Ping raises 3 angles for probers looking into PDEA-PNP incident

Was there a so-called sell-bust? Were the operatives played by an informant? And who fired first?

These were the three angles raised by Sen. Panfilo Lacson as authorities prepare to look into the deadly encounter between police and anti-drug operatives in Quezon City.

At least four people were killed in the encounter between the Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency near a mall last Feb. 24.

“There couldn’t be two drug buy-bust operations between the PDEA and PNP operatives. One party must be doing ‘sell-bust’ which is prohibited. If they had a common informant, they had been played. Then, find out who fired first. These are the three angles that the probe should focus on,” Lacson said in a post on his Twitter account.

There couldn’t be 2 drug buy-bust operations between the PDEA and PNP operatives. One party must be doing “sell-bust” which is prohibited. If they had a common informant, they had been played. Then, find out who fired first. These are the 3 angles that the probe should focus on.

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) February 27, 2021

Both the PNP and PDEA insisted their respective personnel were conducting legitimate and coordinated anti-drug operations at the time.

On Friday, President Rodrigo Duterte tasked the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the incident.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)