intelligence branch director Supt. Rodney Balayo, provincial provincial anti-illegal drugs special operations task force chief Senior Insp. Joven de Guzman Jr. and 11 other officers under him had been charged with violating Section 27 of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
READ: CL police chief recommends sacking of cop in drug bust scam
During the alleged buy-bust operation, the Pampanga Anti-Illegal Drugs Operations Task Group confiscated “shabu” worth P182 million and arrested a Chinese national, Deng Wenkun and a certain Roel Luage Cabag.
But quoting an intelligence report, media reports said a group of armed men in civilian attire stormed the house of Deng Wenkun and after a few minutes left with two luggage bags and a vault but without the alleged drug trader.
Petrasanta reportedly said that the items turned out to be not included in the list of seized evidence in the operation, and that the certification of seized evidence was only signed a day after the operation, which violates the standard operating procedure on anti-illegal drugs stings.
Albayalde, who was then Senior Superintendent, a rank now equivalent to Colonel in the revised police ranks, was relieved for command responsibility a year after. /muf