Court issues HDO vs. Acierto, others over shabu smuggling case

A Manila court has issued a hold departure order (HDO) against dismissed police official Eduardo Acierto and other persons facing charges in connection with the billions worth of shabu smuggled into the country last year.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 35 issued the HDO against all of the persons accused in the drug case, Justice Undersecretary Mark Perete confirmed Monday.

Issued by courts upon request by prosecutors, an HDO prevents a person from leaving the country.

Manila Judge Ma. Bernardita Santos earlier ordered the arrest of Acierto, ex-Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency deputy director for administration Ismael Fajardo, former Customs intelligence agent Jimmy Guban, Chan Yee Wah alias KC Chan alias Fhonie Chan alias Albert Chan alias Chen Fong Hsiang; Zhou Quan alias Zhang Quan alias Zhauq Quan; Vedasto Baraquel, Jr.; Maria Lagrimas Catipan; and Emily Luquingan.

State prosecutors had charged them in court with violation of Section 4 in relation to Sections 28 and 31 of the dangerous drugs law.

Of the eight accused, only Guban is in government custody, having previously been covered by the Witness Protection Program.

The case stems from the discovery of two cylindrical magnetic lifters that concealed P2.4 billion worth of shabu at the Manila International Container Port last August, and that of four empty lifters believed to have contained P11-billion worth of the drug in Cavite the following day.

Last March, Acierto claimed that Michael Yang, a former presidential adviser, was involved in the illegal drug trade. President Rodrigo Duterte has vouched for Yang's innocence. —KBK, GMA News