PDEA appeals for release of informant

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said yesterday a man nabbed by Pateros police carrying several “computer printout” copies of P1,000 bills is a PDEA undercover informant and asked for his release.

In a talk with Manila reporters yesterday, Major Ferdinand Marcelino, director of PDEA’s Special Enforcement Service (SES), said the informant is an active participant in PDEA’s day-to-day operations.

Marcelino said the informant was actually engaged in a surveillance operation, and was on the trail of a suspected illegal drug dealer from Taguig City when he was apprehended by policemen at a Pateros cockpit last week.

He said another informant was also present at the time of the arrest and was in possession of surveillance gadgets. The informant was able to flee from the police.

According to Marcelino, PDEA coordinated with the Taguig anti-drugs task force created recently by Mayor Freddie Tiñga and the Taguig City police against illegal drugs.

The PDEA official also clarified that the computer printouts or copies of P1,000 bills were only used as “show money” during a planned buy-bust operation. The “low-quality resolution printouts” on ordinary bond paper were not meant to be used as a legal tender, Marcelino pointed out.

Apparently, the informant could not disclose classified information in connection with PDEA’s covert operations, Marcelino added. “There was clearly misinterpretation and miscommunication,” he said.

The PDEA official appealed for the informant’s release on humanitarian grounds, pointing out that the arrested informant who is a sole breadwinner and a father of three, is a law-abiding individual.      – Nestor Etolle