PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald Dela Rosa defended on Tuesday, December 12, his decision to appoint Senior Superintendent Albert Ferro as head of the Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG), saying the latter was not involved in the kidnap-slay of Korean businessman Jee Ick Joo.
Ferro was the former head of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Group (AIDG), which was dissolved after several of its members were involved in the kidnapping and killing of Jee inside Camp Crame in October 2016.
“It was found out na hindi s’ya involved sa Ick Joo case. Mangyari lang na ‘yung mga tao na gumawa ng krimen is under his command that is why ni-relieve natin s’ya para the investigation could go on unhampered and ‘yung totoo ang lalabas sa investigation,” Dela Rosa said in a press conference.
(It was found out that he was not involved in the Ick Joo case. What happened is that the people who were responsible for the crime were under him, that is why we relieved him, so the investigation could go on unhampered and for the truth to come out.)
“At lumabas na hindi siya involved and he was even instrumental in the resolution of the case. Siya nagdala kay Villegas sa AKG (anti-kidnapping group) para tumuga kung ano nalalaman n’ya sa case. He was instrumental, he was not part of the problem, he was part of the solution. Nangyare lang because he was the boss,” he added.
(And it was found that he was not involved and he was even instrumental in the resolution of the case. He brought Villegas to the AKG to say what he knows about the case. He was instrumental, he was not part of the problem, he was part of the solution. It just happened because he was the boss.)
Dela Rosa was referring to Senior Police Officer 4 Roy Villegas, a former AIDG agent who admitted taking part in Jee’s kidnapping and tagged other officers who were also involved in the incident, particularly in the killing of the businessman inside a parked vehicle in Camp Crame and the cremation of his body in a funeral parlor in Caloocan City.
Dela Rosa said he is certain that Ferro already learned his lesson to not get personnel whom he cannot trust fully.
He said Ferro “is very competent” for the job.
Dela Rosa said he also gave the post to Ferro, who already established a good relationship with his foreign counterpart, which is necessary for the war against illegal drugs to be effective.
Among Ferro’s accomplishments was the arrest of Kerwin Espinosa, son of the late Albuera Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa, who was among the top drug lords in Eastern Visayas.
Espinosa went to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to hide after President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016. Among Duterte's main platforms is to eradicate illegal drug activities in the country.
Duterte, in October, stripped the PNP of the leadership in the war on drugs due to the involvement of some erring policemen in illegal activities.
On December 5, Duterte allowed the PNP to conduct anti-illegal drug operations but under the guidance of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), which spearheads the campaign.
Although they are still crafting the new guidelines for the conduct of the anti-illegal drug operations, Dela Rosa said that as ordered by Duterte, the PNP is already allowed to conduct operations in coordination with PDEA.
He said among their targets is to apprehend more drug personalities, especially the high value targets, to reduce the supply of the illegal drugs in the country.
But he said they are not thinking yet of changing the name “Oplan Tokhang” as suggested by PDEA Director Aaron Aquino after the anti-drugs agency changed its connotation from “knock and plead” to “killing.”
“Well taken but what's in the name? The most important is the result. Kung anong nangyare sa kampanya, kapag magbabago ng pangalan (it seems) you are trying to deodorize your campaign, trying to make it appear palatable to the critics. Hahanapin pa rin ng butas yan, that the least of my concern ‘yung changing the name basta dun kami focus sa result ng kampanya,” he said.
Dela Rosa said they are hoping again that the war on drugs will be less bloody, but still noted that they cannot control the minds of the criminals.
“We hope modified na ang ating campaign plan but as I have said, hindi namin control at sana masusian namin utak ng mga kriminal na huwag lumaban para walang patayan. Sana ganun mangyari, but expect more caution from us,” he said.