PDEA chief to quit if agents did ''sell bust'' in QC incident
The chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Tuesday said he will resign from his post if it will be proven that his agents were conducting a “sell bust” during the misencounter incident in Commonwealth, Quezon City which resulted in the death of five people.
In an interview with reporters at Mandaluyong City, PDEA Director General Wilkins Villanueva said only the evidence and CCTV footage can determine if there is a “sell bust”.
“The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is the one who can say that. Where are the drugs? The money? And where is the evidence? During the press conference we agreed that we will not say anything without evidence because that is only hearsay,” Villanueva said.
“You can only say that if there is evidence… Release a CCTV (footage) that the PDEA and PNP (Philippine National Police) made a transaction. I will resign right now,” he added.
Sell bust is an illegal act where agents sell illegal drugs to arrest their buyers.
Under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, selling illegal drugs is punishable with life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to P10,000,000.
Villanueva dared the police to show a proof that they are the one who conducted a buy bust operation.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Major General Vicente Danao Jr earlier said that a “sell bust” could be one of the possible angles on their investigation but he did not mention if it was the police or PDEA agents that did it.
Last week, PDEA and PNP created a board of inquiry (BOI) but President Rodrigo Duterte ordered that only the NBI can investigate the incident.
The NBI announced there are five fatalities but it did not say who is the latest fatality. Ella Dionisio/DMS
