PDEA probing if massacre perpetrators were on drugs

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is now investigating the possibility that the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre were on drugs when the killings were committed.

PDEA director general Dionisio Santiago said anti-narcotics agents have been instructed to coordinate with military forces in conducting the probe.

He said that such a brutal way of killing people could only indicate that the perpetrators were not of sound mind.

He said those behind the carnage could have also been motivated by “blind loyalty” to whoever was giving orders, which is why only an investigation will explain the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Santiago, however, belied reports that the PDEA has arrested several members of the Ampatuan clan during the past year for drug-related offenses.

He said there were arrests in 2003 before he became PDEA chief but there appears to be no direct link between those nabbed and the Ampatuan family in Maguindanao.

“That I will have to check,” he said, when asked if persons with Ampatuan surnames are listed in the agency’s order of battle.

As this developed, Datu Unsay town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. tested negative for illegal drugs at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Friday night, a source said.

The NBI Chemistry Division had taken on the same day urine samples from Ampatuan to determine if he is on prohibited drugs.

The NBI source said the finding is not conclusive.                        – Sandy Araneta