Dela Rosa: Documents linking Marcos to alleged drug use not fabricated

MANILA, Philippines — Former top cop turned Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is convinced that the “leaked” documents supposedly linking President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and actress Maricel Soriano to alleged drug use are not fabricated.

The documents in question are the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s (PDEA) Authority to Operate and a Pre-Operation Report dated March 11, 2012.

“Ako masasabi ko, it is existing. It is existing ‘yang papel na ‘yan dahil klaro man sa nature of the [paper] na tinitingnan ko. Hindi ‘yun AI-generated, hindi ‘yun siya gawa-gawa lang,” said dela Rosa on Wednesday over Radyo 630.

(I can say that this paper exists because it is clear, based on the nature of the paper, that it is not AI-generated. It’s not fabricated.)

His point of reasoning? The mere “punch hole” marks are seen in the document.

“Klaro na siya ay galing sa isang malaking… parang folder. Kung saan tinanggal lang siya sa fastener. Dahil ‘yung pag-picture sa kanya at pag-photocopy ay nakikita sa kanya ang hole puncher na dinaanan niya para ipasok sa fastener” the senator explained.

(It is clear that it is from a big…folder where it was only removed from a fastener. Because of the way it was photographed and photocopied, you’ll see the punch holes where the fastener was inserted.)

Dela Rosa, chairperson of the Senate’s panel on public order and dangerous drugs, conducted on Tuesday an investigation into the alleged leaked documents.

In the hearing, PDEA Director General Moro Virgilio Lazo categorically stated that the documents were fake. This, however, was contradicted by former PDEA investigation agent Jonathan Morales who stood firm that the leaked documents linking Marcos and Soriano to illegal drugs were authentic.

Morales was the signatory to the documents.

READ: Those found leaking PDEA documents may face sanctions, says CSC

But why is dela Rosa convinced by the information disclosed by Morales? The senator said it is because the former PDEA official is “very straightforward.”

“Kasi nakikita ko na wala siyang tinatago. Very straightforward siya sa kanyang mga sinasabi at meron din siyang ipinapakita rin na papeles talaga. [At] inaamin niya na siya ang pumirma, at hindi naman dinedeny ng mga tao na hindi siya member ng PDEA at that time, talagang taga-PDEA siya, natanggal lang siya later on,” he said.

(I saw that he was not hiding anything. He was very straightforward with what he was saying and he presented documents. He also admitted that he signed the documents and it wasn’t denied by PDEA that he was a member of the agency at that time. He was only removed later on.)

This does not mean, however, that the subject personalities in the alleged leaked documents were already confirmed to be drug users, the senator further explained.

“Ibig sabihin kung ang pangalan mo ay nakalagay doon, you are a subject for validation. Pre-operation nga, kasi kapag pre-operation ka, ibig sabihin may information about you na drug-using. So ginagawa yung pre-operation report bago mag conduct ng operation,” said dela Rosa.

(If your name is written there, that means you are a subject for validation. Pre-operation, because when you are subject to pre-operation, it means there is information about you using drugs. So the pre-operation report is done before conducting the operation.)

Before dela Rosa’s remarks, PDEA had already debunked what it called “fake” operational documents, saying that it “ran a check through its Plans and Operations Reports Management Information System and found that no such operation was logged” on March 11, 2012.