EDITORIAL - Mysterious release

Despite several drug busts and the conviction of drug traffickers, the bad guys always seem to be a step ahead of anti-narcotics agents. One reason is that some lawmen themselves are protecting drug dealers. Another is that drug trafficking has become such a profitable business that drug dealers can buy off practically everyone with the power to stop their illicit trade, from the lowest ranking policeman to prosecutors, judges and politicians. Then there’s sheer incompetence and carelessness, with cops and prosecutors bungling cases.

So what happened to the drug bust in Pasig last November that netted four Chinese chemists and six kilos of shabu? Cops believe the four belong to a Fujian-based drug ring responsible for the execution of a Binondo-based narcotics agent, David Sy-Lato. The four — Chua Chiy Li, Huang Hong Wei, Xingfu Wang and Joey Lu Cruz — were freed Tuesday by Pasig Regional Trial Court Judge Rodrigo Lorenzo after posting bail of P700,000 each.

Reports said Lorenzo granted bail because of a police chemist’s failure to appear in court. The chemist, on the other hand, said she never received a court summons. Narcotics agents, appalled by the approval of the bail, turned to the Bureau of Immigration for help, and secured an order to detain the four Chinese for being undocumented aliens. The four were rearrested within two days after they were freed, with their lawyer being detained with them for obstruction of justice.

Narcotics agents have asked the justice department to investigate reports that there was a P12-million payoff in the release of the four accused. Lorenzo has not yet commented about the accusation. Was corruption the reason, or was cops’ negligence to blame? The judiciary is saddled with so-called hoodlums in robes, but police bungling has also led to the dismissal of many cases. The Supreme Court and the top brass of the Philippine National Police should look into this case. Unless the different components of the criminal justice system can get their act together, the campaign against drug trafficking will go nowhere.