Former Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. denied on Monday, May 20, any knowledge regarding the supposed operation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against President Marcos and actress Maricel Soriano in 2012.
Ochoa appeared before the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs to say that he did not know Deputy Director General Carlos Gadapan nor former PDEA agent Jonathan Morales during his tenure in Malacañang.
Asked by Committee Chair Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa if he personally knew Gadapan, Ochoa replied, "no sir."
Ochoa, who served as Executive Secretary during the term of the late President Benigno S. Aquino III, likewise informed Dela Rosa that he had not seen any pre-operation documents prepared by Morales.
The lawyer added that he did not issue any directives to Gadapan regarding the alleged PDEA operations involving then Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Soriano.
“As I earlier mentioned, I don't even know him (Gadapan), and I don't recall any occasion that we had met or even talk,” Ochoa said.
“So I completely deny that I had made those instructions as alleged," he added.
The former Aquino Administration senior official also informed the Senate that he was not aware that Morales had been invited to brief the Law Enforcement Security Integration Office (LESIO) in Malacañang.
Ochoa explained that the LESIO was created during his term as Executive Secretary, but told senators that he did not get any report regarding the said briefing.
The motu propio hearing on the alleged PDEA leaks stemmed from the interview of Morales with a vlogger regarding the leakage of a confidential document that contained the alleged involvement of President Marcos and actress Maricel Soriano in illegal drugs.
This was based on the pre-operation report that Morales himself penned.
According to the document, dated March 11, 2012, a confidential informant personally appeared before PDEA to report that a group of showbiz and political personalities are frequently using illegal drugs at unit 46-C, Rizal Tower Building, in Rockwell located in Makati City.
This is the same unit that Soriano admitted she formerly owned.
There was also a separate document providing authority to operate for surveillance and casing in Makati City that involved vehicles that belonged to the PDEA. Yet this did not push through, according to Morales.