PDEA, prosecutor blame media for conflicting shabu haul data

MANILA, Philippines — An anti-narcotics official and the provincial prosecutor preparing cases related to the government’s biggest-ever drug bust have blamed the media for the conflicting data on the amount of shabu seized, claiming that police officers would not have released estimates if they were not pressured.

In a press briefing hosted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) deputy director for operations Assistant Secretary Renato Gumban and Batangas provincial prosecutor Lourdes Zapanta answered questions on whether police officers are mandated to release estimates when the operation or the case build-up is still ongoing.

Initial reports showed that the shabu confiscated from the operation in Alitagtag, Batangas last April 15 was estimated to weigh around two tons, priced at around P13 billion. However, the Philippine National Police (PNP) later clarified that the actual weight and value was 1.4 tons and P9.68 billion.

READ: PNP: Official tally of shabu seized in Batangas is 1.4 tons worth P9.68-B

“Can I answer that? I think they are not obliged but it is you who forced them to give an estimate, it was — tinanong ninyo eh, eh ‘di napilitan sila, ano? Eh ‘di kung hindi niyo tinanong eh ‘di hindi sila nagbigay, ‘di ba?” Zapanta said.

(You asked them, and then they were forced to release numbers. But if you had not done that, they wouldn’t have released any figures, right?)

“It is you who asked. It is not their obligation,” Zapanta added.

Gumban meanwhile said they were pressured by the questions from the media.

“‘Yon nga ‘yong ano, nape-pressure na kami do’n sa estimate-estimate. Hindi kami nagbibigay ng estimate unless pressed by the press, kayo nagtatanong do’n, sinabi naman sa akin, ‘Sir, kailangan natin ng estimates doon,’ eh simple mathematics lang naman ang estimates eh,” he said.

(That’s what happened. We were pressured by requests for estimates. We do not release estimates unless pressed by the press. You asked for it; people told me you needed estimates there, but that’s just simple mathematics.)

“May ano ba do’n sa sinabi kong formula kanina? May mga algebra-algebra ba ‘yon, wala; simple math lang ‘yon, ‘yon ang mag-estimate,” he added.

(Was there something difficult with the formula I mentioned? Do you need to do algebra there? None, that’s only simple math lang, that’s how we estimate.)

According to the prosecutor, they also cannot disclose information vital to the investigation because it might jeopardize the case.

“I’m not part of the witness but I come because it is not our obligation to disclose the vital information considering it is under investigation, nagke-case build-up po kami (we are doing case build-up), so we cannot disclose vital information,” she said.

“We have to preserve the evidence. Ngayon, kung sasabihin namin, ang sinasabi na naman, the evidence will be contaminated. So again, it will be useless; it is inadmissible as evidence. Kaya po pagpaumanhin po kung mayroong mga tanong tungkol po sa mga gagawin at ebidensya na hindi namin maaaring sasabihin,” she added.

(Now, if we divulge things, the evidence might be contaminated. So again, it will be useless and inadmissible as evidence. That’s why we ask for understanding if we cannot answer questions about the operation and the evidence.)

However, members of the PNP Press Corps objected to Zapanta’s statements, saying that it is the role of the media to ask questions. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. meanwhile acknowledged this, saying that they understand the need for the public to know details surrounding the drug bust.

“That is media’s role, we know it, and it should really be your role, kasi you should always ask questions, kailangang malaman ng ating publiko kung ano ang nangyayari. That’s why on our end, we try to be transparent here, kaya ang ginawa ko, sinama ko na lahat dito, ano ‘yong nangyari, ano’ng ginagawa namin,” he said.

(We know that is the media’s role, and it should really be your role because you should always ask questions. The public needs to know what happened. That’s why, on our end, we try to be transparent here. What I do is include everyone involved to explain what happened and what we did.)

“At least the media is a witness to what happened, ‘yon na po ang importante, hindi ba? Nando’n na kaagad ‘yong media no’ng dumating ‘yong van, no’ng binaba ito may mga tao na rin do’n, everything is transparent po dito. Siguro ‘yong word na estimate, ‘yong higit-kumulang, ‘yon naman ang [ginamit],” he added.

(At least the media is a witness to what happened, that’s what is important, right? The media was there already when the van arrived when the illegal drugs were dropped for inventory; everything is transparent here. Maybe, emphasis also on the use of the word “estimate.”)

READ: A medical approach to the drug war

Initially, there was confusion regarding how much shabu was seized during the operation in Batangas, as police and Abalos initially said that the estimated street value was P13.3 billion or two tons of shabu.

Then, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who visited Batangas to inspect the inventory of the illegal drugs, said the estimated weight was 1.8 tons.

READ: Marcos on largest shabu bust ever: No bullet fired, not one person dead

Eventually, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told INQUIRER.net that PDEA provided initial estimates based on the number of sacks present.