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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PNP general denies involvement in 'cover-up' of P6.7B Manila 'shabu' haul

PNP general denies involvement in 'cover-up' of P6.7B Manila 'shabu' haul

Published Apr 14, 2023 10:11 am
Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr., former deputy chief for operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP), maintained innocence over the alleged cover up in the arrest of a sergeant and the pilferage of 42 kilos of “shabu” during a buy-bust operation in Manila last year.  (Photo: Philippine National Police / PNP) Santos, who was relieved of his post to give way for an impartial investigation of the case, lamented the supposed lack of due process in the way he was implicated in the issue. He also described as “baseless” all the allegations linking him to the alleged anomalous buy bust. “You could just imagine a three-star general being accused of something that is baseless, that has no basis. We weren’t given due process,” Santos said in an interview at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Friday, April 14. “If this can be done to high-ranking officers like us, what more to other operatives below us?” he added. It was no less than Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. who tagged Santos and at least nine other ranking cops in the controversial operation. Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo earlier vacated his post as the PNP Drug Enforcement Group (DEG) head after filing a leave of absence as Abalos urged the officers to go on leave amid the probe. In a press conference last April 10, Abalos showed screenshots of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages showing the Oct. 8, 2022 buy-bust operation inside a lending agency firm in Manila where Mayo, a former intelligence officer of the PNP-DEG’s Special Operations Unit-National Capital Region, was arrested. The lending firm was reportedly owned by Mayo. Seized during what was regarded as the PNP’s “biggest” drug haul were 990 kilos of shabu valued at P6.7 billion while Mayo has since been dismissed from the service as he faces illegal drug charges.

CCTV

 For Santos, it was not enough that Abalos only relied on CCTV footages as he took a swipe at the DILG chief for supposedly failing to give him due process. “Relying on the CCTV footage, with no due process or further consultation, Secretary Abalos, however well-meaning he may have been, implicated my name in the purported irregular buy-bust operation. I strongly deny any involvement in whatever impropriety or infraction of law or standard operating procedures, if there are any, in the alleged cover-up in the buy-bust operation,” he said. A fact-finding committee by the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) that investigated Mayo’s arrest as part of the government’s cleansing efforts to rid the PNP of rogue cops and the suspected drug recycling in the police organization found several inconsistencies in the report submitted by the PNP DEG compared to the actual CCTV footages of the operation. Among the issues raised by Abalos in the operation was Santos’ presence in the crime scene. At one point in the CCTV footage, Santos was seen with Mayo inside a vehicle while officers were removing the latter’s handcuffs. The DILG chief also noted that the arresting officers already took custody of Mayo as shown in the CCTV footages but a separate PNP DEG report stated that Mayo was nabbed on April 9 – or a day after the buy-bust – supposedly after a hot pursuit operation.  Santos explained that PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. directed him to show up in the crime scene to congratulate the DEG team that caught Mayo. He said he was celebrating his 55th birthday at that time so he had to cut short his party. He said he arrived in the area at 6:20 p.m. and met the PNP officers present there. He said he ordered the officers to comply with the requirements needed for the inquest proceeding and follow the chain of custody in the inventory of the seized drugs before he left the area at 7:10 p.m. “There was a lack of due process and an opportunity to be heard or to explain my side in this instance. Had I been given the chance to be heard, I would have informed the SILG [Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Abalos] that I went to the crime scene upon the instruction of the PNP Chief, after the fact. I was not part of the conduct of the buy-bust operation,” Santos stressed. Santos added that he was not aware that Mayo was already arrested when he dropped by the crime scene: “I had no idea when it comes to the nitty-gritty [details] of the operation. All I saw was that the ID of Mayo was inside the vault where the drugs were found so I told the officers to arrest him.”  Santos was hoping that he could clear his name before he retires in six months. He said that while he “fully” supports Abalos’ efforts to cleanse the PNP of police scalawags, he also “passionately” believes that “this should be done in the spirit of transparency, fairness, truth, and accountability.”  “As public officials, it is our duty to uphold due process and protect the rule of law as well as try to put an end to misinformation and disinformation. Otherwise, in our fight against monsters, we risk becoming monsters ourselves,” Santos said.

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DILG SECRETARY BENHUR ABALOS P6.7B shabu PNP DILG
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