Sotto: CIDG-NBI word war on drug lords' arrest 'demeaning'

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Vicente Sotto III on Friday called for a legislative inquiry on the police operations against Chinese drug lords in San Juan City last July 13, which is now subject of a word war between the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Sotto, former chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), lamented that the controversy about the arrest of Chinese drug lord Li Lan Yan alias Jackson Dy and his wife Wang Li Na, has resulted into the heated public exchange between Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and top CIDG officials.

"It is demeaning," said Sotto, who received conflicting versions of the controversial operations.

"We should look into the bottom of all these," he added.

Earlier, the NBI accused the CIDG men of pocketing P20 million and 80 kilos of shabu allegedly found in the possession of the Chinese suspects.

CIDG officials, meanwhile, claimed that some NBI agents were seen at the Infanta Subdivision in San Juan City, where the Li couple were arrested early this month.

The other day, senators Gregorio Honasan and Grace Poe also called for transparency in the ongoing probe.