Pubdate: Mon, 03 Jan 2005
Source: Sunstar Davao (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Sunstar
Contact:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1991
Note:  also listed for feedback
Author: Raquel C. Bagnol, Joy G. Romares, Peng Alino
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

MAYOR WANTS FOREIGNERS IN CITY MONITORED

DAVAO CITY -- Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he will ask President Arroyo to 
assign an immigration official here to monitor foreigners, following 
Friday's discovery of two shabu laboratories in the city.

Six Oriental-looking men were killed during the raid on one of the shabu 
(methamphetamine hydrochloride) labs in Dumoy in Talomo district.

Duterte said he does not want foreigners setting up shabu labs in the city 
and this can be prevented by the deployment of an immigration official who 
will be monitoring their activities.

The mayor added he "will see to it that all foreigners entering the city 
will be registered" so he could keep track of them and prevent them from 
doing illegal activities.

"I want to know where these foreigners live and what they do in the city 
through a centralized monitoring system," Duterte said in the dialect.

Once the system is in place, no foreigner will be exempted from registering.

"Tanan apil, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, bisag kinsa, basta foreigner 
kinahanglan magpa-rehistro (No foreigner will be exempted, all must 
register)," Duterte added.

After years of confiscating illegal drugs in small amounts, authorities 
raided two huge shabu laboratories just over the weekend where six 
Oriental-looking men were killed, allegedly after resisting arrest.

Of the six, only one was so far identified: a certain Alex Sy.

It was not, however, clear how this man was related to the suspected 
financier of the laboratory operations identified as one Allan Sy, who 
remains at large.

A second shabu laboratory was raided on New Year's Day along Del Pilar 
Street in Barrio Obrero.

But unlike the Dumoy laboratory, the one in Obrero was already abandoned 
when Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 11 agents led by 
Superintendent Wilkins Villanueva arrived. Chemical substances similar to 
the ones found in the Dumoy warehouse were recovered.

The Dumoy raid was conducted by PDEA 11, the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special 
Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF), and the intelligence operatives of the 
Police Regional Office at around 8 p.m. Friday along Kilometer 13, Barangay 
Dumoy, in a warehouse in front of the Solana Ice Plant.

Police recovered more than 76 kilos of suspected shabu that is worth more 
than P152 million in street value.

"Right now pupuntahan pa ng ating mga (we will coordinate with our) 
Taiwanese and Chinese counterpart ang mga patay kasi nga (about those 
killed in the raid because) there's no identification at all," Villanueva said.

Villanueva added that the bodies of the victims were brought to the Angel 
Funeral Homes in Toril.

He said they took photographs of those who died and would send these to 
Chinese and Taiwanese investigators for identification.

Villanueva said the police were forced to shoot the victims who resisted 
arrest and shot it out with authorities.

Six suspected drug dealers died on their way to the Davao Sanitarium 
Hospital where they were supposedly brought for treatment.

Villanueva said some policemen were also hit with bullets but were unhurt 
because they had bulletproof vests on.

Aside from the recovered illegal drugs, police also confiscated three 
firearms including two caliber .45 pistols and a caliber .9 mm pistol.

Allan, the suspected financier, is now the subject of a manhunt.

Villanueva said they arrested Sy's wife identified, as Jed Pilapil-Sy, 
under whose name the warehouse was bought.

Villanueva said the warehouse was under surveillance since October last year.

Aside from the Sy couple, Villanueva named Jed's brother, one Jong Pilapil, 
as among the suspects they are still looking for.

However, Sy's wife was released since she was not there when they conducted 
the raid.

Villanueva said she will also face charges.

Sy's drug laboratory was the 11th big one found in 2004 in an aggressive 
nationwide campaign by the government against illegal drugs.
- ---