Odicta once arrested for 'snatching'

"To have once been a criminal is no disgrace. To remain a criminal is the disgrace." -- Malcolm X

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- I first heard the name Melvin "Boyet" Odicta in the early 90's when I edited the stories of our police beat reporters,  Ruby Silubrico and Ednalyn Belonio-Diamante, in Sun Star, a daily newspaper in Western Visayas in the Philippines.
If Odicta was not arrested in a buy-bust operation and raids conducted by elements of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) then headed by Supt. Vicente Neptuno in his residence in Brgy. Tanza-Esperanza, City Proper, he was nabbed for, believe it or not, snatching!
Since Odicta was never convicted of snatching, either complainants refused to pursue the case for fear of reprisal or lack of interest, or he was a victim of a mistaken identity as he had insisted, according to police.
In other words, the man who raked in millions of pesos allegedly in trafficking of illegal drugs in year 2000 up and became the most-feared character in the underworld, started as small fry.
Odicta had always insisted he was a legitimate businessman. They operated a taxi company and a restaurant. 

'DRUG LORD'

The man tagged by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and by no less than Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa as "the drug lord", reportedly began as a mere street hooligan.
His sudden transformation from alleged small-time trafficker and "snatcher" to big-time "drug lord" was meteoric, to say the least.
It was when Odicta began to "collaborate" with Merriam Regalado-Porras, who became Mrs. Meriam Odicta, that his name became a byword and his empire ballooned.
Meriam was widow of the notorious gangster Tikboy Porras of Pototan, Iloilo. Porras was murdered reportedly by his former cohorts in a beach resort in Iloilo City in early 80s.
Porras, who also reportedly dabbled as hired killer, was one of the fast-rising illegal drug traffickers in Iloilo province when he was killed, police said. 
Police said it was possible that Meriam "inherited" her dead husband's connections and sources in the illicit deals.

CONVICT

When Odicta was sentenced to life imprisonment for violation of Republic Act 6425 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, he met some of the jailed criminal bigwigs in the New Bilibid Prison, believed to be the source of first-grade metamphetamine chloride or shabu.
Authorities viewed his alleged connections in the New Bilibid Prison mafia plus Meriam's "well-entrenched" tentacles as "formidable" combinations.
When he was released under a controversial circumstance in the 90's, Odicta made a name in the underworld as "Dragon", his nom de guerre in the New Bilibid Prison probably inspired by the huge dragon tattoo on his body. 
Dragon was reportedly both feared by his rivals and admired by his cohorts. His connections were so wide and powerful that he became untouchable for a long time, police said.
The Odicta couple were gunned down by unidentified assailants as they arrived via ro-ro in Caticlan, Aklan on August 29.
They came from a meeting with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael "Mike" Sueno in Metro Manila where they reportedly submitted a list containing the "illegal drug trade matrix", a report denied by the couple's lawyers.

Dragon stares at death but couldn't spit fire

"He who does not prevent a crime when he can, encourages it."
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- In the hands of his executioners, suspected drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr, popularly known as "Dragon", saw imminent death.
Based on manner of his execution, there was no way Dragon could escape and survive.
A gunman shot Dragon and wife Merriam as they alighted from a roll-on roll-off vessel at around 1:30 a.m. in Caticlan, Aklan August 28, Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Superintendent Dionardo Carlos confirmed.
"Please get me out of here," Dragon, limping with a bullet wound on the right foot, pleaded to his lawyer Gualberto Cataluna over mobile phone.

The most feared underworld personality could not even spit a fire as he struggled to avoid being finished off after surviving the first volley of shots. 

TRAP

But he was trapped. And Dragon probably knew he was finished.
Dragon was supposed to be brought to a Malay hospital but witnesses, including Cataluna, claimed policemen handcuffed him.
Minutes later, the man considered as "the most powerful and well-connected drug lord" in Western Visayas, was dead.
He had bullet wounds in the body and head, it was reported.
Before he died, Dragon witnessed how his wife, Merriam, was peppered with bullets in the back.  
The Odictas were declared dead on arrival in the hospital.
The couple were on their way to Iloilo from Manila where they were reported earlier to have "surrendered" to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueno.
Cataluna insisted they sought Sueno's help because of threats they were getting in Iloilo and did not surrender.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa earlier tagged Dragon as "the drug lord." He had vowed to wipe out all the drug lords in six months.

