Palace: Acquittal not a setback to anti-drug drive

MANILA, Philippines -  Malacañang said yesterday that the dismissal of the drug cases against two of the so-called “Alabang boys” cannot be deemed as a setback in the government’s efforts against drug cartels.

“This is not a setback because this has no effect on our campaign against illegal drugs,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

Valte said Secretaries Jesse Robredo of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Leila de Lima of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are in the process of finding out how the cases have been dismissed.

“Secretary Robredo would like to know what was the problem with the aim of preventing something like this from happening again,” Valte said, adding that it would be too early to talk about sanctions against possible culprits.

De Lima has admitted that the hands of her prosecutors are tied in drug-related cases, citing strict provisions in the law that she said needs to be amended by Congress.

“I think it’s about time for Congress to revisit the law (Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act),” De Lima said following the acquittal of two of the three “Alabang boys” arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in September 2008 in the posh Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa City.

In a 46-page decision, Judge Juanita Guerrero of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 noted the “lapses” of the arresting agents of the PDEA in the custody of the illegal drugs seized from accused Jorge Joseph and Richard Brodett.

Guerrero said PDEA’s buy-bust operation against Joseph and Brodett on Sept. 19, 2008 was “valid,” but “the link in the custody of the drug evidence,” as required by Section 21 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, “has been broken.”

“The failure of the prosecution therefore to establish all the links in the chain of custody is fatal to the case,” Guerrero said.

Brodett is a resident of Ayala Alabang Village, while Joseph is the son of radio personality Johnny Midnight.

They were arrested for allegedly selling 60 pieces of Ecstacy tablets worth P750 each to an undercover PDEA agent.

Several grams of cocaine and dried marijuana leaves were also recovered inside the car of Brodett.

With the acquittal of Joseph and Brodett, the only remaining member of the “Alabang boys” still with a pending case is Richard Tecson.

Tecson’s drug trafficking case is pending at the Quezon City RTC Branch 227, according to lawyer Alvaro Lazaro, head of PDEA’s Legal Service.

Lazaro said the prosecution is still presenting its evidence against Tecson before the court.

Tecson was arrested in Quezon City the same day Brodett and Joseph were nabbed in Ayala Alabang.

The PDEA said it was Joseph who “squealed” and led government agents to arrest Tecson.                   

Guerrero said the lapses could have been explained had Santiago or team head Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino been called to “justify” the lapses before the court.

“In this case, the prosecution did not even acknowledge and discuss the reason for the missing links in the chain,” the court said.

Before the hearing started, Brodett’s lawyer Felisberto Verano expressed confidence that the “Alabang boys” would be acquitted.

Emotions ran high after the decision was read, as relatives of the accused cried.

Brodett’s father Butch, who was accompanied by his wife and daughter, said he was overwhelmed but his family does not know what to do yet.

Palace shocked by acquittal

De Lima earlier admitted that she was “shocked” by the acquittal of the accused in the case that was even thoroughly investigated by Congress and the Palace in 2009.

She lamented how DOJ prosecutors have been losing drug cases in courts due to “certain procedural provisions (in the law) that are very difficult to comply with.”

She said these challenges to the law enforcers and prosecutors have led to a measly one-percent conviction rate on drug cases in courts, the lowest among all kinds of cases being prosecuted by the DOJ.

“The President already noticed this very, very low conviction rate and he gave us a challenge to significantly increase the conviction rate on drug cases,” she said.

De Lima said they have seen certain provisions that are a bit impractical since they make it harder for law enforcers to run after drug offenders, especially the syndicates.

“Many cases are dismissed due to technicality so we also need the efforts of the legislature to do something about it,” she said.

Because of this, she urged Congress to start its committee hearings on the proposed amendments to RA 9165.

Congressional hearings sought

As if taking the cue from De Lima’s statement, Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, vice chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, yesterday called for a congressional hearing on the acquittal of the two “Alabang boys.”

Castelo said Congress “must conduct a final, thorough and complete probe to trace the circumstances on how the decision of the judge handling the case must have been arrived after a lengthy court case.”

He said the inquiry aims to find ways to solve the perennial problem of procedural lapses committed by authorities, including the gathering and handling of evidence.

“We aim to arm PDEA to the teeth, if need be. We want to provide all funds necessary to train them and equip them with all the facilities and equipment needed to preserve a corpus of evidence gathered in a buy-bust operation,” he said.

“In other words, we want to professionalize PDEA, to modernize its technical capability to preserve the evidence that no more link in the chain of custody will be violated or breached,” he added.

De Lima said she revived a few months back the DOJ’s special task force on drug cases, which is now headed by Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III.

This task force, she said, was deactivated in the previous administration.

The DOJ chief also believes that the proposed revisions of rules of court by the Supreme Court and DOJ would help in this cause. Among the proposals is the adjustment on the basis of filing of a case in court from existence of probable cause to existence of prima facie evidence.

“Sometimes, probable cause is not enough to win a case in court. This is why sometimes prosecutors would dribble the cases while they look for evidence to strengthen the cases especially when conviction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt,” she said.

The case of the “Alabang boys” had put the DOJ in the limelight after state prosecutors and former top officials were questioned on lapses and improprieties in handling the case and accused of accepting bribe money allegedly for dismissing the charges before Christmas in 2008.

State Prosecutor John Resado, who dismissed the case, was accused by PDEA agents of accepting bribe money from the families of the accused.

The controversy led to several congressional hearings and the issuance of Administrative Order 253 by the former administration in January 2009, directing the automatic review by the Office of the President of all decisions and resolutions involving the dismissal of drug cases.

After the fact-finding probe on the bribery charge, the Palace then reversed the findings of the DOJ and ordered the filing of cases against the three suspects in court.

Meanwhile, one of the acquitted “Alabang boys” said the justice system in the country under President Aquino is alive.

Joseph said the three years he spent behind bars was a great learning experience because he was able to interact with practically all kinds of high-risk detainees, some of whom, he said, were not hardened criminals but people who were just in the “wrong place and wrong time.”

Joseph, now 24, was a graduate of business administration and was the vice president of a multinational company when he was nabbed.

He also praised the BJMP for implementing reforms geared toward the rehabilitation of inmates. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero, Perseus Echeminada