Lapeña kay Aquino: ‘Wag mo kaming sisihin

Hindi makatutulong sa giyera kontra droga ng pamahalaan ang sisihin ang ibang ahensiya kaugnay sa P6.8-bilyong drug shipment na nakalusot sa bansa, sinabi kahapon ni Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena sa pagpahayag niya ng pagkadismaya sa mga tiradang ibinabato sa kanya.

Matapos manahimik sa mga paninisi sa kagawaran sa kabiguan nitong mapigilan ang apat na magnetic lifters na natagpuan sa Cavite noong Agosto, na diumano’y naglalaman ng isang toneladang shabu, nagpahayag ng kanyang pagkadismaya si Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino.

“Finger pointing and blaming other agencies does not add up in the government’s war against drugs, more so blaming one government agency alone, as if it has done nothing,” ani Lapena.

“Director General Aquino, being the head of Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs (ICAD) should not easily point or blame a member agency when there is obvious failure of intelligence or lack of coordination among member agencies under his leadership,” aniya pa.

Ang Bureau of Customs (BOC) ay miyembro ng ICAD, nilikha ng Pangulo sa ilalim ng Executive Order 15, bilang blueprint ng kanyang anti-drug campaign upang matiyak na ang lahat ng ahensiya ng gobyerno ay ginagawa ang kani-kanilang tungkulin para masugpo ang problema sa droga. Ang PDEA ang namumunong ahensiya.

“Each agency involved in the country’s anti-drug campaign has theirown mandate to fulfill. I will not undermine any other agency’s contribution to this fight,” diin ng commissioner.

Dalawang magnetic lifters na naglalaman ng 355 kilo ng shabu ang nadiskubre sa Manila International Container Port (MICP) noong Agosto. Ito ay pag-aari ng Vecaba Trading.

“Perhaps Director General Aaron Aquino should not pin down and blame entirely this problem to the Bureau of Customs. Let me emphasize again the importance of timely intelligence sharing from the PDEA. I would like to remind him that the lifters consigned to Vecaba Trading were intercepted at the port because of shared information,” ani Lapena.