EVIDENCE

There was no evidence that the hard-hitting PNP chief had ordered Dragon's killing. He asserted that he does not tolerate summary executions but vowed to "get hard" on criminals, especially the drug lords.
For a while, Dragon seemed untouchable. 
He repeatedly denied envolvement in trafficking of illegal drugs insisting he was a legitimate taxi operator. The couple managed the Melvin taxi company, among other businesses in Iloilo City.
For so many years now, a mere mention of Dragon's name evoked fears among local law enforcers, business rivals, politicians, and crusading mediamen.
He had "friends" in almost all sectors and organizations. He was also reportedly a "benevolent" election campaign contributor.
Residents in places where Dragon had businesses and houses wouldn't comment about the nature of his other "businesses" and sources of income, we were informed. He also reportedly provided sacks of rice, cash for tuition and hospital bills, among other financial assistance, to poor neighbors.

CORRUPT

Some corrupt cops, politicians, thugs, and media personalities were reportedly under his payroll. 
Some of the unsolved gruesome murders involving policemen, media personalities, underworld characters and even ordinary employees had been reportedly linked to Dragon and his associates.
No charges have been filed against them, however, in relation to these gangland-style killings.
Aksyon Radyo, a local radio station in Iloilo City, became Dragon's fiercest critic and continued to expose his alleged illegal activities amid threats of reprisal and harassment.
Dragon and his cohorts had been charged with trying to invade the radio station two years ago. They were caught on CCTV seizing some gadget owned by the radio station during the raid.
Dragon's death reportedly left a vaccum in the leadership of illegal drugs in the city and province of Iloilo. 

TENTACLES

"At least his tentacles will now start to be decimated now that the main head has been cut off," a namesake, Boyet, who now lives in California, said. "He was probably killed by his protectors for fear he might squeal on their partnership."
Boyet said some of Dragon's protectors "are so powerful and prominent. Ilonggos will be shocked if they will know who they are."
Boyet, a former underworld character, said Dragon's protectors had been "looking for the right opportunity" to strike starting when they learned that Dragon's name was included in the list of suspected drug lords in the country secured by President Rodrigo Duterte.
"They have finally caught him up in Caticlan," Boyet averred. "Happy days (for the Ilonggos) will come again (after Dragon's demise)."

L'affaire Odictas: 'Dragon' outsmarts 'Bato'

"Let me be clear-no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions." Antonio Villaraigosa

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- They can't put a "bad" man down?
Several days before Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, visited Iloilo City in the Philippines on August 26, suspected drug lord, Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr., popularly known as "Dragon" in Western Visayas, grabbed headlines when he and wife Merriam "surrendered" to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ismael Sueno in Manila.
Lawyers Gualberto Cataluna and Sigred Fortun clarified later that their clients, fearing for their lives, "only sought the help" of the DILG. The lawyers refused to use the word "surrender" since no warrant of arrest has been issued against the couple.
The Odictas denied they were involved in trafficking of illegal drugs. They operate a taxi company and a restaurant, among other businesses in Iloilo City tagged as "the most shabulized" city in the country by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Smart move for the lawyers. 
Not-so-good publicity for Sueno and DILG.

HOSPITALITY

In the first place, why would Sueno accord the Odicta couple the kind of "hospitality" reserved for local government officials and cops?
The Odictas are not elected public officials. They are not even members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and PNP. 
Can any businessman tagged as having connections with the underworld seek asylum in the DILG if heat has become unbearable in the kitchen?
Can any drug lord or suspected drug lord hide behind the curtains of a government agency like DILG if police authorities are hot after their heels?
Where will the Odictas' visit fit in the DILG's objective "to enhance LGU capacities to improve their performance and enable them to effectively and efficiently deliver services to their constituents"?
The timing of Odicta couple's visit to the DILG was suspect. The lawyers--or the Odictas themselves--probably knew Dela Rosa was set to arrive in Iloilo City for a series of speaking engagements and inspections last August 26, thus they beat the PNP chief to the draw when they hobnobbed with the DILG.
Sueno has a lot of explaining to do for "L'affaire Odictas". Did he only accommodate friend Cataluna, a former inmate in South Cotabato where Sueno served as officer-in-charge (OIC) during the term of the late former President Corazon Aquino?

