Napolcom dismisses drug exposé; GMA orders probe

Nothing but a bum steer.

The National Police Commission (Napolcom) has dismissed the confession made by a supposed member of a drug syndicate in linking top police officials as "kuryente" (bum steer).

"I hate to admit it, pero pare-pareho tayong nakuryente, (we have been misled)," Napolcom officer-in-charge Linda Malenab-Hornilla told a news conference yesterday.

Hornilla made the statement even as President Arroyo has ordered a speedy investigation into the allegations made by self-confessed drug syndicate member Jonathan Prestado.

Prestado has named 14 top officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP), including two police chief superintendents, involved in reselling seized drugs on the street.

"We gave him (Prestado) all the benefit of the doubt. The lesson we all learned here is we have to check and double check the information given to us," Hornilla said.

The claims made by Prestado, whose identity was initially withheld for security reasons, were prominently carried by several newspapers. He made his accusations in an affidavit filed with the Napolcom, the body that probes possible misdeeds of police officers.

Claiming to be a member of the syndicate, Prestado said he decided to come out with the revelations because he feared for his life after some of his cohorts were killed.

Prestado submitted to Napolcom a five-page affidavit dated Sept. 3, 2003, naming 14 police officers as involved in the drug recyling syndicate.

Among them are Chief Superintendent Napoleon Castro, Central Police District (CPD) director; Senior Superintendent Jesus Versoza of the PNP Intelligence Group, Chief Inspector Danilo Morzo of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG); Superintendent Noel Amuyen of the Police Regional Office 1 (PRO-1), and Chief Insp. Renato Badua, chief of police of Sudipen, La Union.

Prestado reportedly walked inside the Napolcom building yesterday but declined to have an interview with reporters whom he accused to have violated an earlier agreement that they would not mention his name in their stories.

Last Wednesday, Prestado spoke with three print reporters, which included The STAR. The journalists later decided among themselves that Prestado’s claims needed further verification.

But Mrs. Arroyo said Prestado’s claims warrant an investigation. "The axe shall fail on rogue cops of whatever position or rank. There must be no hesitation among all our law enforcement agencies to purge and excise crime syndicates operating from within their respective organizations," she said.

Prestado had alleged that the syndicate re-sold illegal drugs seized from shabu laboratories during raids by the PNP. The syndicate supposedly operated in Northern Luzon.

He claimed his group "with-drew" the drugs from the Trans-national Crime Building at the PNP Headquarters at Camp Crame in Quezon City, using a white Nissan Sentra with government plates.

Hornilla told the same news conference that Prestado earlier arrived at the Napolcom first week of September with his wife, Arceli, asking for protection.

"Whether true or not, in line with our mandate as the agency tasked to investigate and file charges against erring policemen, we took down his statements and coordinated with units in the field for verification purposes," she said.

Hornilla said she asked Prestado if he wanted to be turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation but he refused claiming an NBI agent is also involved.

Prestado even refused to be placed under the Justice Department’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) claiming a prosecutor is also a member of the drug syndicate.

Hornilla said the Napolcom kept the situation confidential so as not to jeopardize the agency’s validation and investigation on Prestado’s claims.

She said that the Napolcom conducted a background check on the information he provided.

Hornilla admitted that initially the Napolcom was not aware that Prestado had already been a "whistleblower" two years ago, where he also claimed several high-ranking police officials ran an illegal drugs business in Quezon province.

She admitted that with this latest incident, government agencies should have better coordination with each other on how to handle "whistleblowers," saying Prestado could now be considered a "tainted witness."

Since the Napolcom took Prestado into custody, he has yet to present solid evidence against the policemen he has accused, Hornilla said.

She pointed out that some of Prestado’s claims turned out to be negative.

The Napolcom also asked the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF) headed by Deputy Director General Edgardo Aglipay to verify the illegal drugs operations that Prestado mentioned but the task force said yesterday there were no such operations.

Despite this, Hornilla said the Napolcom kept Prestado in their custody "due to his continued and persistent request and because of his fear of his life and his promise that there will be other witnesses who would come bringing with them documentary evidence including the supposed checks used in the pay-off."

Hornilla said the Napolcom would still continue to validate Prestado’s "story and credibility."

"If we find the evidence, we will file the appropriate charges against the policemen," Hornilla said.

Hornilla clarified Napolcom is not protecting the PNP when it kept Prestado’s revelation under wraps for a month.

His affidavit with the Napolcom supposedly leaked, prompting Prestado to speak with reporters about his claims.

"Considering that he was implicating several high ranking officials, we did not want to give his affidavit to everybody," Hornilla said. "We should have evidence that will stand in court. We don’t want a situation where a witness (later) recanted his statement." — With Katherine Adraneda, AFP