DAVAO CITY – The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) is eyeing nine suspected perpetrators and five persons of interest, including a local drug group, in the ambush of its agents in Lanao del Sur on October 5.
PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino on Tuesday said PDEA will be filing the case against the suspects within the week.
Aquino was in town on Tuesday to meet with PDEA-11 personnel and visit one of the survivors, Rachelle Ann Gentepanan, at a local hospital here.
As the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the local police are conducting investigation on the incident, Aquino also sought a parallel investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to avoid any whitewash.
Aquino said even the PNP members who escorted the PDEA agents are also being investigated.
He admitted that he found it suspicious that the ambush occurred after the police escorts, who were on another car behind the PDEA main vehicle, suddenly overtook minutes before the incident.
Aquino hinted that the escorts had knowledge of the ambush. He did not elaborate.
“Kaduda-duda ang moves nila. Nakabuntot lang sila sa main vehicle and for no reason nag-overtake then minutes na-ambush ang tropa. I don’t know what happened to them di sila nag reinforce (Their moves were suspicious. They were behind the PDEA main vehicle and for no reason they overtook. Minutes late the ambush happened. I don’t know what happened to them because they did not reinforce),” Aquino said.
Aquino bared that the PDEA had refused to have escorts that day but the police insisted to secure and escort the agents.
Despite the suspicions, Aquino maintains that the PNP and the military remain strong partners in the war against illegal drugs.
Aquino also ruled out the involvement of the New People’s Army and the Maute group in the ambush because the PDEA agents did not lose any firearm and other personal possessions.
“It was just really retaliatory,” he said, pointing to local illegal drugs syndicate.
The PDEA chief vowed that the Lanao incident would not stop PDEA from leading the government’s all-out war against illegal drugs.
“We have many enemies but we will continue fighting and do our job,” he said.
“Nabawasan kami ng lima. I have asked my chief of staff to put more men on the ground. Akala nila hihinto kami dahil namatayan kami? Lalo namin silang bibirahin diyan sa Lanao (We lost five. I have asked my chief of staff to put more men on the ground. They thought we will stop because we lost our men? We will hit them more,” he told reporters. (Lilian C. Mellejor/PNA)
