DOJ wants hold order vs cops on narco list

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) will be on the lookout for police officials included in President Duterte’s narco list, an official said yesterday.

The DOJ will seek the issuance of precautionary hold departure orders (PHDO) from the courts once the fact-finding probe of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have been completed and charges are filed against police officials involved in the illegal drug trade, according to Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Guevarra said the PHDO is necessary to prevent the flight of the police officers during the conduct of the preliminary investigation.

“State prosecutors may apply for PHDO with the courts as may be deemed necessary,” he said.

The Supreme Court (SC) created the PHDO earlier this year, replacing the watch list order (WLO) issued by the DOJ to prevent those undergoing investigation from leaving the country.

After the SC stopped the issuance of the WLO, the DOJ issued lookout bulletin orders against drug personalities considered as flight risks.

Guevarra earlier ordered NBI Director Dante Gierran to conduct an investigation to build possible cases against officials of the PNP, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Bureau of Customs allegedly involved in drugs.

“I have instructed Director Gierran to conduct the probe to confirm and corroborate the intelligence report submitted to the President,” Guevarra earlier told The STAR.

“If the evidence warrants, the NBI will file a complaint before the DOJ for preliminary investigation,” he said.

Last week, President Duterte released a report on the alleged involvement of law enforcement officials in illegal drugs.

He said the report dated Sept. 12 came from an intelligence network.

Among the PNP officials tagged in the report were Senior Superintendents Leonardo Suan and Lorenzo Bacia; Inspectors Lito Pirote and Conrado Caragdag, and Senior Police Officer 4 Alejandro Liwanag.

Former senior superintendent Eduardo Paderon Acierto, former PDEA deputy director general for administration Ismael Gonzales Fajardo Jr. and Jimmy Guban, a Customs intelligence official, were also named in the report.

Guban was allegedly involved in the shipment of magnetic lifters believed to contain P6.8-billion shabu that slipped past the BOC recently.

Fajardo was allegedly involved in recycling drugs seized from police operations.               

He was reportedly relieved from his post two days after the report was submitted to Malacañang.