U.S DEA clears Bolinao as drug route from China

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

ALAMINOS CITY – The United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration had intelligence report that the Bolinao shoreline was not used by the Chinese to transport illegal drugs from the Chinese mainland.

The coastal town of Bolinao faces China through the South China Sea.

The source who was privy to this report but asked anonymity said that Pangasinan First Congressional District Representative Jesus “Boying” Celeste  said the DEA intelligence report seen by Philippine law enforcers only shows that the accusation that the solon abet the proliferation of dangerous drugs shabu or methamphetamine hydrochloride was baseless.

“The Chinese would rather manufacture shabu in some secluded places like those in Arayat town in Pampanga and at Barangay Bimmotobot Naguilian in La Union instead of shipping them through Bolinao sea from China,” the source added.

Celeste lives in the rustic town Bolinao where he was a nine years mayor before he ran for Congress. He is now on his last term as solon. 

DEA is the local version of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

In August 7, 2016 Celeste was included on the list of President Rodrigo Duterte as protector of the illegal substance.

Lately, local newspaper Pahayagan ng Bayan wrote that the PDEA and the Philippine National Police had cleared Celeste of any involvement with drugs and the evaluation papers only wait for the approval of the President of the Philippines.

The source said that compared to the other five congressmen in Pangasinan province, Celeste’s huge multi-million pesos money churning businesses like his almost two hundred bedrooms world class El Pescador Hotel that caters to locals and tourists, fish selling business where he was dubbed as “Bangus Czar”, and others in the town of Bolinao were palpable to the people of the province.

Department of Interior and Local Government Mike Sueno lauded Celeste who submitted himself last December 22 , 2016 at the former office in Manila.

The solon went to the office of Task Force Agila that handled the investigation of the 50 local government officials who were implicated to the illegal drugs.

Sueno, as disclosed by Janice Hidalgo, Celeste public relation woman, believed that the beleaguered congressman’s name will soon be cleared as the final report submitted by the DILG awaits only the final approval and announcement of the president which may come early of this year.

Celeste cited to Northern Watch that Sueno told him in that meeting to write a formal request for the return of his two police bodyguards taken from him by the police hierarchy and the nine long and short licensed firearms he surrendered to the police regional office in La Union.

“I just found out that you are a businessman,” Sueno told Celeste.

Celeste cited his plight as that of Pangasinan Fifth District Congressman Amado T. Espino Jr.

President Duterte however apologized to Espino after the PDEA and the PNP cleared the solon of any link to narcotics trade in Pangasinan.

Both Celeste and Espino protested that their political detractors and their families’ political rival in the rambunctious politics of Pangasinan were behind the misinformation that they both aid the proliferation of the narcotics.

“Kung sino ang naglaglag kay Congressman Espino ay pareho lang po iyan dahil ginagawa na iyan minsan sa amin. Ni charged pa kami ng murder noon kasama pa rin si Governor Espino noon,” Celeste told media men during Duterte’s first official visit last November 2, 2016 in Sual, Pangasinan.

According to Hidalgo, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Director General Isidro Lapena cited through the Agency’s website that the PDEA could not connect any activity to which Celeste could have been into illegal drug's trade and instead found several records of the solon who had initiated several drug busting activities from his term as the mayor of Bolinao.