Gov’t Running After Ill-gotten Wealth Of Drug Personalities

August 18, 2020 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY (August 18, 2020) – Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Wilkins Villanueva on Monday said the agency is working on the forfeiture proceedings covering properties of arrested and known drug personalities in the country.
“Ibig sabihin yung mga nahuli namin na drug personalities at meron bank account, “sinasakal” natin ito para hindi nila magamit ang pera doon sa kaso nila or hindi nila mailabas ang pera para maibayad sa kanilang mga boss (We are strangling the money of the drug personalities in the banks so that they cannot use it in their cases and they cannot use the money to pay their bosses),” Villanueva said at the Baguio City Hall after signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Mayor Benjamin Magalong on the permanent use of an office at the Burnham Park complex by PDEA-Baguio operatives.
Earlier this month, PDEA and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) agreed to pursue drug syndicate bosses by via freezing their bank accounts.
Aside from money in the bank, government will also pursue “attaching” the properties of drug personalities to prevent their liquidity, only to be used further for illegal activities.
“Properties, may mga lupa, lahat yun sinasarado natin, hinihingan natin ng court order para maisarado ito at maisubasta itong mga properties nila (properties, land, all those we are freezing, we are asking the court for orders so that they will be auctioned off),” in favor of the government, Villanueva said here before visiting the provincial offices of PDEA in the highland region.
He said that part of his thrust as chief drug buster of the country is to also go after all valuables of drug personalities, “which are fruits of the trade or are used to finance illegal activity”.
The PDEA chief explained that “dati hindi napu-pursue yun. Dati kung mahuli ang pusher hanggang doon lang kami, but right now, hanggan doon tayo sa fruits of the trade, yun ang hinahabol natin (Before, we don’t pursue that. If a [drug] pusher is arrest, that’s it but not we go after the fruits of the trade, that is what we are running after).”
There will be condominium units in Metro Manila which are due for foreclosure within the month and next month, some amounting to a minimum of P7 million each, Villanueva said, even citing that properties of the Parojinog’s in Mindanao have been foreclosed as early as last year.
“Pinasarado para hindi na nila maibenta, so ti-nake custody na ng PDEA, naifreeze na natin (We have foreclosed them so that they cannot sell. The PDEA has taken custody),” Villanueva said.
Refusing to give further details to avoid being compromised, Villanueva said they have filed several forfeiture suits involving properties and there are others more up for closure, freezing and taking into custody.
PDEA has started adopting a system where arrested drug personalities are subjected to AMLA and their properties pursued for forfeiture proceedings, if their legal sources cannot justify their what they own.
Villanueva said, “once forfeited in favor of the government, it will either go to the national treasury or the PDEA can request (its) utilization.”
Artemio A. Dumlao