Former PDEA chief: Ex-agent Morales known as ‘STL or storytelling liar’

Former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) investigation agent Jonathan Morales during the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs’ resumption of its investigation on PDEA’s leaked documents on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines— A former head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) faced a Senate hearing on Monday to testify about the credibility of its former agent, Jonathan Morales.

Former PDEA chief  Dionisio Santiago was Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s surprise witness in the ongoing Senate probe into alleged leaked  PDEA pre-operational reports linking certain personalities to illegal drugs.

Morales supposedly signed the alleged PDEA reports on March 11, 2012.

According to Santiago, he worked with Morales as  PDEA’s chief from 2006  to 2010. Morales joined the agency in 2009.

 “Alam nyo, Mr. Chairman, ako director general ako. Nandun sila, doormat sila e… nandun sya sa baba, imbestigator sya…Ang  nagtataka ako, bakit he’s all over.  Bakit nandun ka, nilalampasan mo lahat ng tao?”  he said when  Estrada  asked  about the integrity of Morales.

(I was the director general. They were there, they were doormats… they were there at the bottom, they were investigators. What surprises me is why he’s all over. Why are you there, bypassing everyone?)

“Nakaderetso nga sya hanggang  Malacanang daw  e. Walang chain of command na  sinusundan, he’s all over,”  Santiago added.

(He can even go directly to Malacañang. No chain of command was followed. He’s all over.)

Santiago said Morales criticized his leadership and even those who succeeded him at the PDEA  after his stint in 2010.

“E lahat kami may problema  sya lang ang tama. E magaling e. Alam nyo  ang akala nya  magaling sya,  sya ang tama. Kaya kami walang karapatan lahat,”  he said.

(We all have problems, and he’s the only one, right? He thinks he’s good, that he’s always right. That’s why, to him,  none of us have any rights.)

Even among friends,  Santiago said, Morales was also known for being a liar.

“Alam mo  huwag kang magagalit  Jonathan,  ang tawag ng mga kaibigan namin sayo STL. Wag mong kakalimutang  STL. Kilala ka nila personally,  STL professional  story-telling liar,”  he said.

(Don’t get upset, Jonathan. But our friends call you STL. Don’t forget, STL. They know you personally as a professional and storytelling liar.)

Estrada also believes Morales misrepresented himself to the PDEA, citing  the latter’s answers in his personal data sheet (PDS) submitted to the  agency.

In the PDS, the senator said, Morales denied having been charged or separated from the Philippine National Police.

“Ang sinagot nya no. Pero he was dropped,  he was dismissed from  the service, from the Philippine National Police,” Estrada said.

The senator reminded Morales that his PDS was made under oath.

“Malinaw na nagsisinugaling ka sa PDS mo dahil dito maliwang na maliwanag na sinabi  mo na wala kang mga mga kaso sabi mo no,”  Estrada said.

(It’s clear that you’re lying on your PDS because you clearly stated here that you don’t have any cases; you said so, right?)

“May tanong dito sa PDS, have you been separated from the service? Sinabi mo no. Pero dito natanggal ka sa serbisyo, meron kang mga kaso. You misrepresented yourself, o di  sinungaling  ka,” he added.

(There’s a question here in the PDS, ‘Have you been separated from the service?’ You said no. But here, you were dismissed from service, and you have cases. You misrepresented yourself, so you’re lying.)

But Morales insisted he did not misrepresent himself to the PDEA, saying he had complied with the agency’s requirements.

He explained that he was later asked to change his answers in the PDS because, at that time, he did not yet know the status of some of the required information.