MANILA, Philippines – The House committees on dangerous drugs and good government is set to resume their probe into the missing P6.8-billion shabu (methamphetamine) on Wednesday, October 24.

From mediating the rift between the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), lawmakers face a new issue to thresh out: the divide inside the BOC.

In the days leading up to the probe, former X-ray chief Lourdes Mangaoang intensified her criticism of her colleagues: from simply saying the Senate shabu probe that the X-ray staff did not follow protocol, she called for the replacement of her boss, Customs chief Commissioner Isidro Lapeña, in multiple media outlets.

“I want the President to sack him,” Mangaoang told Rappler in a sit-down interview on Tuesday, October 23.

Believing that the 4 magnetic lifters found in Cavite used to contain P6.8 billion worth of shabu, Mangaoang said Lapeña should be replaced for negligence and incompetence.

Lapeña, however, refuted Mangaoang’s claims, saying that he has continuously hit collection targets and recorded the highest number of drug bust operations. He insisted that the presence of drugs inside the lifters has not been established, pointing to the negative results of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s shabu swab test.

Too much focus on internal rift? In his speech during a press conference on Tuesday, Lapeña pointed out that his dispute with Mangaoang is getting more attention than what has been established so far in congressional probes: that there was collusion among police, PDEA, and Customs officers in the controversial shipment.

He was referring to resigned Customs intel officer Jimmy Guban, dismissed police colonel Eduardo Acierto, and sacked PDEA No. 2 official Ismael Fajardo, who, so far, appear to have known about the shipment of the magnetic lifters earlier than everybody else while keeping their bosses in the dark. (READ: Duterte releases drug report accusing 3 law enforcers of corruption)

According to Guban, he was asked to look for a consignee-for-hire by his longtime colleague Acierto to receive the magnetic lifters. Fajardo, PDEA chief Director General Aaron Aquino believes, knew something about this arrangement yet made no mention of it to him. 

“This issue against us is being manipulated by the drug syndicates in order that it will be diverted away from them. Isn’t it that we should be focused on pinning them down?” Lapeña said.

As to where the probe is headed, the lawmakers of the two House panels led by Surigao Congressman Ace Barbers will decide. – Rappler.com