Aurora town vice mayor denies shabu involvement

DINGALAN, Aurora , Philippines  – A ranking official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) yesterday linked this town’s vice mayor to the P600 million worth of shabu recovered by anti-narcotics agents here last Saturday.

Robert Opeña, director of PDEA’s Task Group Alpha, told The STAR in a telephone interview that they were looking into the possible involvement of re-electionist Vice Mayor Edgar Hiram Liu to the 100 kilos of shabu.           

“We are looking into his possible involvement into this,” Opeña said, referring to Liu.

Liu later phoned The STAR vehemently denying his involvement in the shabu haul.

“I have a clear conscience and I have no knowledge whatsoever about the shabu that they discovered,” he said.

He said his being linked to illegal drugs may have been politically motivated, coming as it is in the run-up to the 2010 elections. 

This is the second time that Liu has been implicated in the discovery of shabu shipments in this town. He was also tagged in a shabu laboratory busted in Barangay Butas na Bato on Aug. 30, 2006.

Then a municipal councilor, Liu was charged but was subsequently acquitted. He later won as vice mayor. 

The 100-kilo shabu haul was the largest since 2006 when National Bureau of Investigation agents raided the shabu lab.

The newly recovered shabu was reportedly dumped from a fishing boat midnight Saturday on a roadside in Barangay Matawe after an informant reported it to PDEA.

Opeña said the shabu haul may have been part of what was seized in the shabu lab in Barangay Butas na Bato where 5.44 kilos of the illegal drug were seized.

The 2006 raid led to the filing of charges against Chinese nationals Sy Tho, Wang Tha Ti, Chin Na Chua and Chen Chien. The Baler regional trial court later acquitted them due to technicalities.

On Nov. 27 last year, the Central Luzon police also dug up along this town’s shoreline 13 grams of shabu in two containers, also believed to be part of the 2006 haul.     

Opeña said last Saturday’s shipment was apparently related to the elections. “Because of the forthcoming elections, these are being gradually shipped out,” he said.

He said they are monitoring reports of shabu landing on the coasts of Samar, Polillo Island and Dingalan now that the 2010 elections are fast approaching.  

Liu said his being linked to the shabu trade was unfounded and without any strong basis. “Just because they have uncovered shabu again in Dingalan, now they would implicate me. I think it’s unfair,” he said.

He said he has, in fact, asked the Dingalan police if there was any evidence showing that he was involved in the shabu shipment but that they admitted its ownership has yet to be established. 

He said if the claim that the shabu haul was meant as his way of raising funds for the coming elections.

He said it would be absurd for him to raise campaign funds through prohibited drugs since he is only running for re-election, not for any higher position.

“If my intention was to raise money through illegal drugs as law enforcers claim, then I would have run for mayor instead, not just for vice mayor,” he said.

Liu also said there is no need for him to raise funds as a vice mayoral candidate because his opponent was considered weak and thus not a threat to him.

“Just how strong is my opponent that I have to raise drug money just to be able to beat him?” he said.

He was apparently referring to businessman Romeo Callanta who lost in the mayoralty race in 2007.

Liu said the PDEA people and those implicating him in the new shabu haul are free to conduct a lifestyle check on him to see his source of wealth.

“They will be surprised to find out that I never changed my house and my lifestyle. In a small town like Dingalan, the people know me personally and they would never elect me as their vice mayor if I was really into drugs,” he said.

He expressed fears that PDEA officials, in order to justify their claims against him, might resort to planting evidence to pin him down.