Ex-governor Dy says drug suspect not his son

Former governor Faustino Dy Jr. vehemently denied published reports that one of the suspects who were arrested in a recent buy-bust operation by Quezon City police was his son.

Jonathan Dy was nabbed during the last week of March. Former Isabela governor Dy said he doesn’t know Jonathan Dy.

"I have only two sons, Faustino Michael and Anthony. And definitely I don’t have a son by the name of Jonathan," stressed Dy, the national president of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

Dy, a scion of a politically influential clan in Isabela, added that as far as their family in Isabela is concerned, the suspect is not related to him or any member of the family.

"Honestly, I don’t know how the link with me came out. Maybe there are people out to destroy the good name of the Dy family. As far as I know, he is not related to us, but we will investigate later if there is any relation, no matter how far," added the former governor who was in Baguio City for talks with President Arroyo.

News reports last week stated that police in Quezon City have arrested one Jonathan Dy and two others in a buy-bust operation that yielded 30 Ecstasy tablets.

The 28-year-old suspect, who claimed to be a son of the former governor, and his companions Carlo Castro, 29, and Castel Vinci Estacio, 21, were later arraigned before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court. The judge recommended no bail.

Meanwhile, anti-narcotics police officials will meet this week with officials of De La Salle-College of St. Benilde for talks aimed at strengthening cooperation in curbing illegal drugs following the arrest of Dy and his cohorts.

Bro. Edmundo Fernandez, president of the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, requested for a meeting with officials of the police Anti-Illegal Drugs and Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF) after a police informant claimed that Ecstasy pills were being sold by a drug syndicate in the campus.

"We do not condone such activities and behavior in our campus," Fernandez stated in letter to The STAR. "The measures we take to discourage and prevent such activities exceed those taken by other academic institutions."

Fernandez said their school is part of so-called Task Force Safe School, which "endeavors to keep our area of Manila safe from criminal elements."

Fernandez pointed out that the school’s disciplinary office regularly monitors the conduct of their students within the premises.

"We have an efficient security system that monitors the entrance and exit of all those who enter our campus, as well as a roving K-9 team," he said, adding that the school also performs regular drug testing in their community.

Fernandez said he was puzzled why the AIDSOTF singled out their students. He emphasized, however, that the school is conducting its own investigation.

Officials of the college sought a meeting Wednesday with Superintendent Andy Suan, head of AIDSOTF’s Special Operations Unit 2, whose informant had claimed that Ecstasy pills were being sold in the school by a certain Brian.

Suan said he got a go-signal from AIDSOTF commander Chief Superintendent Geary Barias and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to go after the dealer, who is said to be a St. Benilde student. But the dealer eluded arrest.

They instead collared Castel Vinci Estacio, Jonathan Dy, and Dy’s brother-in-law, Carlo Castro. – With Non Alquitran