Lawmaker seeks probe of DOJ execs

MANILA, Philippines - A Cavite congressman asked the House committee on dangerous drugs yesterday to look into the dismissal of charges against a suspected drug dealer considered by government agents as a “big fish.”

In a resolution, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City said the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop the charges already filed in court against Mark Sy Tan is reminiscent of the controversial Alabang Boys case in 2008.

He said the charges were withdrawn despite the claim of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that it had strong evidence against Tan, who supposedly led a drug syndicate based in Binondo, Manila.

“In the past, the DOJ and PDEA had been at odds over the handling of drug cases, particularly in the 2008 controversial case of the Alabang Boys, wherein a similar dismissal by the DOJ caused allegations of bribery against the prosecutors handling the case,” he said.

Malacañang reviewed the dismissal, reversed the DOJ ruling and ordered the filing of charges in court. The local courts, however, threw out the case due to the PDEA’s mishandling of the evidence. 

Recap

The STAR reported last week that the justice department, upon approval by Secretary Leila de Lima, dropped the charges against Tan.

Barzaga’s resolution stated that PDEA agents arrested Tan at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2012.

The arrest was a followup of an earlier drug bust in which Clarence Chen Go was caught selling a kilo of shabu for P3.6 million to an undercover agent. Go claimed that Tan is the leader of a Binondo-based syndicate.

In the drug bust, the poseur buyer deposited P360,000 to a bank account supposedly belonging to Tan, who later accused PDEA agents and officials of allegedly extorting money from him during his arrest.

Tan said he thought the deposit was from a client in his money transfer business.

Barzaga said that in the preliminary investigation, Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera and Prosecutor Anna Noreen Devanadera determined that there was probable cause for the filing of charges, which were subsequently filed with a regional trial court in Quezon City.

However, upon reinvestigation, Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva recommended the dropping of the case already pending trial. De Lima, upon the endorsement of Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, approved the recommendation, Barzaga said.