PNP: No shabu found in car of slain Albay broadcaster

De Lima says Joey Llana ‘another victim of impunity’

Legazpi City — The white crystalline substance found in several sachets inside a sling bag in the car of slain broadcaster Joey Llana were found not to be “shabu” (crystal meth), ruling out the possibility that the killing of the broadcaster was drug-related, Bicol police said yesterday.

Supt. Benito Dipad, Daraga police chief said the substance inside the eight plastic sachets which were initially suspected to be illegal drugs is not shabu according to test results from the Bicol police crime laboratory based in this city.

The crime lab results said the substance came out negative for methamphetamine hydrochloride in a test conducted by a forensic chemist of the PNP crime laboratory here.

Dipad added that according to the laboratory report, urine sample taken from the victim’s body also gave a negative result for the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol methamphetamine metabolites, which showed that Llana was not using illegal drugs.

The laboratory results said Dipad, dispel an earlier report that the slain broadcaster might have been involved in illegal drugs. Dipad added that Llana was also not included in the roster of illegal drug personalities in the government’s drug watchlist.

Llana was gunned down by two unidentified gunmen in Daraga town on Friday morning while on his way to radio station DWZR in Legazpi City.

Meanwhile, detained Senator Leila de Lima said in statement that Llana is “another victim of the dark cloud of impunity” in the country.

“Llana, the hard-hitting broadcast journalist killed in Bicol yesterday, is yet another victim of the dark cloud of impunity enveloping our land,” De Lima said in a statement.

De Lima also criticized Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque’s condemnation of the killing, which she said “sounds hypocritical.”

“It sounded hollow when the Palace mouthpiece talked about getting justice for Llana’s killing while the police seemed to be not lifting a finger to investigate thousands of drug-related killings,” she said.

Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde has ordered the local police to prioritize the investigation of Llana’s murder.