PDEA-8 Director Julius Navales, 9 others file amnesty before NDMC

TACLOBAN CITY- Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Director Julius Navales has filed amnesty last Thursday at the Department of National Defense Amnesty Committee based at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissioned Officers Club in Camp Aguinaldo.

Nine others PDEA officials also sought for similar amnesty.

The amnesty, offered recently by President Benigno “Noynoy”Aquino III was in connection with their participation in several destabilization efforts against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

“ We have filed amnesty. We are given 90 days from yesterday to file. Then it will be posted for 15 days if there are objections. If there are no objections, we will take our oath of allegiance again in the government,” Navales, in a phone interview, said .” I admit we have violated some rules of law and we are man enough to admit it,” Navales said.

It can be recalled that then LtSG and now Sen.Antonio Trillanes led 321 armed soldiers in the shortlived mutiny in Makati City in the posh Oakwood Apartments in 2003 (now Ascott Hotel) and the siege in Manila Peninsula Hotel in 2007. The soldiers were collectively known as “Magdalo” because of the insignia they adopted during the incident. Senator Trillanes was released from jail shortly before Christmas and had also applied for an amnesty.

“We keep our fingers crossed and are confident we will be granted amnesty. This is very much welcome by the group, as this will erase the case from our records” Navales said.

Navales was detained for more than four years for his role in the failed mutiny. Two years ago, he was named as regional director of the PDEA in the region and led in the recovery of cocaine bricks found off the waters in Samar Island .

His closeness with the media resulted for him to be awarded as “darling of the press” by the members of the “Express it at the Park,” a media group based in Tacloban.

The other officers who filed for amnesty are Emerson Margate, Jeff Bangsa, Emerson Rosales, Archie Grande, Joel Plaza, Lexington Alonzo, Jigger Montallana, Bryan Babang and Ronaldo Allan Ricardo. By VICKY C. ARNAIZ

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Posted by lsde on Jan 8 2011. Filed under Second Story. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.