Our kumpadre, Romy Teruel in his column The Agora, commented last week about the imminence of narco-politics in Bohol. Then our companero, Atty. Salvador Diputado, who co-anchors the program “Cuentas Claras” with SM Ted Ayeng of Station DYTR, became the most favourite subject of the news and the favourite whipping boy of its rival program, “InyongAlagad” of Station DYRD last week anchored by BGlante, Fred Araneta and Chito Visarra, following his comments about local media personalities being allegedly involved in the local drug trade. This could be the reason why some members of the Bohol Tri-Media Association (BTMA) took the drug test last week in an apparent answer to the allegation. No. 1, being involved in the drug trade does not mean that you are a drug user yourself. Take Batang Karaan as an example, he is a drug lord but he never uses drugs. For him, illegal drug is a business and not a vice.

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In his column, our kumpadre Romy Teruel disclosed that during the recent meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) chaired by Gov. Edgar M. Chatto last week, the OIC of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Bohol admitted that PDEA has received reports about law enforcers and government officials who are protecting illegal drug operations in the province. The media brouhaha over Atty. Diputado's comments and from our local sources made us conclude that indeed narco-politics is now in Bohol. Once the media is already reported to be allegedly part of the illegal drug trade, it serves as the preamble to the narco-politics. It is the smoke to the fire called narco-politics.

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Let me illustrate to you an example in our legal profession, we heard reports before that there was even a lawyer who received shabu in exchange for the appearance fees. Some sort of an exchange deal. In one of the most recent drug cases reported here, we learned that the suspect had only P800,000.00 in cash to pay for his known lawyer. But his known lawyer demanded one million pesos as acceptance fee. So the suspect looked for another lawyer who readily accepted his money. In the last weeks, we extended our legal service to a suspect who was arrested not for illegal drugs but in another offense which was drug-related. But this suspect is allegedly a “collector” of the local drug trade. The suspect has a list which the police called a “batal”, a list of drug dealers with accounts to their drug bosses. The amount of the “batal” already reached more than a million pesos.

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Don't look now but the money involved in the local drug trade in Bohol already reached multi-million pesos in just a week and the drug lords now are into a diversified business also. Take a look at this, in one of the raids involving the operation of “suertres”in the city, the suspects cried foul because the raid sprung from a report of a “concerned citizen”. This “concerned citizen” turned out to be a personality linked to a known drug lord here because the operation of the suspects rivaled with the “suertres” operation of the drug lord in Tagbilaran. In other words, the drug lord has now expanded the business from the illegal drug trade to “suertres”. Worse our source said the drug lord is throwing his weight around because he is being protected by a top government official who collects P80,000 per week from the drug lord for his illegal drug trade and “suertres” operation.

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Truly, as correctly pointed out by our kumpadre RomyTeruel, the drug trade now in Bohol can already challenge the government, e.g acquittal and dismissal of drug cases, and attack our social institutions and control the powers that be in government because drug lords finance their election and bribe them thus making them as king makers. In Bohol, this is the reign of narco-politics nowadays. Unfortunately, we cannot simply divulge our sources here because most of them are our clients and we are being beholden by the lawyer-client relationship. If you want to inquire us about the names of drug lords and their bosses, “amos” in the government, law enforcers and lawyers (they also have advisers, you know), we can tell you personally but without mentioning our sources because they are being protected by law and we will disown it. Otherwise, the bullets will be on its way.

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POSTSCIPT: It really pleases us to have another presidential visit this week in Loon, Bohol by Pres. Pnoy. He really wanted to spread the celebration of EDSA from Manila to Mindanao and to the Visayas. We saw the entire coverage of his visit while we were in Manila last Monday evening which was broadcast live over PTV 4… By the way, here's our belated birthday greetings to Gov. Edgar M. Chatto who marked his natal day in Balilihan town last week…There's more when we return.