Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (File photo)
MANILA – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has identified the Philippine National Police (PNP) officers seen in video footage of a drug raid that led to the confiscation of 990 kilos of shabu worth PHP6.7 billion in Manila last year.
In a press briefing at the DILG office in Quezon City Monday night, Abalos presented a CCTV (closed circuit television) footage on what transpired during the Oct. 8, 2022 drug bust where authorities seized 990 kilos of shabu and arrested Master Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr. and nine others.
Abalos said the CCTV footage showed that some PNP officers were seen on the site on the day of the operation. The video was submitted to the fact-finding board headed by the National Police Commission Vice Chairperson Alberto Bernardo.
“Parang iba ang nangyari dun sa mga report na na-file ng PNP kasama na ang mga dokumento at mga testimonials na ibinigay ng police officers (It seems that it is different from the report filed by the PNP, including the documents and testimonials given by the police officers),” he told reporters.
“It shows that there is indeed a massive attempt to cover up the arrest of Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.,” he added.
He said Mayo is the owner of the lending office where the illegal drugs were seized, and he is now dismissed from the police service and facing three counts of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer.
The police officers seen in the footage were Police Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr. who was then Deputy Chief PNP for Operations; Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, director of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG); Col. Julian Olonan, chief of PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) Special Operations Unit (SOU) Region 4A; Capt. Jonathan Sosongco, head of the PDEG SOU 4A arresting team; Lt. Col. Arnulfo Ibañez, OIC of PDEG SOU National Capital Region (NCR); Maj. Michael Angelo Salmingo, deputy of PDEG SOU NCR; Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzales of Quezon City Police District; Lt. Ashrap Amerol, intelligence officer of PDEG Intelligence and Foreign Liaison Dvision; Lt. Col. Harry Lorenzo, Manila Police District Moriones Station Commander; and Captain Randolph Piñon, chief of PDEG SOU 4A Intelligence Section.
He advised the concerned officers shown in the video to take their voluntary leave of absence pending the result of the investigation.
“I am giving them within this week to file their leave of absence pending investigation. Kung hindi magli-leave, sususpindehin natin sila (If they won't go on leave, we will suspend them),” a visibly disgusted Abalos said.
He said the call for leave of absence aims to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the pieces of evidence.
Abalos said 42 police officers took 42 kilos of shabu before the inventory of the confiscated 990 kilos of illegal drugs based on the CCTV footage.
The stolen 42 kilos of shabu were recovered on Oct. 15, 2022 in an abandoned car parked along Boni Serrano Avenue in San Juan City near Camp Crame.
This incident prompted the PNP to create a Special Investigation Task Force known as SITG 990.
With the slow progress of the probe, Abalos said a fact-finding board was formed and had taken the testimonies of the personalities.
He said based on the pieces of evidence, it was concluded that there was a “massive attempt to cover up the arrest of Sgt. Mayo.’’
Being the DILG chief and at the same time ex-officio chairperson of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Abalos said he is exercising administrative and operational supervision over the PNP and “it is incumbent upon us to monitor and look into the progress of the investigation.
Abalos believes that the police officers seen during the drug bust are not the only ones involved in the case.
“The buck doesn’t stop here. Malawak ito. Mahabang laban ito (It is extensive. It’s a long fight),” he said.
On March 26, the PNP and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) destroyed 990 kilos of shabu with an estimated street value of PHP6.7 billion in Trece Martires City, Cavite province.
The contraband was seized from Mayo and another suspect, Ney Atadero, in an operation in Manila in October last year.
Mayo was dismissed from the service effective March 21 for three counts of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a police officer while Atadero was charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
House probe
House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chair Robert Ace Barbers supported Abalos’ remarks on the “massive attempt to cover-up” Mayo.
“Indeed, there is much truth of a massive attempt to exonerate Sgt. Mayo and other personalities involved in the raid and/or connected to him,” Barbers said in a statement on Tuesday.
Barbers said the Committee on Dangerous Drugs has been conducting its own investigation on the involvement of Mayo and other ranking police officers.
“We have unearthed evidence, testimonial and documentary as well as authentic CCTV footages that revealed the damning truth and the real story behind several incidents that were peddled by some scalawags,” he said.
Barbers, representative of the 2nd District of Surigao del Norte, said while Congress cannot prosecute, the lawmakers are empowered to endorse their findings to all relevant agencies and the proper courts to take action.
The House can also enact remedial legislations to ensure that the incident will not be repeated anymore, he added.
“I am happy that our DILG Secretary is firm in cleansing the ranks of our national police. We in the House of Representatives will always support him in every way possible to strengthen our law enforcement units in order to ensure the safety and protection of the people,” Barbers said. (with reports from Zaldy De Layola/PNA)
