THE reaction of former Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Harry Roque was question on the program “Pulso ng Bayan” of SMNI, regarding the showcase by the Marcos administration about the alleged ‘biggest drug haul’ in the Philippines.
On Tuesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. went to Alitagtag, Batangas, and inspected what he claimed to be the biggest drug haul in the Philippines, in which nearly two tons of shabu were seized by authorities.
Marcos stated that one of the suspects was apprehended by arresting agents without the use of force.
“What we are doing is we take apart, we dismantle syndicates, whoever we see has an accomplice, has an accomplice in the drug trade, whoever it may be, whether a powerful politician, or police, or anyone, we are really investigating,” said President Marcos.
Authorities previously announced that the driver of the passenger van was immediately arrested and charged with violations of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and is currently in police custody.
Roque raised suspicions, saying that the transporters of such a large quantity of prohibited drugs or shabu did not take any other steps to protect their shipment.
Another doubtful aspect is that the suspect driving the van voluntarily stopped at a checkpoint in that area.
“You know, Alitagtag, I am also familiar with Batangas because I often go there, there are many routes there. It’s very obvious, if it’s the biggest drug haul, why would you go through a checkpoint?” said Atty. Roque.
Roque also questioned why ordinary checkpoint personnel knew that the substance in the van was shabu.
“The checkpoint personnel, why do they already know it’s shabu? Usually, there is specialized training to identify shabu and its immediately taken to the laboratory to confirm that it is indeed shabu, but why do ordinary checkpoint personnel know it’s shabu? Roque added.
Because of this, Roque now doubts whether the arrest is genuine or if it’s just staged.
Meanwhile, from the previously reported over P13-B worth of illegal drugs, this has now decreased to nearly P10-B according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
