Kin worried as cop tipster nabbed for illegal drugs

SAN PEDRO CITY—Relatives of a police informant here feared for the safety of their kin, who was arrested by the police for alleged drug pushing, amid President Duterte’s order suspending the police’s role in the government’s antidrug campaign.

Julius Parado, 39, and his wife, Maricar, were on their way home to Barangay Marinig in Cabuyao City in Laguna province, when three policemen nabbed Parado at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, according to his brother, Christian.

Christian said the men introduced themselves as policemen assigned in Sta. Rosa City, and presented a copy of an arrest warrant before forcing Parado to board a red car without a license plate. The policemen, who were not in uniform, asked Maricar to stay behind, he said.

The arrest warrant was issued by Judge Teodoro Solis of the Biñan City Regional Trial Court Branch 25 on June 17, 2016.

Parado, a laborer, was charged with violation of Section 5 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165).

“My brother never sold drugs. He was a former drug user and used to be a police asset. But he already stopped for about two years already,” Christian, 34, said.

What frightened their family more, Christian said, was that the arresting officers included Parado’s former “boss.”

The arresting officers were identified as Senior Police Officer 2 Nestor Atienza, SPO1 Mark Lester Yonson, and PO1 Archie Landeros.

Christian said that Parado used to work for Yonson, an intelligence officer, and another policeman surnamed Corpuz.

“His job was to tip off these cops on who to arrest,” Christian said, noting that most of the cases involved illegal drugs.

The Philippine National Police stopped its antidrug campaign on orders from the President. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was tasked by Mr. Duterte as the sole agency to carry out antinarcotics operations.

Supt. Harold Depositar, Sta. Rosa police chief, confirmed the arrest of Parado and guaranteed his safety inside the jail.

He refused to call it an antidrug operation, saying the police were “just following an order by the court.”

Depositar said that Parado ranked fifth on the police’s list of most wanted criminals in the city.

In separate interviews, Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran, regional spokesperson for the PNP, and Mary Ann Lorenzo, PDEA regional spokesperson, said the Sta. Rosa police did not violate Mr. Duterte’s order since the officers were armed with an arrest warrant.