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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Mexico, Pampanga a transshipment point for illegal drugs, says PDEA 

Mexico, Pampanga a transshipment point for illegal drugs, says PDEA 

Published Nov 15, 2023 08:36 am

At A Glance

  • The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) tagged the town of Mexico, Pampanga as a transshipment point for illegal drugs during a House committee hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 15. 

IMG-5f65dbf0d93cbe74e3e98f132c3fc9b5-V.jpgHouse of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) tagged the town of Mexico, Pampanga as a transshipment point for illegal drugs during a House committee hearing on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Attending the Committee on Dangerous Drugs' motu proprio inquiry into the seized cache of drugs in Mexico town was PDEA Regional Director Ronald Allan Ricardo.

“Mexico is a transshipment point po siya. So more likely yung mga nakukuha po nating drugs is nagkakataon na… doon po nahuhuli yung ibang drugs but not necessarily intended for the place,” Ricardo explained.

(Mexico is a transshipment point. So more likely the drugs that we seized were coincidentally... that's where the other drugs were caught but they were not necessarily intended for the place.)

Prior to this revelation, committee chairman Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers quizzed former town mayor Teddy Tumang on why Mexico he thought the town was supposedly a “favorite among drug syndicates”, given the recent big-time drug hauls in the province.

Tumang was quick to deny this as he recalled only two instances of illegal drugs-related activity during his 16-year term as mayor.

First was the discovery of 536 kilos of “shabu” (methamphetamine hydrochloride) worth P3.6 billion inside a warehouse last Sept. 24, which was what the committee hearing waps about.

The second is the P408 million worth of shabu seized last September 2022 during a buy-bust operation in Lakeshore Pampanga, where two drug suspects were arrested.

As per the dismissed mayor, experts have told him that the access to the expressway was a probable reason behind the influx of illegal drugs in the area.

Afterward, Barbers asked incumbent Mexico Mayor Rodencio Gonzales about his opinion on why the town appeared to be the favorite.

Gonzales bluntly said, “Wala po akong alam diyan, your honor. Wala po akong ideya diyan.”

(I don't know anything about that, your honor. I have no idea about that.)

Meanwhile, PDEA said the latest confiscation was transmitted through the Subic Bay sea port and later stored in the warehouse of Empire 999 Realty Corp. owned by businessman Willy Ong.

“It is also through the gathering of data, don po sa na-interview po namin, hindi po doon distributed yung mga nakukuhang major seizures ng drugs doon po sa Mexico,” Ricardo said.

(It is also through the gathering of data, based on who we interviewed, that it was learned that the major seizures of drugs were not distributed there in Mexico.)

The Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) backed this statement, and said that Mexico town was only used for the transmission of illegal drugs instead of the destination.

PDEG further said there were 76 barangays out of 505 that were “yet to be cleaned from drugs” in Pampanga.

There are approximately 1,000 drug personalities remaining in the province. --Dexter Barro II

Related Tags

Robert Ace Barbers Mexico Teddy Tumang
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