DOJ review turns ‘big fish’ into ‘victim’

MANILA, Philippines - Investigating prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ) recommended the filing of drug charges against Mark Sy Tan, who was allegedly a “big fish” for the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

But when the case reached the office of Secretary Leila de Lima for automatic review, things went the other way and Tan became a “victim of the drug syndicate.”

After preliminary investigation, Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera and Prosecution Attorney Anna Noreen Devanadera found probable cause to indict Tan for conspiring in the sale of illegal drugs. 

They said the PDEA submitted ample evidence to warrant trial of the drug suspect said to be one of the leaders of a big drug syndicate operating in Binondo, Manila.

The fiscals cited the testimony of PDEA agents and the deposits for the drugs in Tan’s bank accounts made by a poseur-buyer for the drug deal. 

They stressed that Tan’s alibi that he thought the P360,000 cash deposit came from a client in his money transfer business is best examined in a full-blown court trial, since the DOJ’s preliminary investigation was limited by the bank secrecy law.

Tables turned

This recommendation, however, was disapproved by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva after a review. 

Villanueva’s review resolution last April 3 branded Tan as a “victim” even if it agreed with the finding that his business was used in the illegal drug deal.

“It seems that respondent Tan is also a victim of the persons who are really liable for the sale of drugs. This is due to the fact that his business was used in consummating the sale of drugs,” read the resolution obtained by The STAR.

The review resolution, which dismissed the complaint and recommended the dropping of the case against Tan already pending in Quezon City regional trial court, was not released by the DOJ but affirmed by De Lima’s office in the 15-page resolution released earlier this week.

De Lima’s office has the power to review all resolutions of drug cases under Department Circular No. 12 that she issued in February last year.

The DOJ chief, who earlier vowed to eradicate corruption in the department, had tasked Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III to review Tan’s case.

In Baraan’s resolution, the DOJ cited inconsistencies in the testimony of PDEA agents as basis for the dismissal of the complaint against Tan. 

He also downplayed the records of Tan’s bank transactions, particularly the deposit made by the poseur-buyer.

“If Mark Tan is really engaged in the business of money transfer, and that he is doing so without the required permit or license, that is his own lookout,” Baraan’s resolution concluded.

Tan was arrested in July last year after allegedly escaping a drug bust in which Clarence Chen Go was caught selling a kilo of shabu worth P3.6 million in Quezon City five months earlier. Go told PDEA he was working for Tan.

PDEA agent-on-case Jonathan Morales had called on Malacañang and Congress to look into the DOJ’s dismissal of the case.