PDEA drug raids nab 15; QC cops take back seat

Thursday’s raids found at least 18 sachets of suspected “shabu” in one of the searched houses in Barangay Holy Spirit.—Jhesset O. Enano

At least 15 people were arrested in simultaneous raids conducted by members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on three alleged drug dens in Quezon City on Thursday afternoon.

The operations saw the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) taking only a supporting role—for crowd control and security—as the PDEA became the spearhead of the antidrug campaign, which was supposedly suspended earlier this week by President Rodrigo Duterte due to alleged abuses committed by policemen.

On Tuesday, the district director, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, said all antidrug units in QCPD’s 12 stations had been dissolved in view of Mr. Duterte’s order and that the affected 343 personnel would be moved to other units.

No shots were fired as the PDEA-led raids targeted three suspected drug dens and their maintainers identified as Jose Ballonico, Gloria Santos and Arnold Tagalan, who all lived on different streets in Barangay Holy Spirit.

However, only Ballonico and his daughter, Santos, were arrested in the operation that lasted about four hours. The agents were armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert of Quezon City-Region Trial Court Branch 89.

PDEA-National Capital Region director Wilkins Villanueva said the three suspects were notorious distributors of illegal drugs in the village. “They have been under surveillance since December. Their houses were used for drug sessions,” he said.

Like a family business

Barangay Public Safety Officer Noel Abecendario noted that the trio had been managing their illegal drug trade like a “family business” for the last three years, or when the QCPD was still headed by Chief Supt. Joel Pagdilao.

He also said the three did not surrender under the Duterte administration’s “Oplan Tokhang” antidrug campaign.

In October 2016, Tagalan’s brother Renato was killed in what the police called a buy-bust operation in an area covered by the QCPD-Batasan station. He was shot several times inside his house on Florence Street.

During Thursday’s raid, Tagalan was able to elude arrest but PDEA agents rounded up six other men who were allegedly having a drug session inside the suspect’s dingy, wooden house.

Confiscated were 18 sachets of suspected “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) and several drug paraphernalia.

A few blocks away, on Everlasting Street, Santos’ green four-story house stood in stark contrast to Tagalan’s place. When arrested after a brief chase, Santos denied being a drug peddler and pointed to her small eatery as her only source of income.

“I admit that I used to sell drugs, but that was back before President Duterte took office,” Santos told the Inquirer.

PDEA operatives, however, said they recovered a still undetermined amount of shabu at her house.

Meanwhile, a plastic sachet of illegal drugs and several drug paraphernalia were also recovered from Ballonico’s home on Jasmin Street.

PDEA’s job harder now

According to Villanueva, PDEA’s job is now more difficult because of the deactivation of the antidrug units of the Philippine National Police. “The responsibility is heavier but we will not turn our backs on it,” he told reporters. “We can still cooperate with the police.”

Villanueva noted that there are only less than 100 operatives under PDEA-NCR. “It is not enough to cover all operations but we have to work with it…. We lack manpower and mobility so we are looking into ways to sustain operations in the street level, so there won’t be any vacuum.”

PDEA has been known to focus only on big-time drug dealers or “high-value” operations, while PNP deals with street-level distributors.