Ex-PDEA chief says Aquino must resign amid inquiry into ‘ninja cops’

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Aaron Aquino should resign, according to retired General Dionisio Santiago, a former holder of that position.

“I think the PDEA chief with all the controversies should also go,” Santiago said at a media forum on Wednesday on the heels of a Senate inquiry on supposed drug-recycling activities of rogue cops also called ninja cops.

“Kaya ko lang naman sinabi ‘yun parang wala kang napapakitang solusyon. Pagkatapos parang may mga tanong hindi nila masagot. Dapat sila nakakasagot niyan, if you really have a good network,” he added.

Aquino recently bared the modus operandi of Guia Gomez Castro, the alleged Manila drug queen who supposedly worked with “ninja cops” in recycling confiscated drugs. Authorities are still looking for Castro after she fled to the US.

Santiago thinks politics are behind the issues raised against outgoing Philippine National Police chief General Oscar Albayalde, and why his supposed intervention in the case related to irregular drug operations in Pampanga in 2013 recently resurfaced. 

“Baka may malalim na rason ito, kasi maski ako, sa amin sa academy uso ‘yung ganun. Why just now? Bakit ngayon lang?” Santiago noted.

During a Senate inquiry on Tuesday, Magalong claimed that Albayalde asked then PNP Central Luzon Regional Director Aaron Aquino not to implement the dismissal order against 13 police officers—Alabayalde’s men—involved in the questionable drug bust in Pampanga six years ago.

Aquino confirmed at the hearing that he indeed received a call from Albayalde regarding the case.

Albayalde, on the other hand, admitted he made the call to check on the case status.

“Yes, I asked for the status, only the status. I could not possibly influence an RD (regional director) or an upperclassman,” he said.

Santiago said he finds the allegations of Aquino and former PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong against Albayalde quite weak.

“Hindi naman solid ang proof. Sabi ko nga, they are good but the problem is always prosecution because when you want to convict, you must have evidence, you must have witnesses,” he said.

Moreover, he was dismayed by the controversy involving fellow graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

“They are messing up our institution, specifically PMA,” he said.

Santiago led PDEA from 2006 to 2010. He was also appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) in July 2017, but resigned four months later following his statement against a drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija.

He graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1970 and became the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2002 to 2003. —VDS, GMA News