ZIPPER LIPS

May 27, 2023 Opinion

The members of the Senate Committee on Public Order chaired by Senator Ronald dela Rosa must be pulling their hairs in trying to get at the bottom of one of the most explosive and shameful drug scandals involving the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the campaign and war against illegal drugs. Dela Rosa, himself a former Chief of the PNP, was even seen kneeling in front of the policemen being investigated in the supposed massive cover-up subsequent to seizure and confiscation of more than 990 kilos of shabu worth almost 9.7 billion pesos appealing for them to disclose what they know in order to protect the institution that they represent.

The live coverage of the senate investigation would later show that Dela Rosa’s plea fell on deaf ears. Some very disturbing observations and possible scenarios are now in the minds of many considering the volume of the illegal drugs seized and the alleged involvement and participation of several policemen to include high ranking officials. One distressing scenario is that if it will be established later on, either in the Senate committee conducting the probe or the courts, that there is indeed a concerted and organized effort by some policemen to control the drug trade in the country
by transforming themselves into a criminal drug syndicate then the government’s war against illegal drugs is hopelessly lost.

This is because the people supposed to be going against the drug syndicates are now themselves part of or in cahoots with those selling drugs. Another alarming observation is that what if the almost one ton of shabu confiscated from the lending company owned by the arrested policeman back in October of 2022 was in fact the drug supply of the police drug syndicate intended for later
distribution and sale to the streets through the other members or assets of their drug group. And what if their attempt at a cover-up is actually upon the order of a much bigger drug syndicate that really controls the nationwide sale and distribution of the illegal drug ‘shabu’ in order not to affect
their other drug distribution networks that might also be protected by similar government agents and entities.

If there is any truth to these observations then those policemen who have suddenly lost their voice and clammed up in the Senate investigation are protecting not only their colleagues who have become criminals themselves but also their supplier and the drug network they have established
in this country. There is also another distressing scenario where the very reason why these cops
being implicated in the massive cover-up are now very tight lip is because they fear for their lives and the lives of the members of their families. Perhaps threats have already been issued against them by the drug syndicate where they get their supply since their disclosures, should they choose to do so, would implicate other high officials in the government.

It is well to remember that in other places where the illegal drug trade has made a foothold (e.g. Mexico, Columbia, etc.,) the drug syndicates there casually implement the “plata o plomo” or silver or lead method of coercing people to work for or protect them and their illegal trade. If it has happened in those countries then there is a high probability that it has happened or is also happening here in the country. What is actually doubly distressing is the fact that until now, several months after the initial seizure of the 990 kilos of shabu inside the lending establishment owned by a police sergeant, the government and the Senate Committee investigating the matter have no
idea as to the origin of the said illegal drugs and the only person who has this information,
because he owns the place where the shabu was discovered, has decided to zipper his lips and remain silent.

This police sergeant either has the biggest b***s in the country or is absolutely terrified for his
life and the consequences of telling the truth about what he knows in the illegal drug trade in the country, the involvement of government authorities, and why other high-ranking officers in his organization are doing their very best to cover-up their snafu and protect him. May be at the end of
the day the public and the Filipino people will never really know the truth about the confiscation of almost one ton of shabu and the apparent involvement of several high-ranking police officers as well as their subordinates in what is now seen as a true reflection of the status of the illegal drug campaign of the government. If there is any truth that can be found in the fear that the country is slowly being transformed into a narco-state by drug syndicates, the PNP drug scandal can be counted as one of them.