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Guevarra awaits Senate report on 'ninja cops'

Guevarra awaits Senate report on 'ninja cops'

By AJ Siytangco

By Jeffrey Damicog Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Friday (October 18) expressed hope that the Senate will furnish the Department of Justice (DOJ) the report over the investigation made over the “ninja cops” issue.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra announces during a press briefing in Malacañang that the matter concerning the closure of the resorts in Boracay is currently one of the top priorities that are being discussed by the cabinet citing that it would not only concern the environmental aspect of the issue but the economic impact as well. (TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra
(TOTO LOZANO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The Senate Blue Ribbon, and Justice and Human Rights Committees, which are both chaired by Senator Richard Gordon, have conducted a Senate inquiry on the so-called “ninja cops” allegedly involved in the recycling of illegal drugs seized in legitimate operations. “I'm sure senator Gordon's committee will furnish the DOJ a copy of its report,” Guevarra told reporters. Guevarra has already created a special panel of prosecutors to conduct the re-investigation of the criminal complaint filed by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection (PNP-CIDG) against Police Major Rodney Baloyo IV and 12 other so-called “ninja cops” involved in the questionable 2013 anti-illegal drugs operation in Mexico, Pampanga. “This report will surely be useful in the reinvestigation of the alleged drug recycling/ninja cops case currently being conducted by the DOJ,” the Secretary explained. “Any relevant evidence presented during the senate hearings may be adopted or presented by any interested party during the DOJ reinvestigation," he added. The special panel of prosecutors is composed of Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Alexander Suarez who sits as the chairman and Assistant State Prosecutors Josie Christina Dugay and Gino Paulo Santiago. The panel already began the hearing on the case last Wednesday. In its complaint, the PNP-CIDG accused the 13 policemen of violating Republic Act 9165 (the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002), particularly Sections 27 (misappropriation), 29 (planting), and 32 (custody and disposition). Aside from Baloyo, those named as respondents in the case are Sr. Insp. Joven Bognot De Guzman Jr., SPO1 Jules Lacap Maniago, SPO1 Donald Castro Roque, SPO1 Ronald Bayas Santos, SPO1 Rommel Munoz Vital, SPO1 Alcindor Mangiduyos Tinio, SPO1 Eligio Dayos Valeroso, PO3 Dindo Singian Dizon, PO3 Gilbert Angeles De Vera, PO3 Encarnacion Guerrero Jr., PO2 Anthony Loleng Lacamana, and PO3 Dante M. Dizon. The case concerns the 2013 illegal drugs operations in Pampanga where the 13 policemen involved in the operation allegedly kept 160 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride which is locally known as shabu as well as received P50 million and new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in exchange for the release of alleged Chinese drug trader Johnson Lee. However, the case was dismissed in 2017 by prosecutors who conducted the preliminary investigation then. The PNP-CIDG eventually appealed the dismissal before the DOJ by filing a petition for review. Read more: Senate recommends filing of criminal charges vs Albayalde, ‘ninja cops’

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