PGMA Orders DOJ Secretary: Tell your men to go on leave

Cebu - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has instructed Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to require all DOJ officials and prosecutors, who were accused of receiving money in exchange for the release of the suspected drug dealers, the so-called “Alabang Boys,” to go on leave.

Arroyo said that “no one should be spared” and added that “the full force of the government’s powers to act against those that betray public trust should be applied swiftly and unequivocally.”

“We should not allow a breach in our determined war against the menace of illegal drugs and against narco-politics on a broader level. We are witness to the tragedy that befell countries that have taken a pause on their war on illegal drugs,” the President said in her one-page statement sent to Cebu press yesterday during the briefing for her two-day visit here.

From a public realm, Arroyo said that the government’s war on drugs should be vigilant and unrelenting and it should not be compromised.

The President added, “I am a mother who is bothered by an alleged conspiracy to let loose on our streets anew pushers of illegal drugs. What if they lurk on my street?”

The President said, “Illegal drugs sap the strength of its young victims, their vitality, their joy and their enthusiasm. Directly and with extreme prejudice, they also sap the strength of a nation,” the President added.

It maybe recalled that Justice undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor and several prosecutors were under fire after agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency revealed that they got a bribe offers of between P20 million to P50 million.

The said offer, which was rejected by PDEA reportedly happened shortly after State prosecutors recommended the dismissal of the drug cases filed against the so-called “Alabang Boys” namely Joseph Tecson, Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph.

The PDEA agents, particularly Marine Major Ferdinand Marcelino and PDEA director Dionisio Santiago, have received the support of fellow alumni of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), who have lauded them for their courage.

The Association of Generals and Flag Officers came out with a statement of Cebu late last week in Manila.

In Cebu, the PMA-Cebu Quad Inc., an organization composed of graduates and former cadets of the PMA, also issued a statement of support for Santiago and Marcelino urging them to continue their fight against illegal drugs. — /NLQ (THE FREEMAN)