John-John’s lawyer wants PDEA to provide documents

The lawyer of former vice governor John Gregory "John-John" Osmeña has asked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice to give them a copy of all the records relevant to the pseudoephedrine case.

Edgar Gica said that they have not received a copy of the case that PDEA has filed against his clients. Gica is the counsel of Osmeña, Rorela Villegas and Maria Rowena Roldan who were charged with illegal importation of drugs before the DOJ in Manila.

The other respondents were Joebert Lañas Cuesta, Dirk d’ Hultz, Michael "Mike" Cummings, Leah Banal and Malou Milagros Legaspi.

Gica questioned PDEA’s failure to inform his clients about the charges and even said that the filing of the case was irregular because they were not called for an investigation. According to Gica, they were made to believe that his clients were already cleared of the case.

"We were made to believe by PDEA that the case was already dismissed," Gica said.

Gica said they have already filed pleadings before the DOJ asking for copy of all the documents related to the case. Gica is also mulling asking for the transfer of the preliminary investigation of the case from Manila to Cebu.

The PDEA charged Osmeña, his former staff and his friends, after they were tagged as the alleged local contact of the international drug ring responsible in the smuggling of the P3.6 billion worth of pseudoephedrine from China in 2004.

Aside from the illegal drug importation, PDEA also filed charges against them for violation of Section 5 or delivery and transportation, Section 9 or chemical diversion, Section 26 or conspiracy and Section 32 or violation of the Dangerous Drugs Board regulation.

Cuesta is the president of the Coastside Ventures Incorporated, consignee of the 1,710 kilos of the pseudoephedrine shipment that arrived in Cebu on March 5, 2004 from China, while Villegas and Roldan were among the incorporators of the company that imported the illegal drugs.

Cummings on the other hand represented the Coastside Ventures Incorporated in the import documents.

PO2 Rey Robert Villarete and Jude Udtohan, who were part of the team that conducted an operation that identified the former vice governor as one of Filipino contacts of the syndicate.

Gica claimed his client was framed and it has something to do with politics. — Fred P. Languido/BRP