Mom of ‘abducted’ anti-drug agent decries PDEA’s handling of son’s case

Teresita Tejano Fesway, mother of PDEA agent Merton Fresway, participates in a Senate hearing into the alleged abduction of her son. Screengrab from Senate Youtube livestream

MANILA, Philippines — The mother of an anti-drug agent on Tuesday expressed her dissatisfaction with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)’s handling of her son’s case, suspecting that the alleged abduction was a “set-up.”

Teresita Tejano Fesway, who participated in an online hearing of the Senate public order committee, became emotional as she called for justice following the disappearance of her son Merton, a PDEA agent from Samoki, Bontoc, Mountain Province.

“Sana ay ma-serve ang justice. Kailangan namin ng justice. Naghihintay sa pagdating ni Merton…Dapat ma-lie detector ang mga nakakaalam diyan sa mga ano na yan, para magsabi sila ng totoo,” Teresita said.

(I hope justice will be served. We need justice. We are awaiting the day Merton will come back. Those who know about his disappearance should undergo a lie detector test so they will tell the truth.)

“Yung boss nila diyan, hindi maganda ang pagtrato sa amin noong dumating kami diyan sa opisina nila. Kaya halata na may tinatago at set-up lahat ang ginawa nila,” she claimed.

(Their boss there, we were not treated well when we went to their office. That’s why it’s obvious that they’re hiding something, that all of this is just a set-up.)

“Naiwan lahat yung belongings, wallet, dapat dala-dala niya ‘yon, nandoon sa opisina. May tumawag tapos lumabas sa bakuran lang, bakit nawala? Di na nakabalik?” she asked.

(He left all his belongings, including his wallet; he should have been carrying these things with him. Someone called him and he went outside and then he disappeared. Why didn’t he return?)

According to the initial investigation, Fesway was supposed to meet a confidential informant before his sudden disappearance on the eve of June 25.

Fesway was alleged to have been abducted by unknown men outside PDEA’s office in Angeles City, Pampanga, where he is assigned.

The PDEA has already formed a task force to investigate Fesway’s case.

READ: PDEA forms task force to find ‘abducted’ anti-drug agent

The Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are also helping with the investigation.

While the mother thanked the CIDG and the NBI, she complained that the PDEA had not updated her on her son’s case.

“Salamat sa lahat na mga tumulong, CIDG , NBI. Yung CIDG lang ang naga-update sa amin, pero sa PDEA wala kaming update,” she told the committee.

(Thank you to all who helped, CIDG, NBI. The CIDG is giving us updates but we can’t get any from the PDEA.)

“Hindi pa kami kontento sa mga sagot nila. Noong pumunta kami sa opisina nila, wala silang pakialam kung ano, basta ‘OK, OK.’ Ganun lang ang sagot sila sa amin,” she added.

(We are not content with their answers to us. When we went to their office, all they told us was ‘OK, OK.’ That’s their answer to us.)

“Hamak na Igorot lang kami dito, ganon na lang ang ginawa nila sa amin?” Teresita further said.

(Just because we’re Igorot, you will treat us like this?)

PDEA, whose officials also attended the hearing online, was not able to respond to Fesway’s mother.

PDEA Director-General Wilkins Villanueva excused himself before Fesway’s remarks to attend another important engagement.

‘I can feel your pain’

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate public order committee, sympathized with Fesway’s mother and assured her he would constantly ask for updates on the case.

“We can feel the pain. Kami rin ay parents, ako rin ay may anak na nasa serbisyo, nasa pulis. I can just imagine kung may mangyari sa anak ko, hindi matanggap. I can feel your pain,” Dela Rosa said.

(We can feel the pain. We are also parents. I also have a child in the service, in the police force. I can just imagine that if something happened to my child, I would not accept it. I can feel your pain.)

“Dapat dadaan sa proseso ang hustisya. Although kino-consider namin yung theory mo, hindi pa rin tayo makapag-conclude na ganoon talaga,” the senator added. “We still lack some vital information, kailan pa po namin magimbestiga further.”

(Getting justice should go through the proper process. Although the committee is considering your theory, we still can’t conclude that that’s what happened. We still lack some vital information. We need to investigate further.)

Dela Rosa said the inquiry seeks to determine how existing PDEA protocols and procedures could be improved to ensure the safety of law enforcers.