Former Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. denied halting any investigation regarding the alleged involvement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in illegal drugs before he became the highest official of the Philippines.
Ochoa made the denial after former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent Jonathan Morales claimed that the former stopped a surveillance operation against then-Senator Marcos as well as actress Maricel Soriano in 2012.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Monday, May 20, Ochoa also denied knowing Morales and former PDEA Deputy Director General Carlos Gadapan.
"As I mentioned earlier, I don't even know (Gadapan) and I don't recall any occasion that we have met or talked. So, I completely deny that I have made those instructions as alleged," Morales told the committee.
Ochoa also denied knowing about the documents dated March 11, 2012 that tagged a certain Bongbong Marcos as a target for an operation.
Morales admitted to signing the said documents.
Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, also brought up the 'insinuations' that Ochoa stopped the operation due to the influence of now First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, his former partner in a law firm.
Ochoa admitted that he worked with the First Lady, but claimed that he stepped down from the law firm in 2010 after his appointment as executive secretary.
