BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has assigned a panel of prosecutors to conduct the preliminary investigation on the criminal complaints filed against Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Wilkins M. Villanueva, Bureau of Customs (BoC) Rey Leonardo B. Guerrero, and other officials over the 2019 shipment of “tapioca starch” found containing billions of pesos of illegal drugs.
“I identified already (the panel composition),” Prosecutor General Benedicto A. Malcontento said in a text message.
Malcontento said the panel is composed of three prosecutors from the DoJ’s National Prosecution Service (NPS).
He said the panel is chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rassendel Rex Gingoyon and members are Assistant State Prosecutors Mary Jane Sytat and Ethel Rea Suril.
The National Bureau of Investigation-Task Force Anti-Illegal Drugs (NBI-TFAID) filed last Feb. 23 the case against the said officials at the DoJ.
The case concerns the 2019 shipment of tapioca starch from Cambodia which was found to contain 171 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, hidden in 30 aluminum pallets. (Jeffrey Damicog)
