THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency has announced the arrest of 11 men, mostly professionals, at an upscale hotel in Bonifacio Global City where the suspects gathered Sunday for an alleged drug party.
Presenting the suspects to media Monday night, PDEA chief Aaron Aquino said the targets of their operation were model Edmond Remegio and model-singer Pedro “Malik” Coronel Jr., both 33, who allegedly supply party drugs to celebrities and bar patrons at BGC.
The others arrested were identified as:
Manuel Valdes, 34, insurance agent
Jake Tolentino, 33, insurance processor
Jose Carlo Torres, 38, engineer
Mario Aclan, 27, makeup artist
Leo Angelo Padasan, 28
Jevel Lucero, 22, student
Carlo Kasala, 25, opthalmologist
Legui Brylle Gonzales, 28
Bryan Dizon, 20, software developer
Aquino said the suspects were allegedly about to engage in PNP, or “party and play,” and chemrom, or “chemical romance,” the latter term used to indicate drug use to heighten sexual gratification, in Unit 609 of the Seda Hotel on 11th Avenue.
The contraband allegedly seized during the raid included the party drug “ecstasy,” crystal meth or “shabu,” and GBL or gamma hydroxybutyrate, an odorless narcotic commonly known as a “club drug” or “date rape drug” that is often mixed with alcoholic drinks.
Aquino said Remegio allegedly organized the party.
But Remegio denied this and claimed a “frame-up.”
He said he had only been “invited” to what he believed was Valdes’ birthday party. He did admit to “occasional” drug use.
Coronel also said he had been invited, which was why “may dala po akong alak, akala ko inuman [I even had liquor because I thought we’d be drinking],” and maintained he was a “victim.”
Aquino said Remegio and Coronel would be charged with drug peddling and possession, the nine others for drug use.
Seized during the operation were 20 tablets of ecstasy, less than a gram of shabu, 12 bottles of GBL weighing 530.8 ml worth P300,000 and a bottle of white capsules.
GBL is also known as a party or club drug and data rape drug. It is also referred to as “coma in a bottle.”
The PDEA said its users mix GBL with alcoholic drinks. It increases sex drive and gives the user euphoria and “tranquility,” it added.