MANILA, Philippines - Graft complaints were filed yesterday against the governor of Catanduanes, mayor of Virac town and a barangay captain in connection with a shabu laboratory discovered in the province in November.
Gov. Joseph Cua, Virac Mayor Samuel Laynes as well as Hilario Tomagan, chairman of Barangay Palta Small, should also be held liable for grave misconduct and nonfeasance, Edralyn Pangilinan, widow of Larry Que, publisher of Catanduanes News Now, said in a 17-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Pangilinan said the respondents allowed Chinese businessmen to operate the shabu laboratory in Barangay Palta Small until it was dismantled following a raid in November.
Police said the laboratory, which had six hydrogenators that could produce up to 9.6 tons of shabu a month, was the biggest facility discovered since the government started its war on drugs in July.
Pangilinan also accused Cua of involvement in the killing of her husband, saying Que’s articles linking Cua and other local officials to the proliferation of shabu in the province “made him a target for termination.”
”His exposés, unfortunately, went under the skin of one of his subjects, Joseph Cua...Larry was slain to finally silence him,” the complaint read.
“Prior to his death, he received veiled threats from Gov. Cua and his right-hand man,” it added.
Que was shot in the head by a lone gunman as he was about to enter his office on Dec. 19. He was the first journalist killed under the Duterte administration.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemned the killing, noting that it occurred after Que criticized local officials for allowing the operation of the shabu laboratory.
Cua earlier denied his involvement in the illegal drug trade.