Overall in the country, it was undoubtedly the victory of Rodrigo Roa Duterte that topped headlines as all presidential elections in the past did. Except that Duterte continued to, nay, soared in international headlines in various shades in the ensuing months.
Locally, the mark of Duterte has been overpowering, as can be seen in the cases of illegal drugs, Mrs. Arroyo and Mr. Lam.
Big shabu labs
When Duterte assumed power, at least two big shabu laboratories were found in Pampanga, while big drug lords, mostly Chinese, were arrested in the continuing war against illegal drugs.
Pampanga folk are aware these developments ensued from the President’s campaign against illegal drugs, but it is not clear why the biggest laboratories located in their province and not elsewhere. They could only theorize that Pampanga is near Metro Manila which has a big market for the prohibited drugs.
One of the biggest catches was last September, when agents from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) raided a remote piggery that turned out to be an underground shabu laboratory in Barangay Balitucan in Magalang, Pampanga.
A few days later, the Pampanga police raided another purported shabu laboratory in Barangay Lacquios at the foot of Mt. Arayat in Arayat town. It was described as one of the biggest shabu laboratories to be found in the country.
A week later, Duterte was at the location to inspect the laboratory and declared plans to convert it into rehabilitation center for drug dependents.
There have been persistent reports, however, that the equipment found there merely resembled those used for shabu manufacturing, but were actually used to process agricultural projects by its Chinese owner who was not around during the raid.
Last November, a “kitchen type” shabu laboratory was raided by the police in a house in Barangay San Juan in Apalit town, but no one was found in the house.
Earlier during the Duterte administration, however, three other supposed shabu laboratories or warehouses had also been discovered in Angeles City.
Freedom for GMA
In the May elections, Kapampangans in the second district gave former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo overwhelming votes for a third and last congressional term. Nay, no one even dared to run against her.
Because Arroyo is Kapampangan, her detention at the Veteran Memorial Hospital on charges of plunder fi led by the Aquino government has always been considered with disfavor by her “cabalens.”
In the last elections, she sided with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte whom she had at one time invited to join her cabinet.
Her freedom was based on a decision of the Supreme Court dismissing the charges that she allegedly pocketed P366 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) when she was president.
Now, she is deputy House speaker and has been hinting politics beyond her third term although she has openly dismissed suggestions for her to run for Pampanga governor as current Gov. Lilia Pineda, her close friend and “comadre” is also on her last term.
Arroyo now openly acknowledges the help of Duterte for her freedom after four years of hospital detention starting 2012.
Arroyo, now on her third term as representative of the second district of Pampanga, spent two more nights at VMMC before her actual release from detention as some administrative procedures had to be followed.
Marc Anthony jailed
On the night of last Oct. 3, actor Mark Anthony Fernandez’s yellow Mustang was flagged down by cops at a checkpoint at the Balibago commercial district in Angeles. The cops espied on a partially opened box of alleged marijuana in the passenger’s seat, but he sped off in an attempt to just flee. Lawmen, however, caught up with him at a traffic clogged section of the MacArthur Highway in neighboring San Fernando, with one of them shooting at a tire of Marc Anthony’s Mustang to prevent his escape further.
After being cooped up in congested jails, first at the Angeles Police Station 4, then at the Angeles District Jail, Fernandez’s lawyers succeeded in convincing the court he should be moved to the spacious cells of the Pampanga Provincial Jail in San Fernando.
Charges of illegal possession of about a kilo of marijuana, which bars him from bail, as well as charges arising from his attempt to flee from the cops, are now facing him.
Allegations of special treatment have been bobbing up over Fernandez’s case, arising from his transfer to a more comfortable jail, to barring media from covering his arraignment for the illegal drugs case last Dec. 13 at the sala of Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Meredith Malig.
Arresting Jack Lam
The raid of an online gambling facility at the Fontana Leisure Park at Clark Freeport last Nov. 23 made headlines perhaps for the 1,316 Chinese nationals arrested during the raid.
But the news assumed bigger proportions when two Bureau of Immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles were fired by the President himself after they allegedly extorted P50 million from Fontana owner Jack Lam for the release of the Chinese nationals.
Lam himself was ordered arrested by the President on charges of bribery and economic sabotage, but he has already fl ed to Macau.
Following Malacanang’s cue, the stateowned Clark Development Corp. (CDC) which manages Clark Freeport, shut down Fontana.
Except for the two fired Immigration officials, however, the Fontana situation seems to be clearing a bit. Before last Christmas Day, the CDC lifted its suspension order.
However, as of this writing, the fate of Chinese nationals has remained uncertain.
“There are no instructions yet (on what to do with the Chinese workers),” said Karen Domingo, chief of the one-stop shop of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at Clark, referring to some 600 Chinese nationals who were found to have the proper working visa at the time of the raid.
Some 600 other Chinese nationals who had no proper immigration documents had posted bail worth P50,000 each and are expected to be eventually deported.
Domingo said, however, that while the other Chinese nationals had working visa, their status could be downgraded to being mere tourists as their online gambling work had already ceased.
Most of the Chinese nationals have remained at the Fontana convention center amid lack of options. They continue to receive food rations apparently from the Fontana management.
