The Philippines as a narco-state
By Joel D Adriano
MANILA - While the sums may seem paltry compared to the Philippines' frequent
multi-billion peso scandals, the current legal imbroglio involving charges that
state prosecutors were bribed to junk a drug case against three young men from
politically influential families has highlighted two deep-rooted national
scourges: corruption and drugs.
More worrying are new indications that the problems have infiltrated the
country's already perceived to be compromised judiciary. The scandal was
sparked when agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) made
public just before the New Year that it had received credible information that
Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors accepted bribes worth
P50 million (US$1.1 million) from one of the suspects' families.
Richard Brodett and Joseph Tecson were arrested on September 20 in Alabang, an
exclusive subdivision in Manila, while apparently selling drugs to undercover
PDEA agents. The third suspect, Jorge Joseph, was arrested in Cubao district
during a follow-up operation. Agents seized 60 ecstasy tablets, 11 packages of
cocaine and drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana grinder and weighing
scales, in the hauls.
Brodett is the nephew of a popular local basketball player from the 1970s;
Tecson the scion of a politically powerful aristocratic family; Jorge the son
of a popular media personality from the 1980s who now owns several clubs and
bars in Metro Manila. In the wake of the scandal, the nabbed drug suspects have
been dubbed by the local press as the "Alabang boys".
PDEA head Dionisio Santiago said that the three were part of a "cell" of a
bigger drug syndicate that supplied narcotics, including ecstasy, to high-end
bars and clubs in Manila. "This is a big group and they use the Internet to get
drugs from the US," Santiago said at the time of their arrests. However, the
case was later dismissed by state prosecutors on December 2, purportedly for
lack of probable cause.
Santiago, a former chief of staff of the armed forces, has since repeatedly
told reporters that chief state prosecutor Jovencito Zuno and three junior
prosecutors were bribed to drop the case. The information, he said, came from
one of Brodett's relatives. During a congressional hearing on the case, the
informant was later identified as Marites Brodett, the aunt of one of the
suspects. The three suspects remain in PDEA detention, pending a review of the
case.
The defendants' legal counsel, Felisberto Verano Jr, has described the PDEA
actions as "illegal". Either way, the case has raised uncomfortable questions
about the highest echelons of the Philippine justice system. Justice
Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor has been dragged into the case for allowing
Verano to issue the December 2 release order on official DOJ letterhead. Law
professor Carlos Medina of Ateneo University described Verano's use of official
stationary, which by law should only be used by state prosecutors, as highly
irregular.
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez described as "unusual" the special
interest Blancaflor showed in the case. During the recent congressional hearing
into the burgeoning controversy, it was revealed that Verano and Blancaflor are
former college fraternity brothers, while another prosecutor was one of
Verano's former students.
Last weekend scandal-plagued President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered all DOJ
officials and prosecutors involved in the case to take a leave of absence,
pending an official investigation into the controversy. On Tuesday, she
appointed herself as the country's new anti-drug czar, a newly created position
charged with overseeing the government's fight against drug trafficking.
'High' percentage
The controversy has also cast a harsh light on the country's spiraling drug
problem. A United Nations report in 2007 estimated that 6.7% of the Philippine
population suffers from narcotics addiction, the top such percentage in Asia.
According to Vicente Sotto III, chairman of the government's Dangerous Drugs
Board, there are currently 6.7 million regular drug users who spend an
estimated P160 million per day on drugs.
Politicians from known trafficking areas, including Quezon congressman Danilo
Suarez, contend that the central government has understated the problem and
that drug users are spending as much as P350 billion annually to feed their
habits. That, he notes, is equal to 20% of the country's annual official
budget. Philippine National Police reported last year that illegal drugs
entering the country originate mostly from Myanmar and Cambodia while
distribution is dominated by Chinese and Taiwanese drug cartels.
The Arroyo administration has boasted record drug hauls, with many publicized
sting operations targeting drug laboratories. The police, meanwhile, claim to
have eradicated six major drug syndicates in recent years. The largest major
seizure occurred last May, when some P15 billion worth of high-grade
methamphetamine hydrochloride was seized at Subic Bay Freeport, a former US
naval base that has been transformed into a major regional trading hub.
Various proposals have been tabled to more effectively tackle the drug menace,
including the establishment of special courts to expedite the handling of
drug-related cases and mandatory or random drug testing for students, teachers
and politicians. More severely, lawmakers have urged Arroyo to re-impose the
death penalty - which was abolished in 2006 - for drug traffickers.
While law enforcement officials believe they are making headway in their fight
against drugs, the judiciary is another matter. PDEA records show that of the
12,381 drug cases filed by police last year, only 35 resulted in convictions.
PDEA head Sotto said acquittals and dismissals were often the result of the
"nonappearance of prosecution witnesses, insufficiency of evidence,
irregularity or illegality of arrest, seize and seizure, and inconsistencies in
testimony".
Those low conviction rates have dealt yet another blow to the justice system's
credibility, which many analysts contend has never recovered from decades of
political interference under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The lack, or
perceived lack, of a well-functioning and impartial judiciary has, among other
things, hurt the Philippines' image as a safe destination for foreign
investment.
The recent controversy has reinforced among Filipinos the nagging perception of
double standards, where the rich and powerful are able to buy their way out of
legal trouble while the poor are frequently the victim of slow or even rigged
proceedings. A national perception survey conducted by the Social Weather
Service polling agency in 2006, and released last year, showed that 70% of
recent litigants and 68% of lawyers believed judges could be bribed.
The survey also showed a strong perception that the wealthy and well-connected
were able to purchase justice, while 70% of respondents saw clogged court
dockets as an opportunity for corruption - as wealthy litigants are believed to
be able pay courts to achieve speedy and favorable resolutions.
The World Bank says that corruption, including in the judiciary, is a
"systemic" problem that has bled the Philippine government of more than P1
trillion over the last 25 years. Global corruption watchdog Transparency
International last year placed the Philippines in the same embarrassing league
as the Congo, Sudan and Zimbabwe in its corruption perception index, based in
part on low ratings for judicial independence.
In terms of narcotics suppression, the police and other law enforcement
agencies are also culpable. Santiago, who formerly headed the Bureau of
Corrections, said that many police officials are in fact hindering the
anti-drugs campaign and some are even involved in dealing illegal drugs in
prisons.
Low prosecution rates, meanwhile, are compounded by poor investigation
techniques and capabilities, including the frequent mishandling of evidence,
Santiago says. It's unclear to some, however, whether police intentionally
mishandle cases to protect the rich and powerful who are implicated in
narcotics trafficking.
Armed Forces Intelligence Service Brigadier General Victor Corpus said in a
recent press briefing that many politicians are involved in the drug trade and
have used those ill-gotten gains to catapult themselves into public office.
Santiago, meanwhile, has carped about charges being dropped against several
high profile drug suspects apprehended by the PDEA.
That was plain to see in 2001, when Ronnie Mitra, mayor of Panukulan in Quezon
City, was apprehended by police delivering 500 kilograms of methamphetamine
hydrochloride to Manila while riding in a government ambulance. Although he and
his driver were six years later convicted to life in prison, many others have
eluded justice.
With the national spotlight now on the Alabang boys, the mix of drugs, politics
and the judiciary has clearly reached emergency proportions.
Joel D Adriano is an independent consultant and award-winning freelance
journalist. He was a sub-editor for the business section of The Manila Times
and writes for Asean BizTimes, Safe Democracy and People's Tonight.
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