The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sees the result of investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the Quezon City misencounter with the police as a light that would clear things up on what really happened during the buy-bust.
But PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon would not give any further comment on the issue, saying the prudent way to do is to wait for the NBI's result of the probe, especially that it is President Duterte himself who ordered the investigation.
Allegations of sell-bust and poor coordination were hurled against both the police and the PDEA during the February 24 anti-drug operation that ended in a bloody shootout and eventually left 2 QC policemen, a PDEA agent and a PDEA informant dead.
“I believe our DG (Director-General Wilkins Villanueva) has staked no less than his position already the last time that he was interviewed about this,’’ Carreon said in a text message.
Villanueva made the statement amid allegations that it was the PDEA who engaged in the sell-bust, which is considered as illegal in the procedures of the anti-drugs operations.
On March 2, a fuming PDEA Director-General Wilkins Villanueva vowed to resign immediately if evidence specifically through close-circuit television (CCTV) footage points to his agents selling drugs to the police during the botched operation at the mall’s compound in Commonwealth Avenue.
Stressing that sell-busts or posing to sell illegal drugs to arrest drug suspects are illegal, Villanueva said that PDEA’s critics should first show proof that his agents were indeed selling drugs to the police before making such statements.
A day after the bloody misencounter, both the PDEA and PNP leaderships agreed not to issue any statement and wait instead for the final result of the probe.