THIS high profile drug-related case involving prominent names in Alabang affluent enclave is exposing the bizarre and absurdities in law enforcement and prosecution system in our country. I find it inconceivable that the drug enforcement agents and the prosecutors are after each other's necks and had virtually forgotten the drug suspects who, I imagine, are now grinning from ear to ear.

Here is a case where three Alabang boys, known not only for their notoriety but also for their involvement in drug trafficking, were caught in Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency's entrapment. The prosecutors admitted that there are enough pieces of evidence to hang them but ironically they cannot be prosecuted because of technicalities. As if that is not enough, the lawyer of the suspects appeared to have prepared all the memoranda including the release order!

From somewhere in Mindanao where she and the cabinet members were having sessions, the irate Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo blew her top and ordered the continued detention of the Alabang gang. She must have known something even Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez doesn't know for she went on and ordered all those involve in the case to go on leave.

The prosecutors cried foul and demanded that PDEA agents, including Gen. Santiago, should go on leave in the meanwhile that the Ombudsman is looking into the alleged payoff and the lifestyle of the DOJ prosecutors. But they were not alone in crying foul. In Davao City, the prosecutors wore red armed bands to signify their sympathy with their "suspended" colleagues. Which can mean that they are in accord with what and how the Alabang boys prosecutors handled, dismissed and allowed the suspects' lawyer to draft memoranda on what could be fabricated DOJ legal forms.

For the record, ABS-CBN came out with a list of drug-related cases ordered dismissed by the Department of Justice prosecution division. This data will speak for itself.

* On July 9, 2008, a Shabu Lab in Naguilian, La Union, was raided. Six truckloads of evidence were gathered. The case was dismissed on November 12, 2008;

* October 30, 2007, a shabu factory in Sta. Cruz, Laguna was raided. Apprehended were Chinese, Singaporeans and Malaysian nationals. The case was dismissed January 10, 2008.

* A transshipment of more than 300 kilos of shabu contained in 75 boxes was seized in Subic. The case was dismissed August 27, 2008.

* In Calumpit, Bulacan, a shabu lab operated by the Chinese nationals were raided December 22, 2006 with the help of Beijing authorities. It was dismissed November 23, 2007.

* 200 Ecstacy tablets were seized in a buy-bust operation conducted February 22, 2008 but case was dismissed June 16, 2008.

* In Zamboanga City, a Chinese drug lord identified as Lucky Ong was ordered dropped from the charge sheet on October 23, 2008 by no less than Sec. Raul Gonzalez even as the trial proper had been going on for five months already.

In all of the above cases the common euphemism was "wrong arrest" and "insufficient evidence". In the case of Lucky Ong the issues of arrest and evidence were already for the hearing judge to ascertain.

Isn't it surprising that nearly all of the cases were dismissed in 2008? If this is not systematic, this is symptomatic of irregularity in the handling of the prosecution.

On the other hand, I still have to hear complaints leveled against the conduct and credibility of our regional and city prosecutors and they need not diminish that public trust by sympathizing with those who handled the "Alabang boys".

After all is said and done, PDEA ought to learn from Davao City experience. I personally recommend that they have a closed-door conference with our City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on how to deal with drug lords, drug dealers, and users.