Handling of Iloilo drug cases probed

Just like in Manila, some state prosecutors in Iloilo are also in hot water over allegations that they have mishandled cases against arrested drug suspects.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said he has ordered an investigation into why provincial state prosecutors filed bailable offenses against arrested drug dealers.

He cited a report from Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas that prosecutors filed a “weak case” against suspected drug pushers dubbed as the “Balasan Boys,” referring to the town where they were nabbed and alluding to a similar controversy involving the “Alabang Boys” in Manila.

Gonzalez cited reports that the names of two provincial prosecutors were written on a piece of paper found in the wallet of one of the suspects.

Tupas earlier had withdrawn the subsidy given to provincial prosecutors for unjustly dismissing cases against suspected drug pushers. – Edu Punay