REFUSE

On the other hand, Dela Rosa refused to buy the claims of the Odictas that they are not engaged in selling of shabu in Western Visayas.
"Tell it to the marines," Dela Rosa was quoted by Philippines newspapers as saying in response to the Odictas' denial.
Dela Rosa, who was mobbed by Ilonggo fans, can always get a lot of pogi points each time he issued tirades against the drug lords. But it can't be denied that Dragon was able to outsmart Bato in the most recent episode of the nationwide campaign by the Duterte administration against illegal drugs.
After the smoke has been cleared, Dela Rosa was back in Metro Manila. The Odictas were back in Iloilo.
It was like a mouse and cat game. Now that the cat is away, it's time for the mouse to once again play.

WIPE OUT

In six months, Dela Rosa has vowed to wipe out criminals in the country and resign if he can't deliver.  The clock is ticking on that project. This allusion to a stopwatch is often used as an admonition to speed something up.
"Humanda na kayo. Sasagasaan namin kayo. Mag imbak na kayo ng armas (Be prepared. We will run you over. Start stockpiling your arms now)" was Dela Rosa's famous battlecry several weeks before he assumed office as PNP chief.
But Dragon, with his battery of cracked lawyers and the DILG leading the potpourri of charades, appears to have the last laugh. 
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 lives have lost in "summary executions" related to campaign against illegal drugs nationwide as of press time, and the United Nations isn't pleased with the death statistics. 
Most of them were suspected assets allegedly "silenced" so they couldn't rat against rogue cops. 
Most of them were small fries. Not drug lords.

Illegal drugs, not prostitution, is No. 1 problem in schools

“Addiction isn’t about substance—you aren’t addicted to the substance. You are addicted to the alteration of mood that the substance brings.” Susan Cheever

By Alex P. Vidal

SAD to say, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has failed to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in many campuses.

Classes have closed but not a single drug pusher that catered to university and college students was apprehended.

What was tackled in the media was “survival sex” or prostitution involving teenage students who sold their bodies for tuition and allowances.

The City Council even responded to the clamor of a university professor about “survival sex” and held a committee hearing on the issue.

Nothing has been heard after those committee hearings.

“The No. 1 problem that hounds the students (in some universities and colleges in Iloilo) today is illegal drugs. Prostitution is not new. It’s also a concern, but the problems on illegal drugs are still the most serious,” said a retired prosecutor who refused to be named because his grandchildren are studying in one of the universities involved.  

RETIRED

The retired prosecutor said he does not want his grandchildren to be involved in illegal drugs and wants school authorities to tackle the problem with utmost priority in the next school opening.

His nephew was once arrested in a buy-bust operation conducted in Jaro “and I don’t want my grandchildren to remember anything about that incident.”

Sources said drug peddlers used small eateries and restaurants located in the university belts to transact business with students.

Shabu “runners” mixed with potential buyers in billiard halls, 24-hour min-marts, bakery and coffee shops and sometimes could be mistaken as university or office employees because they wore formal attires, sources said.

“Kambio banga” (a term coined by shabu pushers to refer to college coeds who offer sex services for shabu) is a combination of illegal drugs and prostitution “and the most serious problem that has not been addressed until now,” lamented the retired prosecutor.

CASH

College students short of cash don’t need to steal money to buy shabu, it was learned.

They offer their bodies for sex for shabu.

“They perform the sexual services while under the influence of shabu,” confirmed our informant, “Mr. Tooth Decay.”

Many students have dropped out and will miss the graduation ceremonies this summer because they are hooked on shabu; meaning they didn’t take their studies seriously and their schooling was interrupted by their addiction to illegal drugs, said our sources from the Central Philippine University (CPU) in Jaro district and University of Iloilo (UI) in the City Proper in Iloilo City.

-o0o-

UPDATE ON BONIFACIO DRIVE TRAFFIC. As of this writing, traffic jam was still giving motorists a colossal  headache and terrible inconvenience on Bonifacio Drive, Iloilo City Proper due to the ongoing road-widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

From the foot of the Forbes Bridge that links the City Proper to the district of La Paz, vehicles are trapped especially during rush hours.

The road going to the Atrium Mall could accommodate only a single lane.

Traffic management authorities should have declared the area as “one-way” only before the start of the DPWH project last March 2.

If they could not do it because they were not authorized, they should have sought the help of the City Council, which should have passed a resolution declaring the Bonifacio Drive as “one way” only.

