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Monday, October 11, 2004
PDEA, DOJ to ask for shabu chief return
By ALLAN I. VARQUEZ, MIA E. ABELLANA and ALEDEL G. CUIZON
Sun.Star Staff Reporters
THE Philippine Government will be asking the Hong Kong court to allow the extradition of alleged shabu laboratory financier Calvin de Jesus Tan so he can face the charges filed against him with the Mandaue City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
In a meeting last night, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Anselmo Avenido Jr. and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez agreed to jointly write a letter of request so Tan could be sent back home immediately.
To make up for the embarrassment the shabu lab discoveries have cast on Mandaue City, Mayor Thadeo Ouano yesterday led the Alay-Lakad and urged participants to help in the anti-drugs drive.
This came as the Ouano family said they are reevaluating their decision to pursue the filing of libel and damage complaints against Gonzalez and Cebu Daily News (CDN), after reading the justice secretary’s explanation through media.
As this developed, the filing of drug charges against the owners of three warehouses used for shabu labs or storage will depend on their involvement in the illicit drug trade, if any, Avenido said.
The PDEA director also said the couple who owns the fourth warehouse has turned over the checks Tan paid to them as rent. Avenido, though, clarified that shabu didn’t turn up during the raid there.
While the authorities are assessing the charges, plans have been finalized for the disposal of the liquefied shabu and chemicals found in the “mega” shabu laboratory in Barangay Umapad.
Cebu City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. said the disposal of some of the illegal chemicals will be held at a cement plant on Oct. 15, the day President Arroyo will be in town for the blessing of the new Court of Appeals building.
Submit immediately
As for Tan’s extradition, the writing of a letter of request came after apprehensions that his return may be delayed for two months as he faces trial for drug possession charges in Hong Kong, where he was arrested.
Avenido said the request will be submitted to the Philippine consular office in Hong Kong. The consul general will, in turn, hand the letter to the Hong Kong court.
“We do not have a timetable when to file it, but we are working on it,” he said, adding that their motion granted by the Mandaue City RTC canceling Tan’s Philippine passport will be attached in the letter request to give it more weight.
Avenido also told Sun.Star in an interview last night that it is difficult for them to implicate couple Reynaldo and Rose Mary Tacder, owners of the fourth warehouse in Barangay Tipolo, because of lack of evidence.
While the Tacders have surrendered Tan’s checks, this is not an assurance that they are off the hook, Avenido added.
“The one in Tipolo was supposedly for storage of the finished product. But we happened to raid it first before they (lessees) could use it that’s why it was empty,” he said.
As to the warehouse in Barangays Paknaan and a storage facility in Barangay Looc, Avenido said they still have to establish the involvement of the owners of the buildings before a criminal complaint is filed against them.
Disposal
Following the decision on how to dispose of the illegal chemicals, Councilor Pe said Apo Cement Corp. has agreed orally to have some of the chemicals burned in their plant.
Pe, chairman of the City’s committee on dangerous drugs, said they initially agreed to ask cement and power firms if they could dispose of the shabu in their plants.
A board composed of representatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Health, House committee on dangerous drugs and the city council agreed last Friday to finalize the disposal of 150 liters of liquefied shabu and about 500 kilos of chloroephedrine.
Environmental Management Bureau 7 Director Jun Erasmo Villafañe refused to disclose the methods of disposing of the chemicals but said they will be using varied techniques since not all of the substances can be disposed of by burning.
He assured, however, that all necessary precautions were discussed before they arrived at a decision.
He said the issues concerning health and environmental effects were also addressed in the meeting.
Making up
Yesterday, Mayor Ouano called upon 8,000 students and government workers who joined the Alay-Lakad to be “vigilant and never allow sinister plots of drug producers, drug pushers and drug users to weaken the fibers of our city.”
“We find our city in the midst of a very embarrassing and shocking discovery of a shabu laboratory which has not been detected in its early stage of construction. This discovery has put our city in a bad light,” he said.
“But we are consoled by the fact that this was discovered before it can start producing the prohibited drug. It could have wrecked havoc on our children. Very insensitive, very sinister,” he added.
This came as his son, Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano, the family’s spokesperson, told Sun.Star in a separate interview that they are “reevaluating” their decision to file P25-million libel and damage complaints against DOJ’s Gonzalez and CDN.
Jonkie said the family came up with the decision after hearing and reading about Gonzalez’s explanation through the media during the weekend.
Jonkie said his father called the meeting among family members yesterday afternoon so they would have “one stand.”
However, the family has yet to consult its lawyers.
The story
The decision came two days after Mayor Ouano announced he was suing Gonzalez and CDN for P100 million for a story that identified him as the owner of one of the shabu laboratories.
The story, which saw print on page 1 of CDN last Oct. 8, quoted Gonzalez as the source of the information.
Ouano denied owning any of the four warehouses in Barangays Umapad, Paknaan, Looc and Tipolo.
Gonzalez had since clarified that he merely got a report that there was a warehouse in Mandaue City allegedly owned by the Ouano family that was reportedly rented by the arrested “shabu makers.”
Quoting an informant from Cebu, Gonzalez said the warehouse is reportedly near a wharf, which is owned by another Ouano family.
But the warehouse reportedly had no shabu ingredients or drug-making equipment inside as it only contained sacks of imported dog food.
Jonkie also said the mayor issued a directive to Acting City Legal Officer Erwin Rommel Heyrosa to investigate department heads for failing to conduct the necessary inspections on the building where the shabu laboratory was found.
Alay-Lakad
Yesterday’s Alay-Lakad gathered more participants than that of the previous one held in 2001.
The participants came from at least six public schools and three private schools. The others were from government offices.
Students who joined the activity contributed P2 to the Alay Lakad Inc.- Mandaue Chapter while every employee shelled out P10.
The proceeds will be used for the education of out-of-school youth.
The Rotary Club of Mandaue, Rotary Club of Mandaue East and Rotary Club of Mandaue North organized yesterday’s activity.
(October 11, 2004 issue)
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