Sister of detained warehouse man in P6.4-B shabu mess: We want justice

The sister of the caretaker of the Valenzuela City warehouse where P6.4 billion worth of shabu were seized last May has insisted that they were not involved in the shipment of the illegal drugs.

"Hirap na hirap na ho kami hanggang ngayon, pinagbintangan kami," Emilie Anoche Dee, owner of the warehouse, said in an interview with GMA News' Dano Tingcungco on Balitanghali.

Emilie's brother, Fidel, is in detention in connection with the 600 kilograms of shabu found by Customs operatives hidden in metal cylindrical containers inside the warehouse.

"Ang gusto ko magkaroon ng justice," Emilie said. "Wala talagang kasalanan ako maging ang kuya ko, nadiin kami dahil nagpaupa lang ako at 'yung kuya ko [ay] warehouse man."

"Wala kaming kasalanan," she added. "Matagal na ho kaming nagdurusa."

The issue on the shipment has been the subject of congressional hearings where among the personalities dragged were Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, son of President Rodrigo Duterte, and Manases Carpio, the president's son-in-law.

Emilie said she and her brother had no involvement in the transactions of Taiwanese national Jhu Ming Jyun, who rented their apartment and warehouse.

Jhu is one of the nine respondents in the criminal complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in connection with the shabu shipment.

Fidel is so far the only person being linked to the shipment who is in detention.

Lawyer Raymond Fortun, the lawyer of Customs fixer Mark Taguba, another personality being linked to the shipment, questioned why the persons who smuggled the illegal drugs to the country have yet to be charged.

"Those who really brought the drugs into this country have to be the one who should be formally charged, not the small ones, not the small fish, but really the big ones who really matter," said Fortun.

Even Customs officials whose names have been dragged into the investigation wonder why the spotlight is on them.

Former Customs Intelligence Chief Colonel Neil Estrella urged the investigating teams to look for other personalities allegedly behind the anomalous shipment, including the owners of the drug shipment, as well as customs brokers and fixers.

He mentioned, in particular, Jojo Bacud and the elusive "Tita Nani."

"'Yun 'yung mga binabanggit nila na tao. Bakit hindi natin dalhin yun dun at tanungin din natin siguro kung anong masasabi nila dito sa mga alegasyon na 'to?" Estrella said.

Estrella insisted Customs personnel prevented the shabu shipment from circulating in the country.

"Kami lang, kami 'yung nanghuli, kami 'yung nag-prevent na itong drugs na ito lumabas dito sa ating lipunan, kami ngayon yung makukulong kung saka-sakali," he said.

Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, who quit his post amid the controvery, has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction the criminal complaints filed against him.

"Kasi meron na rule na pag Salary Grade 27 ka is Ombudsman. We're just trying to find out kung sino ba talaga yung may jurisdiction pero kung mag-rule sila na DOJ, then we also welcome it, we will continue to attend the hearings sa DOJ," Faeldon said.

On the other hand, the prosecution is confident about the proceedings so far.

"Tignan lang natin yung involvement nila, yung complicity nila, kung talaga bang alam nila 'yan ay shabu at anong participation nila," said Assistant State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes.

Legal expert and former dean of the Ateneo School of Government Antonio La Viña also weighed in on the issue, citing the importance of the continuation of the Senate investigation into the matter s it reveals more information than a DOJ proceeding.

"Parang sa Department of Justice you have a very limited group of actors," he said in a phone patch interview.

"In fact, I've said that with all the different people that have been mentioned in the Senate hearing, what you have in the Department of Justice is very low-level accused. At some point, I hope the Senate would be able to enlighten us on who the big fish are here," La Viña added.

He also said Senate hearings are less constrained by the rules of procedure in criminal cases.

"It's good for us to know the extent of this, I mean all I can say is, my, wow. We are in very bad shape if you have Customs like that," he said. —Nicole-Anne Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News