Justice Secretary Hernando Perez sacked Pasig City Assistant City Prosecutor Conrado Tolentino who was accused by elements of the Regional Intelligence and Special Operations Office (RISOO) of not lifting a finger to block the granting of bail by Judge Rodrigo Lorenzo, of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 266 to the five Chinese chemists.
Perez’s order sacking Tolentino was relayed yesterday to Narcotics Group (Narcgroup) chief Director Efren Fernandez by DOJ’s assistant chief prosecutor Severino Gaña Jr.
Tolentino will be replaced by DOJ prosecutor Pablo Formaran III, Gaña told Fernandez, who hailed Perez’s decision.
"It’s good for us," said Fernandez of Perez’s appointment of Formaran as the new prosecutor on the five Chinese chemists case. "There should be extra effort in obtaining the conviction of the Chinese suspects who also turned out to be undocumented aliens."
The five suspects, Chua Chuy Li 37; Xingfu Wang, 31; Joey Lu Cruz, 34; Huang Hong Wei. 34. and Tomas Lu, were released Tuesday night after posting bail bonds of P700,000 each.
However, they were rearrested by immigration agents in Lorenzo’s sala last Thursday during the hearing of the drug trafficking charges against them for being undocumented or illegal aliens. They are presently detained at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) in Intramuros, Manila.
The suspects yielded six kilos of shabu and several drums of chemicals used in the manufacture of shabu during a RISOO raid at Capitol 8 Subdivision in Pasig City last Nov. 6. They were charged with drug trafficking, which is a non-bailable offense.
Earlier, Fernandez asked Perez to investigate reports that P12 million changed hands for the speedy release of the five Chinese chemists.
When pressed, however, Fernandez said the report remains a speculation until they "gather evidence confirming the P12 million bribery."
The NarcGroup is presently extra vigilant over the Fujian-based drug syndicate’s efforts to obtain the safe release of their compatriots. "The Fujian drug syndicate is very active in trying to put one over us," said Fernandez of the group’s effort to escape our justice system.
According to Fernandez, the syndicate’s modus operandi in securing the freedom of their arrested members is to bribe the arresting police officers. When their attempt fails, they offer large amounts of money to the courts or jail authorities.
"The government is now aware of this modus operandi of the drug syndicates, so we are strengthening our coordination with other law enforcement agencies for them not to escape prosecution and conviction," said Fernandez.
Fernandez also asked Formaran to coordinate with him as soon as he takes over the job of Tolentino so needed documents could be turned over to him.