This is clearly a case of a “small” problem that has been neglected.

‘Bilibid not the only source of Iloilo Dinagyang shabu’

"Making money is certainly the one addiction I cannot shake.” Felix Dennis

By Alex P. Vidal

MANY Ilonggos won’t buy the claims of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that shabu supply for the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City this month will diminish after the raid conducted by the Department of Justice (DoJ) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City on December 15 last year.

Bilibid drug lords could not be the only sources of shabu being distributed all over the country.

Shabu business is organized nationwide.

Drug syndicates have robust tentacles in places where they distribute shabu.

Money is the key.

Judging from their success in recent years, they operate fast, furiously and efficiently, thus they are able to outwit the lawmen.

Chinese chemists and their local contacts set aside a large amount to bribe corrupt law enforcers, thus it would be a disaster for their business if they make the NBP as their only focal point.

Somewhere around the country, there must be bigger, more sophisticated and highly-maintained laboratories aside from the one (the presence of a laboratory inside the NBP has not been officially confirmed as of this writing since the inspection and investigation were still ongoing) inside the NBP.

INDUSTRY

Shabu is a multi-billion cottage industry in the Philippines.

Filipinos are among the biggest users of this so-called “poor man’s cocaine” in Asia, thus syndicates don’t maintain a sloppy operation in this country.

The raid in the NBP, which happened after Justice Secretary Lila de Lima signed the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 10575 or the BuCor Modernization Law, busted the lavish lifestyle of prominent drug lords and gang leaders where several cash, shabu, and drug paraphernalia were seized inside state-of-the-art kubols.

The surprise attack also confirmed reports earlier that drug transactions were done right inside the country’s premier institution for convicted criminals, although authorities have yet to discover the rumored shabu laboratories.

PDEA-6 Regional Director Paul Ledesma revealed last month that local distributors of the illegal substance get their supplies from the NBP drug lords.

Once the earlier (meaning before the Bilibid raid) supplies have been consummated, Ledesma, whose agents operate in Iloilo, Bacolod, Capiz, Antique, Guimaras, and Aklan, including the Boracay Island, said the shabu famine will be felt in the succeeding weeks until the Dinagyang Festival set annually in the third week of January.

TRANSACTION

Drug transactions were reportedly normally done in metro Iloilo’s drive-in motels and budget hotels where foreign and local guests stayed for the week-long religious festival.

Last year, several kilos of shabu worth P8 million sent through a commercial courier, have been confiscated in Bacolod by alert PDEA operatives.

The contraband was believed to have come from the Bilibid drug lords.

Twenty drug lords previously living in comfort inside the Bilibid community have been transferred to the NBI headquarters in Manila, cutting their contacts with clients and partners all over the country, including Western Visayas, it was reported.

But sources said Bilibid could not be the only source of local shabu traffickers.

Past PDEA regional directors pointed to the northern ports of Iloilo as the entry points of shabu intended for Western Visayas.

So far, no arrest has been made here involving big time shabu traffickers, except small time or street-level pushers.

As of 2014, the PDEA regional office under Ledesma, has failed to manacle a single lord drug supposedly operating in Western Visayas although Ledesma claimed they have already identified some of them.

Drug lords Co, et al won’t name Iloilo, Bacolod cohorts

“I used to have a drug problem, now I make enough money.” DAVID LEE ROTH

By Alex P. Vidal

EVEN if they will kill him, authorities can’t force big time drug lord Peter Co to name his associates in various regions all over the country, even if he and 19 other fellow drug lords have been transferred from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters.

Veteran drug lords like Co are trained not to rat against their partners even if they have been cornered by authorities.

If they do, the consequences are fatal: they are usually liquidated by their own partners.

Several days after Co, et al have been caught living in extravagant lifestyle in their kubols, authorities still failed to extract damning evidence that would pin down the drug lords’ cohorts operating in various parts of the country.

NBA agents confiscated from Co’s kubol several dollar bills, high-powered firearms, shabu and drugs paraphernalia during a joint raid conducted by the NBI and the Department of Justice on December 15.

BIG TIME

Peter Co, Hans Chua, and Tony Co are reportedly among the most big time drug lords in the country detained at the national penitentiary.

The raid reportedly confirmed reports that they have been continuing with their illegal activities in cahoots with corrupt jail guards and some Bureau of Correction (BuCor) officials.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 6 Director Paul Ledesma has confirmed that some of the major supplies of shabu being peddled in Western Visayas came from the National Bilibid Prison.

