Dismissal of John-John's drug case shame to RP?

CEBU - Dangerous Drugs Board Undersecretary Clarence Paul Oaminal yesterday described the dismissal of the case against former Cebu Vice Governor John Gregory Osmeña as an embarrassment to the Philippines before the international community.

The vice chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Cebu City South District Rep. Antonio Cuenco, blamed the “very weak” prosecutors for the dismissal of the case.

Cuenco said that the court ruling dismissing the case against Osmeña for allegedly coddling drug traffickers is a major setback in the campaign against illegal drugs in the country.

Cuenco, who played a vital role in the filing of the case against the former vice governor, admitted that he is morally convinced of Osmeña’s involvement in the smuggling of the P3.6-billion pseudoephedrine into the Cebu International Port in 2004.

However, Cuenco said proving it before the court is another story which the Department of Justice has the duty to do.

“Makaapekto gyod kay daghan na kaayo ang gisumbong unya makabuhi lang. Usa sa mga hinungdan niini tungod kay ang prosecutors huyang kaayo,” Cuenco said over dyLA.

Oaminal said it is “very embarrassing for the country” before the international community having not able to convict the Philippine contact of the Australia drug syndicate responsible for the smuggling of the 1,500 kilograms of pseudoephedrine, a precursor of shabu, into the country.

“Makauulaw ni sa international community kay sayonan mo nga ang mga Australiano dugay na nga nakonbikto unya sa Pilipinas wa makonbikto,” Oaminal said.

According to Oaminal, the Australian Federal Court has already convicted two of the alleged masterminds in the shipment. Reports had it that the shipment came from China and was intended for Australia. Cebu was just used as a transshipment point because of its several airstrips.

Oaminal said the federal court in Australia “convicted the masterminds even without having caught drugs in their possession.” He said the conviction was merely based on the testimonies of the federal agents who have placed them under surveillance until the shipment was seized in CIP in March 2004.

Oaminal also said that the Australian Federal Government is interested in the progress of the case because it was them who gave the information about the drug smuggling. In fact, they have offered to help in the prosecution by giving the Philippine Government the pieces of evidence that were used against the masterminds in Australia.

He added that the Philippine government is supposed to file an official request to the Australian government to turn over the court documents pertaining to the case against the alleged conspirators previously convicted in Australia.

Oaminal said that the testimonies of the Australian Federal Police agents implicated Osmeña as the one who allegedly facilitated the entry of the shipment from China to Cebu. — Fred P. Languido/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)