Boratong arraigned today

At least 20 heavily armed agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will provide security for suspected illegal drug den maintainer Amin Imam Boratong and his wife, who both scheduled to appear at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court for arraignment today.

Head Agent Roel Bolivar, chief of the NBI-Reaction Arrest and Interdiction Division, said he has also tapped agents from the National Capital Region Division (NCRD) to augment the security detail.

The 34-year-old Boratong and his wife Sheryl Morela are being slapped with drug charges for alleged operating a drug den a few blocks away from Pasig City.

The Philippine National Police’s Anti-Illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Force raided the so-called shabu tiangge on Feb. 10. The 2,000-square meter building reportedly had 30 to 40 dens.

"The combined RAID and NCRD of the NBI has more than 20 personnel. They would be carrying long firearms and wear bulletproof vests, but we would not be using a bulletproof vehicle. This morning, we would discuss what route we would take to the Pasig court. We would leave the NBI head office at around 12 noon," Bolivar said.

"It is only normal that we would provide him with security when going to a court hearing and provide transport because he is a high profile person. But there was no intelligence report that there is a threat against his life. Only Boratong is claiming that there is a threat against his life."

The Pasig court might also issue a commitment order during the arraignment that would either keep Boratong in NBI custody or transfer him to the Pasig city jail.

Earlier, NBI officials said Boratong may have had connections with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Documents from the Department of Foreign Affairs showed that an MNLF member assisted Boratong in obtaining a passport in 2002, they said.

That prompted the NBI to ask help from the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in determining the extent of Boratong’s ties with the MNLF.

Bolivar said they want to know the extent of the support that Boratong might have given to the MNLF even though the government signed a peace agreement with the rebel group in 1996.

He said they considered the possibility that the 34-year-old Maranao might have given the MNLF funding for purchasing weapons. — With Janeire Elomina