The Davao City government’s information officer, Jefry Tupas, resigned and was fired on the same day after she attended a birthday party where authorities seized about P1.5 million worth of illegal drugs and arrested 17 people during a raid, Mayor Sara Duterte said on Tuesday.
In a text message, Jefry Tupas, the former information officer and ex-correspondent for the Inquirer, admitted that she was at the party held on Saturday at a beach resort in Mabini town, Davao de Oro province, “because, like the other guests, I was invited.”
“But I left right after dinner with my boyfriend and another friend. I did not even drink,” Tupas said.
Duterte did not elaborate on what Tupas’ involvement was in the antidrug operation which was led by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
The mayor said “details of the raid are known only to the PDEA officers in Davao de Oro and Ms Tupas.”
Tupas, 43, identifies as a woman and the Inquirer abides by an individual’s sexual identity.
Agents of the PDEA, the National Bureau of Investigation and officers from the Mabini town police raided the resort in Barangay Pindasan on Saturday, where 17 individuals “caught in the act having a drug session,” were arrested, the PDEA said in a statement.
It was an exclusive party with a strict “by invitation and no tag along policy,” supposedly organized to celebrate the birthday of Revsan Elizalde, a resident of Davao City, and the PDEA’s main target for the operation.
Authorities arrested Elizalde allegedly in the act of selling a party drug and P6,000 worth of marijuana to an undercover agent, according to the PDEA.
Following the arrest of Elizalde and the 16 others, a rumor spread that some people at the party were not apprehended quickly spread on social media, along with photographs of Tupas, whose presence was not mentioned by law enforcers in their report on the raid.
Tupas deactivated her Facebook account after the raid as reports about special treatment spread.
It is not yet known whether Tupas is a suspect or a person of interest.
In Manila, PDEA spokesperson Derrick Carreon did not comment when asked whether Tupas would be invited for investigation or questioning.
Seized from the party were 722 tablets and capsules of suspected party drugs, 77 pieces of suspected LSD pills, nine plastic bottles and two vials of suspected liquid party drugs, 200 grams of suspected marijuana, seven bottles of energy drink, and about 10 grams of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) all valued at P1.56 million. (© Philippine Daily Inquirer News)
