Slain cop linked 30 colleagues to drugs?

MANILA, Philippines - A police official, slain in an ambush in Mandaluyong City on April 16, has allegedly drawn a diagram of an illegal drug ring involving 30 police officers, some of whom are reportedly his classmates in the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA).

PNP public information office head Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac said yesterday the Eastern Police District (EPD) created a special investigation task group on April 17 to investigate the killing of Chief Inspector Elmer Santiago, a member of PNPA Class 1996.

Senior Superintendent Wilson Caubat was tapped to head the probe panel.

“It is best to wait first for the initial result of the ongoing investigation on the case,” Sindac said, referring to a post on the Facebook account of the group Anti-Drug Advocate (ADA) claiming that Santiago prepared a “link diagram” of the operations of the drug ring.

In the diagram written in red ink were the names of persons from the New Bilibid Prison, Chinese and Muslim drug dealers and over 30 police officers with different ranks, according to the post.

The ADA has yet to release the names of these persons.

Santiago and his wife were attacked by still unidentified assailants while he was driving their car in Mandaluyong City. Investigators said Santiago was declared dead on arrival at the Victor Potenciano Medical Center on EDSA.

His wife was reported to be in stable condition at the same hospital.

The Mandaluyong police said Santiago was on “floating status” at the Central Luzon Police’s Regional Personnel Holding and Administrative Unit.

Baring details

Santiago’s family and persons representing the ADA held a press conference yesterday to bare the details of the April 12 meeting wherein Santiago supposedly revealed the drug ring’s operations.

They said they agreed to meet with PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima to personally turn over the diagram, which reportedly showed the source of the illegal drugs and the players in the ring’s operations, ADA’s Jonathan Morales said.

“We met last April 12, a Saturday. Since it was almost Holy Week, we advised him ( Santiago) to just prepare a written statement supporting the diagram. We promised him we will work out a meeting with Purisima,” Morales said.

Morales said they later learned that Santiago and his wife were ambushed after meeting with one of the police officers named in the diagram.

“Santiago reportedly said he will settle the issue,” he said.

Morales said Santiago’s family will also seek the help of the National Bureau of Investigation to speed up the investigation.

He added that Santiago’s family is requesting the PNP to relieve all the police officers named in the diagram to prevent them from using their position and resources to pressure other possible witnesses.

Another lawman under scrutiny

Meanwhile, a police official based in Metro Manila will be among those invited for questioning regarding Santiago’s murder, sources said yesterday.

The official, who has the rank of superintendent, is the deputy chief of a police station and filed illegal possession of firearms and explosives and grave threats against Santiago early this year. The official also belongs to PNPA Class 1996, one source said.

Senior Superintendent Tyrone Masigon, Mandaluyong police chief, admitted they have invited the official for questioning but stressed that “he is not yet considered a suspect” since they have no evidence linking the official to Santiago’s murder.

“We only wanted to get his statement to help us in our probe to get the killers of his classmate,” he told The STAR. “Santiago had many known enemies and all of them would be invited by us.”

Sources said Santiago and the official were previously assigned in Bataan. The official staged a raid in Orion, where Santiago was then police chief, and confiscated several kilos of shabu.

The raid resulted in Santiago’s relief from his post, prompting him to barge into his classmate’s office earlier this year. The official filed charges, but Masigon noted that Santiago was able to post bail since only the grave threats charge, a bailable offense, was not dismissed.

The documents of the case filed by the superintendent are among the folders recovered inside Santiago’s vehicle, according to Masigon.