PDEA dismayed by bail granted to mayoral bet in drug case

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) officials are dismayed over a Pasig court’s decision granting bail to a Mandaluyong City mayoralty candidate arrested in a drug bust last Jan. 29.

Judge Abraham Borreta granted Aksyon Demokratiko candidate Ernest Domingo-Buan’s petition for bail in an order dated April 16 but released Friday, saying the evidence against Buan was weak. Buan was charged with selling and possessing cocaine, usually a non-bailable offense, but Borreta said PDEA agents made mistakes in procedure he cannot disregard.

Borreta said PDEA agents used a car seized from a previous operation when they conducted a drug bust, and a PDEA chemist mislabeled evidence.

“We are disappointed with the unfortunate turn of events where the petition for bail of a Mandaluyong City mayoral candidate was granted by the court. But all is not lost. The case has not yet been dismissed,” said PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago.

He said he already gave orders to the PDEA’s legal and prosecution service to carefully study all available legal remedies in the drug case against Buan.

“This is merely a grant of petition for bail. Our legal team will file a motion for reconsideration in coordination with the prosecutor to clarify the different points raised by the… court with the intent of strengthening our case and seeing to it that the accused will remain under the control of the law,” Santiago said.

PDEA agents arrested Buan, 28, at a shopping complex in Barangay Ugong, Pasig City at around 2:24 a.m. on Jan. 29. The PDEA said five one-gram sachets of cocaine, worth around P20,000, were reportedly seized from Buan.

Santiago earlier said they will investigate if the cocaine reportedly sold by Buan came from cocaine bricks found floating in the waters of Eastern and Northern Samar.

“We’ll have to find out,” he told The STAR, noting that China and the US are helping in the probe, which also involves monitoring the movement of cocaine in the Philippines.

Cocaine has a street value of P4 million per kilo in the Philippines, and a gram sells for P4,000, PDEA said.

Aksyon Demokratiko said that “should it become clear that the arrest was justified and not politically motivated, we will not hesitate to withdraw our nomination.”

Santiago also maintained that Buan’s arrest was not politically motivated.

“We targeted him not because he is a political personality but because of his (reported) involvement in illegal drugs,” Santiago was quoted as saying in a radio interview.

Buan is running against re-electionist Mayor Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr.