Claim: A Filipino suspect in the drug shipment intercepted in Laos, who was reportedly a former employee of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, identified presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos as the alleged mastermind behind the operation.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: A Facebook post by “Nimfa Ambasan Oranio,” published on October 16, bears the claim.
Its caption reads, “Agoy paano yan kumanta na ang Pilipino na nahulihan ng dr*ga sa Thailand.”
(Oh no, what now, the Filipino caught with drugs in Thailand has already spoken.)
The accompanying graphic asks, “Mastermind si Sandro Narcos?” (Is Sandro ‘Narcos’ the mastermind?) and claims that the Filipino arrested in Laos and Thailand was a Romualdez employee who pointed to the presidential son as the alleged mastermind of the attempted trafficking of 521 kilograms of shabu from Laos.
As of writing, the post has received 645 reactions, 278 comments, and 902 shares.
The facts: Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla rejected claims linking Marcos to the drug shipment. In an interview on October 19, he said there was “no grain of truth” to the allegations and that investigators found no evidence connecting the presidential son to the operation or its alleged financier, former Bangsamoro Transition Authority parliament member Edrieza Hadji Nasser Rimbang.
The Filipino arrested in the Laos case was identified as Fahad Mulok Dibarosan. Laotian authorities detained him on October 1 at Luang Prabang International Airport after intercepting 521 kilograms of suspected shabu aboard a chartered Learjet bound for the Philippines. As of October 21, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had sent a letter to Lao authorities as part of their probe.
There is no credible report or official statement showing that Dibarosan named Marcos as the mastermind or that he worked for Romualdez. The post offers only an unverified social media comment to support the alleged employment link.
There are also no statements from the Philippine National Police or the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) about the alleged involvement of Marcos or Romualdez.
The misleading post also conflates the Laos drug seizure with a separate incident in Thailand. In early October, Thai authorities intercepted about 1,178 kilograms of suspected shabu aboard a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Thailand en route to the Philippines, but PDEA chief Isagani Nerez later said that there was no evidence indicating that the shipment was bound for the country.
The Laos shipment probe: On October 16, Remulla identified 11 persons of interest in the drug seizure investigation, including Rimbang, whom he named as the alleged financier; former commercial pilot Rioklyn “Boyet” Toledo, who allegedly procured the aircraft; and Police Executive Master Sergeant Aileen Mendoza, who allegedly arranged arrival permits and hangar access in Manila.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has issued 40 subpoenas as part of its investigation into the case. – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com
Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated with a degree in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024.
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