Drug lords not backing politicians, says Aglipay

The police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOT Force) claimed yesterday that drug lords are not backing politicians in the coming May polls.

AID-SOT Force chief Deputy Director General Edgar Aglipay said politicians shied away from drug lords because they knew that cops were "closely monitoring the drug syndicates’ every move."

"The politicians cannot seek the help of the drug lords at this time since they might get photographed with them and their chances of being elected jeopardized," said Aglipay in an interview.

In past elections, drug lords poured billions of pesos to the campaign kitty of national and local politicians. But Aglipay said that as of yesterday, he has yet to receive field reports that drug lords are backing any politician running for local or national position.

However, he admitted giving orders to all AID-SOT Force units to monitor politicians being backed by drug lords.

Aglipay did not rule out the collusions between drug lords and politicians in the past. He cited the case of Panulukan Mayor Ronnie Mitra, who was arrested by police agents led by Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales, now Cavite PNP provincial commander, in a police checkpoint in Quezon province years back.

Aglipay said the prosecution has finished presenting its evidence against Mitra, who was stripped of his post by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr.

A son of reelectionist Sen. John Osmeña is also being dragged into the seized shipment of ephedrine worth millions of pesos in Cebu City. The case is still being investigated by combined law enforcement agencies.

Since President Arroyo ordered an intesified campaign against illegal drugs last June, the AID-SOT Force dismantled 19 shabu laboratories and recovered P22 billion worth of shabu, raw materials and equipment.

The six-month drug haul of the Arroyo administration was way ahead of the combined achievements of the past administrations in the campaign against illegal drugs, Aglipay said.

The government’s success in the war against illegal drugs is being highlighted by Mrs. Arroyo in her campaign sorties in her bid to win a full six-year term in the coming elections.