Shabu lab probe to include mayors?

The mayors of Valenzuela City and Navotas as well as barangay leaders may be included in the investigation into the operation of a laboratory and warehouse found to have been storing raw materials for the manufacture of the illegal drug shabu.

As this developed, the Valenzuela City Prosecutor’s Office has released the alleged warehouse owner, Lee Yuk Sau, who surrendered to police chief Superintendent Jose Marcelo last Friday.

Lee told police she does not know anything about the illegal activities of another Chinese national, Wang Yashi, who allegedly rented the Valenzuela and Navotas warehouses for the illegal drug trade.

A laboratory with some P2.2 billion worth of shabu was discovered in the Valenzulea compound Tuesday after the warehouse was damaged by fire. Wang reportedly fled at the height of the blaze. Three days later a warehouse that supplied chemicals to the laboratory was raided by police and drug enforcement agents in Navotas.

Northern Police District Office PDO officials clarified that Lee was not yet off the hook as investigation into the fire that led to the discovery of the shabu laboratory inside her warehouse in Barangay Lawang Bato has yet to be completed.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) are reportedly planning to include Valenzuela Mayor Emmanuel "Bobbit" Carlos and Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco, the barangay chairmen of Barangay Lawang Bato in Valenzuela and North Bay Boulevard South in Navotas in the probe.

The two agencies said the two mayors and the barangay officials should be included in the investigation to determine their culpability in the operation of the shabu laboratory and the warehouse in their respective localities.

Officials said they should be held responsible since they are supposed to be the first to know what goes on in their areas of jurisdiction.

Carlos and Tiangco, in separate interviews, welcomed moves by concerned agencies even as they explained they should not be held accountable for the operation of the shabu laboratory and the warehouse.

"As far as the city government and local police are concerned, we have been doing our job to minimize, if not totally eradicate illegal drug activities, but we can only do so much," Valenzuela city administrator Carmelita Lozada, speaking for Carlos, said.

She explained it was impossible for the local government to keep a close watch on all establishments, including warehouses, as it would be violating existing laws.

"Even a mayor cannot just enter any establishment unless he can show a court order," she said. "Can you imagine how many search warrants we have to obtain to get inside thousands of similar structures in the city?"

Lozada, a lawyer, proposed that local governments come up with an ordinance that allows local officials to conduct regular inspections on all establishments.

In a separate interview, Tiangco laughed off reports that they would be placed under investigation under the principle of command responsibility.

"Like any other local government official, I am doing my very best to keep my town free from illegal drugs, but preventing chemicals from entering the area is not an easy job," Tiangco admitted.

He said the task of stamping out the drug menace entails a concerted effort by authorities and not the local government alone.

"For example, it should be the Bureau of Customs, Maritime Command and the Philippine Coast Guard which should be the first to detect and prevent the entry of imported chemical substances," Tiangco said, adding that effective networking and intelligence gathering should be given extra focus to stamp out illegal drugs.