After arrest, actor vows to help PDEA in drug war

CALAMBA CITY — Actor Cogie Domingo vowed to cooperate with the government’s antinarcotics campaign and help rid the entertainment industry of illegal drug users, following his arrest in a drug bust last week, an official of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said.

“He promised full cooperation,” said Lexington Alonzo, officer in charge of the PDEA regional office in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) on Tuesday.

Asked if Domingo was willing to provide names of suspected drug users among celebrities, Alonzo said, “As to the specifics (of that promise), we haven’t come to that yet.”

But Alonzo said they welcomed the initiative of the 32-year-old “Deathrow” actor, adding that drug use and trade among celebrities remained “a big problem.”

Domingo was arrested by PDEA agents Friday morning in a buy bust operation in BF Homes, Parañaque City.

Domingo, through his father and human rights lawyer Rod Domingo, however, denied that he was into illegal drugs.

“After all these, (Cogie) will volunteer to help the PDEA to cleanse his ranks,” the older Domingo said in an earlier interview.

Michael Mercader, PDEA chief in Laguna province, said they received information on the actor’s alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

After surveillance, “it was revealed that Cogie Domingo frequented the area of Las Piñas City and Parañaque City to buy drugs,” the PDEA said in its report.

Mercader said an undercover PDEA agent was able to buy illegal drugs from the suspected source, identified as Almira Bautista, and her driver, Francisco Lim, who were also arrested in the same drug bust.

Mercader said the agents saw Domingo buy illegal drugs. Shortly after the transaction, Domingo drove away by about 2 kilometers but the agents followed and arrested him.

Domingo, detained at the PDEA regional headquarters in Camp Vicente Lim here, denied knowing Bautista and Lim.

In an interview on Friday night, Domingo’s wife, Ria, said she and Domingo were inside their parked car, waiting for a friend, when PDEA agents accosted them and searched their vehicle.

PDEA agents said they recovered from Domingo a sachet of suspected “shabu” (crystal meth) and a black plastic case that contained suspected drug paraphernalia.

Mercader said Bautista and Lim tested positive in the drug test conducted by the PDEA. Domingo, however, declined to undergo the test.

The actor is facing a charge of possession of illegal drugs, a bailable offense.

“(Speaking) as a lawyer, it is my (client’s) right to use (his) defenses, including technical desfenses,” said the older Domingo. —Maricar Cinco