Informant who led cops to shabu labs in Masbate gets P1.5M reward

MANILA, Philippines — The informant who tipped off authorities about clandestine shabu laboratories in Masbate City earlier this year is now over million pesos richer.

This was after the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency gave a P1.5-million reward to the tipster of its February 14 operation, which also led to the arrest of a former mayor.

PDEA director general Arturo Cacdac Jr. said the reward was under the agency’s Operation Private Eye program for civilian informants.

“Eboy,” the tipster, received his P1.5 million during the flag raising ceremony at the PDEA headquarters on Monday.

He was rewarded for tipping off the PDEA and the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force about secret shabu laboratories in Masbate City, which was raided last February 14.

Arrested during the operation was a former mayor of San Fernando town in Masbate, Cherry Abapo Jr., while illegal drugs, equipment, assorted firearms and ammunition were recovered.

Also charged were a former mayor of Milagros, Masbate, an incumbent barangay chairperson and several others for conspiring to manufacture illegal drugs.

The Operation Private Eye is a information collection program of the PDEA, the Dangerous Drugs Board and non-government organizations involved in the anti-narcotics campaign.

The Private Eye Rewards Committee approved a resolution granting a reward of P1.5 million to “Eboy.”

Cacdac said informants can report illegal drug activities to Operation Private Eye at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City or other PDEA regional offices, or through 9279702 local 150 and fax number 9272899. (Julie M. Aurelio, Philippine Daily Inquirer)