Ledesma knows that drug lords in “Munti” have links with drug pushers in Western Visayas.

Ledesma believes that the raid would affect the supplies of shabu in Western Visayas, which includes Iloilo, Bacolod, Guimaras, Capiz, Aklan, and Antique.

If “Munti” is the source of the big chunk of shabu that supplies drug addicts in the region, does it mean that a shabu laboratory exists inside the country’s premier rehabilitation center?

Or probably the drug lords, using their communication gadgets, operated the shabu business by a long distance—meaning the laboratories could be located in secret places far away from the Bilibid.

PINPOINT

Ledesma has pinpointed Peter Co as the contact persons of drug suppliers in the region.

They are expected to subject him in a thorough interrogation under the NBI custody, but they can never make him confess that he was still doing his illegal business while behind bars.

In a recent interview over DyRI RMN-Iloilo, Ledesma predicted a “domino effect.”

“(but) It will not be immediate. We also have to consider that they still have stocks,” Ledesma said.

“It’s just a matter of time…either mapangdakop namon ang mga pushers or maubos baligya ang supply sa mga retailers. Siguro ang mga replenishment or transactions in the future ang maapektuhan sang scarcity.”

With his vast knowledge of what had been going on in the Bilibid, Ledesma and the entire PDEA should have intercepted some of the major deals undertaken by the drug lords with their Western Visayas contacts even before the NBI and DOJ raid last December 15.

Why did they fail to monitor the deals when it was easier for them then to clamp down on the drug lords’ clandestine operations inside a state-run jail?

Shabu shipment via courier service

“If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use two feet.” Keith Richards

By Alex P. Vidal

We were not surprised by the reported seizure of some P7-million worth of shabu (methamphetamine chloride) stuffed inside 20 pairs of shoes and sandals and shipped via LBC from Luzon to Bacolod last June 9.

The amount of the recovered illegal substances shows a big group is behind the deal, and it must have crippled their operations for this school opening.

If it is about a kilo, the target market could be not only in Bacolod City, but also in other component cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental. If the P7-million worth of shabu was not intercepted, God knows how much damage it would have inflicted on the youth in Negros and how many crimes would it have caused.

This trick by some drug traffickers of using private courier services is not new. We have heard of similar incidents in the past not only in Western Visayas, but also in Metro Manila.

Drugs were also kept inside toys, books, cloths, frames, etcetera. The system, for a while, has worked wonders for the syndicates as some private courier services don’t have special machine detectors to intercept illegal substances hidden in the declared stuffs.

DOOR-TO-DOOR

Drug transactions are also sometimes done via door-to-door; meaning the consignees get the illegal substance directly from the senders through private courier services that are not supposed to be detected by police authorities.

But the arrest of “drug distributor” (that’s what the PDEA calls the suspect) Edgardo Justo, 36, also known as Ray Roman of Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Murcia happened because, sources said, someone privy to the deal had tipped off the PDEA, which was still confirming reports that the syndicate also used other private service couriers in the past.

The rat could be part of the well-entrenched syndicate operating in Region 6 and he must now be working with the PDEA.

Justo was cornered not after receiving the sandals and shoes, but during the buy bust operation that followed later. This means that door-to-door shipment of illegal drugs could have been progressing also in other parts of the country even before Justo was busted.

The shabu bust, the biggest in Western Visayas in recent years, was traced to have originated in Muntinlupa’s New Bilibid Prison, police said.  

DRUG LORDS

If the report is true, this would confirm fears that some of the country’s most notorious drug lords continue to operate even if they are now detained in “Munti”.

And these transactions would not materialize without the backing of some influential characters in police and military. It was reported most recently that these detained drug lords live like kings and untouchables, and they receive special treatment from jail authorities. They could fake sickness and go to hospitals and stay there for an extended period, and hire high-profile prostitutes while in confinement.

It is common knowledge that some of the most active drug lords in Western Visayas also have links with their cohorts in “Munti”. They were able to establish contacts and forge camaraderie with their partners who are now behind bars because they were themselves former inmates in “Munti.”

PDEA Regional Director Paul Ledesma and his men were still trying to extract more information from Justo in a hope to trace his other accomplices.

We wish Director Ledesma luck.