‘He belongs in a mental hospital’

As far as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is concerned, Jonathan Prestado, the man who accused at least 14 police officials of having links to a Northern Luzon-based drug ring, would be better off spending his days confined at a mental hospital than be seriously treated as a witness.

In an interview over radio station dzMM yesterday, PDEA director general Undersecretary Anselmo Avenido again reiterated that Prestado, aka Juanito Perpinion, is not a reliable witness and should be taken to a drug rehabilitation center and then to a mental institution.

Avenido made the statement after learning that Prestado would be brought by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) to the PDEA office at Camp Crame for further investigation.

"We are curious as to why there is such a plan. We do not even know what his status is or the reason why he should be brought to PDEA. If he is to be treated as a witness, we have records to show that he is not a reliable witness. If he is brought here as a detainee, that too cannot be. All we know is that he is a drug addict with a mental problem. He needs to be examined and determined if he should be taken back to a drug rehabilitation center or brought to a mental hospital if it is true that he has a mental illness," Avenido said.

He said PDEA has received a report from its office in Baguio City last Thursday night which said that Prestado, before appearing at the Napolcom main office in Manila, had also approached the Baguio City police and reporters in that city and revealed that he was a member of a drug syndicate and that he was being hunted down by the syndicate members.

Avenido added that Prestado allegedly asked for money needed for information gathering. It was later learned that the information relayed by Prestado all turned out to be baseless, he said.

"Our office in Baguio suggested that all information that he supplied should not be entertained," Avenido said. "We follow a policy that all information that we get from whatever source, regarding links to the drug business, needs to be validated. If the information is validated, that is the time that we release information regarding a person’s involvement. All of his (Prestado’s) allegations were given to investigators. But so far, feedback from our investigators showed that not one of his allegations has been proven true. But we are not saying that we are totally disregarding his allegations. All we are saying is that so far, not one of his allegations, has been confirmed," Avenido said.

Avenido also said that in May 2000, Prestado went to the office of the National Drug Enforcement and Prevention Coordinating (NDEP) Center in Camp Crame. The NDEP is the forerunner of the PDEA.

According to Avenido, Prestado stayed at the NDEP center and revealed information that were later unconfirmed. Prestado was later brought to a drug rehabilitation center after NDEP personnel observed him to be acting strangely.

Avenido said that after his rehabilitation, Prestado again went to the NDEP center to again volunteer some information. This time, however, he was not entertained, Avenido said.

It was at this time that Prestado disappeared for a while and resurfaced in Baguio City where he volunteered information to the Baguio City police and to the Napolcom office there. The information he supplied, said Avenido, all turned out to be false.

"He is not a reliable witness. All his allegations are just invented. We will just be wasting our time if we are still to entertain him," said Avenido.

Prestado last Wednesday appeared at the Napolcom main office in Makati City and revealed information that allegedly link 14 police officials, including Chief Superintendents Napoleon Castro, the director of the Central Police District; and Jesus Verzosa, former head of the PNP Intelligence Group, to a drug ring based in Northern Luzon. Both police generals denied Prestado’s allegations.

The drug ring, he claimed, was involved in the smuggling of seized shabu from Camp Crame. Once out of the camp, the drugs are then brought for distribution in Baguio City, La Union and other nearby provinces.

Meanwhile, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) began their evaluation on the accusations made by Prestado.

"He made very sensitive allegations. This issue is of national interest, we should be meticulous in our evaluation," PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said.

She went to the Napolcom yesterday after being informed Prestado was willing to talk to PAO. – With Christina Mendez, Evelyn Macairan