Wow, mani!
The Sandiganbayan is looking into claims of witnesses that two Quezon City police officers were caught on security camera repacking “shabu” (crystal meth) in their patrol car inside the court’s compound on Tuesday night.
Without confirming the incident, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang said in a text message on Wednesday that she was “still awaiting full and complete report from our security on duty last night.”
Tang said she had directed the sheriff and security services division to turn over the footage, which had not been shown to reporters yet, making it impossible to verify the incident independently as of press time.
At least two Sandiganbayan sources claimed that closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera caught two policemen repacking what looked like shabu in their patrol car, which was parked on the court’s premises.
The sources, who asked not to be identified for their protection, also claimed that the two policemen were puffing something using what looked like tooters.
A third source, however, said the two informants could just be speculating.
The patrol car was marked “Patrol #57.” It is detailed to Police Station 6, located across from the House of Representatives, just minutes down Batasan Road.
The patrol car was parked in the Sandiganbayan compound for six and a half hours—from 8:48 p.m. to 3:20 a.m.
It returned to the scene on Wednesday afternoon, and reporters saw two police officers on the court premises.
The footage was sent to the Philippine National Police for evaluation on Wednesday.
Eating peanuts
Sought for comment, Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, director of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), said the two officers who used patrol car No. 57 had been identified, although he refused to name them.
Eleazar said the two officers had claimed they were just “eating peanuts” inside the patrol car, not sniffing or repacking shabu.
“They already underwent four drug tests, which all came out negative,” Eleazar said.
Another test conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory on the two officers also returned negative results.
A police inspector who had reviewed the footage from the Sandiganbayan CCTV said the two officers appeared to be snacking on what looked like peanuts inside their patrol car while waiting for dispatch orders.
Another QCPD official said one of the officers rolled up one of the packets and put it between his teeth, which on the footage looked like the officer was using a tooter.
The official, however, noted that a tooter would not bend like a peanut packet would, as shown on the footage.
Eleazar said the QCPD was waiting for the footage to be released before confirming the explanation of the two policemen.