GMA orders probe on shabu factory in Lubao

LUBAO, Pampanga — President Arroyo has ordered an investigation into reports that there are factories manufacturing shabu here in her hometown and in Bacolor town.

Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol said the President gave the order following Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla’s allegation that shabu is being manufactured in Barangay Gumi here and in lahar-ravaged Bacolor town, where hundreds of displaced residents have returned to rebuild their homes.

Querol said he has already mobilized his police force to investigate Padilla’s claim.

For his part, Bacolor Mayor Buddy Dungca confirmed he has been getting reports that a shabu factory indeed exists in the town but stressed that none has been found by the local police.

"All of my barangay captains and the local police have been on alert for any sign of illegal drugs operations. We have been told to watch out for unusual smoke from any building at night time," Dungca said.

"Our town is still rising from the devastation of Mt. Pinatubo, but we cannot permit any illegal activity in our effort to build up our lives here," the mayor added.

The Nueva Vizcaya solon reportedly alluded to former illegal drugs lord suspect Alfredo Tiongco, who made headlines in 1993 when a cache of shabu was found in a fishing boat he allegedly owned at the Navotas fish port. A Quezon City court dismissed the case six years later for lack of evidence.

Tiongco also maintains a cement factory in the Barangay Gumi although local folk employed in the firm have not reported any suspicious activity that could bolster Padilla’s allegations.

In 1997, Tiongco again made headlines when police agents strafed a van they mistakenly thought was his. The incident killed nine-year-old Paulyn Lacson who was in the van driven by her father.

During the term of former President Ramos, Tiongco threatened libel suit against Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo after she alleged that two Chinese chemists, Liu Lao and Yu Jim Bao, who were employees of the Tiongco High Tech Construction Materials Corp. in Barangay San Jose Gumi, were engaged in the manufacture of shabu and were working for him.

The Chinese nationals were arrested in the Dimarucut Lumber Compound, also reportedly owned by Tiongco in Barangay Sta. Cruz, also in this town.

In 1997, police arrested Yu at Tiongco’s hollow blocks factory which was suspected to be a shabu laboratory. Yu, however, was never charged and was later freed from jail.