Suspects arrested in the raid, during the press conference called by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2017. (CDN PHOTO/ ADOR MAYOL)
As the government steps up its war against illegal drugs and starts choking supply coming to Cebu, local drug traders are suspected to have started manufacturing shabu by themselves.
The product: “yellow shabu” (methamphetamine).
Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) on Thursday seized 305 grams of yellow shabu valued at P900,000 in two separate drug busts in Cebu City.
“It has now been very difficult for drug traders to bring in shabu to Cebu, so they thought of manufacturing it locally,” said PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz said in an interview.
“This is the first time I saw a yellow shabu in Central Visayas. That kind of substance is more potent and more effective, and its price is basically the same as the white
one,” he added.
Ruiz said they are conducting an investigation to find out where the yellow shabu came from.
“I could not say there are no shabu laboratories in Cebu. There must be those who attempt to manufacture shabu locally. It is now the challenge of PDEA to find out where these substances came from,” he said.
Gunned down
During the operation in Barangay Duljo Fatima, Cebu City, that led to the seizure of the yellow shabu at 6:35 a.m. on Thursday, PDEA-7 operatives gunned down a call center agent, a suspected drug personality, who also just passed the criminology licensure exam.
The fatality, Niño Rodel Taboada, 21, reportedly tried to engage operatives in a shootout inside his relative’s house that Taboada allegedly operated as a “drug den,” Ruiz said.
The aspiring policeman suffered gunshot wounds in the chest, shoulder and neck.
Five other drug suspects — Kendall Taboada, Juanito Pescadero, Jun Lasco, Riolito Abella and Michael Labra — were arrested during the operation that resulted in the seizure of 205 grams of yellow shabu worth P600,000.
Packs of “yellow” shabu recovered in a drug bust in Barangay Duljo Fatima on Thursday are presented. (CDN PHOTO/ ADOR MAYOL)
Another suspect identified as Danilo “Lolong” Rica managed to escape.
Twenty-five minutes later, the PDEA-7 agents arrested Ria Mae Iñigo for allegedly selling 100 grams of yellow shabu worth P300,000 in her residence in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City.
Charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly for possession and selling of illegal drugs, will be filed against the arrested suspects before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.
The seizure of yellow shabu in separate operations led PDEA-7 agents to believe that there is now a trader distributing colored methamphetamine to drug peddlers in Cebu.
Rubout?
Niño Rodel’s family, however, refused to keep silent on the issue, saying the young man was killed in a rubout.
His father Rolando Taboada, an overseas Filipino worker based in Qatar, was in shock when he learned about his son’s death.
“Nganong naapil man intawon ang akong anak? 200, 300 o 2,000 percent nga buotan kaayo na ang akong anak. Dili unta na mahuman og eskwela kon nagbisyo pa na siya. (Why was my son killed? He was 200, 300 or 2,000 percent a very good man. He would not have finished his studies if he were into the illegal drugs trade),” he said in an interview over Bombo Radyo Cebu.
Niño Rodel, he said, passed the criminology licensure examinations last year. While processing the requirements to become a full-fledged policeman, Niño Rodel opted to work in a call center company in Cebu.
While on his way to report to work on Thursday evening, PDEA-7 operatives allegedly barged into Niño Rodel’s room and arrested him.
“Duna mi mga silingan nga nakadungog nga ni-reason out pa gani ang akong anak. Nasayod baya siya sa balaod kay magpulis lagi unta. Nasuko man hinoon ang taga-PDEA unya gibirahan siya og diretso,” Rolando said.
(We have neighbors who heard my son reasoned out. He knew the law since he was supposed to become a policeman. The PDEA operatives allegedly got angry and immediately shot him dead)
Rolando, however, admitted that Niño Rodel’s cousin Kendall Taboada, who was arrested in the operation, has been into illegal drugs.
“Nag-shabu shabu man nang bataa (Kendall). Siya na ang salbahis. Ang akong anak buotan intawon na kaayo. (That kid is a shabu user. He is the bad one. But my son was a good man),” he said.
Niño Rodel is the eldest of Rolando’s five children, who all live in the same house.
‘Just like that’
Rolando said he decided to work abroad so he could send all his children to school.
“Pwerte man gani nakong paningkamot aron maka kwarta. Nalipay ko nga nahuman sa pag-eskwela si Niño unya sa ingon ana lang, mawagtang siya. (I’ve been working hard to earn
money. I was happy that he finished his studies, but just like that, he’s gone),” said Rolando who has been working in Qatar for nine years.
He said he could not accept his son’s death because even their neighbors can attest that Niño Rodel was not involved in illegal drugs.
“He was a good man. Everyone in our place knows that,” he said in Cebuano.
Rolando said his family will file a complaint against the PDEA-7 operatives before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
“Gusto ko nga tagaan og leksyon ang mga nagpatay sa akong anak. (I want to teach a lesson to those who killed my son),” he said.
Rolando said he also wants Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa and President Rodrigo Duterte to know about his son’s unjust death.
“Tabangi intawn mi. (Please help us),” he said.
Niño Rodel’s sister Rhosebelle Taboada, in her Facebook post, echoed her father’s cry for justice.
“Do you think that by killing someone in every operation is a mission accomplish just for the sake that you waste someone’s life. Haaaa, you don’t even know who is your real target. You should have the right information first especially names and faces before killing or shooting someone,” she said.
“You just killed the innocent one. And the PDEA team themselves are the one who sent out my brother to the hospital, and while they are on their way someone just said: ‘Itapon na yan. (Throw him away).’”
Right target
Ruiz, however, insisted that Niño Rodel was the correct target of their operation.
“Our undercover agent bought shabu from him (Niño Rodel). If it were a case of mistaken identity, who then was that person who sold shabu to us? He (Niño Rodel) was obviously the one who transacted with us,” he told reporters.
“And why was he armed at that time when we conducted the operation? If you carry a firearm with you, that’s because you will use it to kill law enforcers,” he added.
Recovered from Niño Rodel’s possession was a .357 revolver with five live ammunitions.
Ruiz said they are willing to undergo any investigation that may be conducted by the CHR or any other investigating body.
“PDEA-7 has always been very transparent. We don’t normally kill our targets unless he or she puts the lives of our operatives in danger,” he said.
“We are professional law enforcers. We are not killers. We are not hired by the government to kill. If ever we shot some drug suspects, that was because they tried to engage us in a shootout,” he added.
Last option
As much as possible, Ruiz said they want drug suspects to live so they can squeal on their companions.
“Killing them is our last recourse. We would have wanted all of them to live for us to get more information about their operations. Dead men tell no tales,” he said.
Niño Rodel’s cousin Kendall admitted to using illegal drugs but denied peddling shabu.
Kendall, 28, said he has no idea if his cousin was involved in illegal drugs.
“Basin na-aan ra gyud to siya. Ang amo mang silingan ang namaligya og drugs. (Perhaps, the PDEA operatives got it wrong. It was our neighbor who was selling drugs),” he said in an interview.
The four other male drug suspects also denied selling illegal drugs.
For her part, Ria Mae Iñigo, who was arrested by the PDEA in another operation in Barangay Labangon, said she is never a drug user or into illegal drugs trade, although her live-in partner was earlier arrested for selling illegal drugs.
Based on the records of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas, a total of 154 drug suspects were killed in police operations while 326 were gunned down by unknown assailants from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 20, 2017.
At least 5,024 persons were arrested in different anti-illegal drugs operations in the region while 105,676 drug pushers and users have surrendered to authorities over the same period.