Monasterios point finger at broker

In a bid to clear their name, the mother of former basketball player Teddy Monasterio Jr., urged the real estate broker who introduced them to Chinese nationals who rented their house in Parañaque City to come out in the open.

Cora Monasterio’s appeal was echoed by Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Supt. Jose Gutierrez Jr.

Gutierrez said investigators need as much information as they can to lead them back to the Chinese triad that they strongly suspect to have operated the shabu laboratory.

Monasterio identified the broker as a certain Chi Castro.

"She was the broker who introduced us to the three Chinese men, including the one who was arrested. He introduced himself as Crispin Ong," Monasterio said in a phone interview Thursday night.

Monasterio admitted that she did not personally know Castro, whom she described to be in her 40s. "She’s not even a friend," she said.

Monasterio said she and her husband, Teddy Sr., spread the word among their friends that they would be selling their two-storey house located on 19929 Hemlock Street, Executive Heights Subdivision, Barangay Sun Valley.

"I just announced it to my friends who knew (real estate) brokers. Word got around and Chi Castro called us up," Monasterio explained.

The Monasterios have put the house on sale as early as 2000 for P15 million. But Castro said her client only wanted to rent the house.

Monasterio said she only met the two other Chinese men once.

Ong, whose real name is Xuzi Bin Ong, acted as the "runner" and interpreter for the two other Chinese nationals, according to Monasterio.

However, it was the Chinese whom Ong introduced to her as "Taba" who signed the contract lease that Castro prepared.

The contract was from Jan. 14, 2001 to Jan. 15, 2002. Monasterio said she and her husband agreed to rent out the house for P70,000.

She said that they initially wanted P80,000, because they were willing to rent out the house fully furnished. But Castro negotiated for less, saying that her clients do not need the furniture, Monasterio said.

Monasterio said the Chinese nationals, who claimed to be in the computer business, even wanted to move in December 2000.

She needs to clear her name

"All the transactions were done through Chi Castro. So I am appealing to her to go to General Gutierrez so she could also explain how she got to know these Chinese people and also clear her name, as much as we want to clear ours," Monasterio said.

She added that by coming out, she and her family are in fact already fearing for their lives. "Nag-iingat na lang kami. But we have to do this to clear our name."

Monasterio said Castro had called her up almost immediately after the Nov. 1 raid. "I told her that this was a problem and that she has to explain to the police that she was my broker. That she was the one who knew these people better." However, it was the last time that they spoke, Monasterio said.

Monasterio and her son, Teddy Jr., appeared before Gutierrez to submit their statements Wednesday afternoon.

Mrs. Monasterio was upset that tabloids have linked her son to the drug syndicate. She said that her son explained to the police that he had moved out of the house in the early ’90s and rented a condominium unit in another city.

He left several things in the house, including his old jerseys discovered during the raid, because there were no plans then to have the house leased.

Monasterio said she never had any suspicions that something fishy was going on inside their house. She said that all the checks the Chinese nationals issued her were good. In fact, her husband prepared another lease contract for 2002-203 and it was again signed by "Taba." This time, Monasterio said, they dealt directly with Xuzi.

However, Monasterio recalled that whenever she and her husband would visit the house, nobody was there to answer the door. Neither did anyone answer the phone when they tried to call up their lessees.

Still, she said, she never suspected something fishy was going on in the house.

Police said the house was an ideal place to set up a shabu laboratory because the stench from the dumpsite would cover up the smell that emit from drug making. Police also suspected that the tiny gate was used by the syndicate to bring out the drugs.

For his part, Gutierrez said the police could summon Castro.

"We need to know what happened. Castro needs to talk to clear her name. We want to establish the participation of each individual to help us trace the lab back to the triad," Gutierrez said.

He added that all the individuals who would be named in the investigation would "automatically be included" in the charge sheet police would file before the prosecutor’s office.

Charges of drug manufacturing and operation of a clandestine drug laboratory would be filed against Xuzi on Monday, police said.