PDEA hopes court will convict 2 'Alabang Boys'

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said yesterday it is hopeful that the court will convict two of the three drug suspects collectively called the “Alabang Boys.”

A Muntinlupa court has scheduled tomorrow the promulgation of the drug case against Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

“The PDEA is counting on a guilty verdict for Brodett and Joseph on Friday,” PDEA director general Jose Gutierrez Jr. said in a statement.

Brodett and Joseph were arrested by PDEA agents in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa on Sept. 20, 2008. 

On the same night, Joseph Tecson was arrested in a follow-up operation conducted in Quezon City. The suspects collectively yielded 60 tablets of ecstasy, cocaine and marijuana.

The case against Brodett and Joseph is being tried by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, while the case against Tecson is separately being heard by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 227.

The drug suspects are from moneyed families and the case hogged the headlines after their families allegedly used influence and money to have the suspects released before Christmas in 2008. There were also reports of attempts to bribe PDEA operatives.

The Department of Justice, from state prosecutors to the top officials, were questioned for lapses and improprieties in handling the case. The controversy led to the issuance of Administrative Order 253 in January 2009, directing the automatic review by the Office of the President on all decisions and resolutions involving the dismissal of drug cases.