No reason to cast doubt after shabu haul total revised, say authorities

Authorities on Monday pushed back on any skepticism after the size and value of a publicized drug haul was reduced, saying they went through the correct process.

The drugs were confiscated in Alitagtag, Batangas and were originally estimated to be over two tons in weight, with a value of over P13.3 billion.

On Wednesday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced a revision of the totals, saying that the shabu seized came to around 1.4 tons, worth P9.68 billion.

“Hindi na dapat ito pag-uusapan kasi para sa akin klaro naman na estimate,” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos said at a media conference on Thursday.

(I don’t think it should be discussed anymore because to me it’s clear that it was an estimate.)

It was Abalos who announced that “more or less” P13.3  billion worth of shabu had been seized, even saying that it might be the biggest single haul of illegal drugs confiscated in the Philippines yet. He also showed the items to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

Abalos defended his earlier remarks, showing video of himself saying that the amount was an estimate. The now-revised total is about P3.6 billion lower than the sum he had initially announced.

“You just base it sa experience ng PDEA, sa nakikita po nila [You just base it on PDEA’s experience, on what they see],” he said, and asked PDEA Deputy Director General for Operations Renato Gumban to explain.

“Mag-estimate lang naman, titingnan ang number of sacks, kung ilan, ilan yung average ng laman ng sack, i-multiply mo lang naman iyon, tapos kunin mo yung average ng per box na iyan…i-estimate mo rin yung average, i-multiply mo siya doon, tapos i-multiply mo sa street value ng methamphetamine hydrochloride, which is P6.8 million per kilogram. ‘Yun yung lumabas na figure,” Gumban said.

(You estimate it by looking at the number of sacks, the average amount per sack, multiply that and you get the average per box…you estimate the average, you multiply that and the street value of shabu, which is P6.8 million per kilogram. That was how you got the figure.)

Abalos added that the media and public should remove their doubts and give recognition to those behind the operation instead.

Batangas Provincial Prosecutor Lourdes Ramirez-Zapanta also said that the original amount of P13.3 billion had only been an estimate. 

“Hindi ko po alam kung bakit parang may pagdududa, ay kitang-kita naman ninyo na noong panahong nagbibigay at nag-uulat ay hindi pa tapos ang imbentaryo. Kaya sa simula pa lang ay talagang estimate, karkula,” she said.

(I don’t know why there seems to be some skepticism, when you could clearly see that when it was reported the inventory had not yet been completed. So from the start it really was an estimate, a calculation.)

Yacht

Abalos also said the authorities are now in possession of a yacht that may be connected to the operation. 

He said the yacht is currently docked in Nasugbu, Batangas, but did not provide other information.

In a report by Jun Veneracion on 24 Oras on Thursday, the PNP said they believe the yacht was used to bring the shabu to the province. 

Apart from the van where the sacks of drugs had been found at a checkpoint, the PNP is also looking for other vehicles used by the suspects.

“Marami pa po tayong hinahabol, marami pa tayong tinutugis sa ngayon at ito po ay talagang masinsin natin pinagtatrabahuan ngayon,” Abalos said.

(We are going after a lot of people, we are looking for a lot of people and this is what we are assiduously working on right now.)

The PNP also said that the van’s driver had a mulitary background, joining the US military in 1997.

“He left the US army in 2005 and came back dito sa Pilipinas noong 2008. Nagtayo sya ng isang fitness center somewhere dito sa Metro Manila,” said Police Regional Office 4A (PRO-4A) Regional Director Police Brigadier General Paul Kenneth Lucas. — Sherylin Untalan/BM, GMA Integrated News