EDITORIAL - Cleared on a technicality

Controversial from the start, the drug case involving the so-called Alabang Boys fell apart last Friday with the acquittal of two of the three defendants. Jorge Joseph and Richard Brodett were cleared by the Muntinlupa trial court on a technicality, with the court noting lapses in the handling of evidence by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Joseph and Brodett were arrested in a sting operation in Ayala Alabang on Sept. 19, 2008. They were accused of selling 60 Ecstasy tablets worth P750 each to an undercover agent. PDEA agents said several grams of cocaine and dried marijuana leaves were also found inside the car of Brodett. But the Muntinlupa court said the prosecution failed “to establish all the links in the chain of custody” of the confiscated drugs, in violation of provisions in the Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. PDEA officials, smarting from the acquittal of Brodett and Joseph, now want RA 9165 amended.

 The country’s drug laws are among the toughest in the world. But RA 9165 also includes provisions that are meant as safeguards against the abuse of those tough laws. The safeguards are necessary particularly in a country where anti-narcotics agents have been known to plant evidence to catch drug dealers or shake down innocent people.

At the start of the case involving the Alabang Boys, the PDEA had accused government prosecutors of receiving bribes. Prosecutors said the circumstances of the arrest were technically flawed, and their argument is borne out by the acquittal of Joseph and Brodett. The acquittal can still be appealed, and PDEA officials can push for the amendments that they want in RA 9165. Seeking the reversal of a court decision and amending legislation, however, can take years. In the meantime, anti-narcotics agents have many other drug suspects to pursue.

 The collapse of the cases against two of the Alabang Boys should make government agents more mindful of the requirements that will make a drug case stand in court. Too many cases filed against notorious drug dealers have been dismissed on technicalities. Anti-narcotics agents should not provide any loopholes that can lead to the acquittal of drug suspects. They must also remember that those requirements for conducting an arrest and confiscating evidence are enshrined in the law for a purpose, to protect the rights of the innocent.