With the arrest of De La Salle University-Manila and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Manila students Ralph Jeffrey Esteban and Adriel Ryoichi Suzuki respectively for acknowledging themselves as suppliers of the raided 675 bags of party drugs, “shabu,” “ecstasy,” and “drug paraphernalia” amounting to Php 1.5 million, both educational institutions maintained their firm stand against drug selling in accordance with their school policies.
Suzuki, a 24-year-old Filipino-Japanese Human Resource Management junior, was the one who gave the package to the Grab driver reported last March 18 that was supposedly forwarded to a buyer at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig in accordance with the driver’s testimony and National Capital Region Police Office Chief Guillermo Eleazar’s incident report.
The unusual packaging led to a speculation that urged the driver to report to the Police Community Precinct 3, which was later revealed to contain seven suspected tablets of “ecstasy,” leading to Suzuki’s arrest. More drugs were recovered in his condominium as it was raided by the police in coordination with the management of Cityland Tower.
While sorting through the inventory, one of the alleged suppliers sent Suzuki a text message. It was about another delivery inside his condominium unit that plots to an entrapment arrangement by the police. This led to the arrest of Esteban, a 23-year-old Entrepreneurship student.
Hearing from both institutions
“We have programs in place to counteract against drugs. In short, Benilde is against drugs,” Mr. Neil O. Pariñas, the Vice President of the Lasallian Mission and Student Life, stated in an interview with The Benildean.
Benilde “maintains its stand against the distribution, sale and use of prohibited drugs by any of its faculty, staff and students.”
“With the welfare of our students in mind, the College continues to strengthen its institutional initiatives, such as compliance with the Commission on Higher Education’s directive (CMO 18, s. 2018) on mandatory drug testing of students, formation programs under the Lasallian Mission and Student Life, and other safety and security measures through the Center for Emergency Management, Safety and Security. Benilde is also an active member of Task Force Safe School, a consortium among schools within the vicinity, to ensure the peace of mind and well-being of its Community members,” Mr. Pariñas affirmed in behalf of the College as its statement.
“We don’t want to magnify the issue because it happened outside the school but this is the statement that the College prepared,” he added.
Since the case of Suzuki and Esteban belongs to the legal system, the process hereby applies to what is stated by the law. Nevertheless, in terms of school policies, Mr. Pariñas stated that “it is a matter of implementing what are stated in the handbook,” emphasizing the section 7.7.1.5.3 of the handbook that pertains to expulsion of students for “selling and/or possession of prohibited drugs such as marijuana.”
“The handbook is very clear about the matter. So we, the school officials, just need to implement the handbook,” Mr. Pariñas emphasized.
He further added that as a school administrator he hopes “that this matter will serve as deterrent so that other students who are thinking of using drugs or selling it will think twice if they would like to continue it.”
In response to the said issue, De La Salle University-Manila also released their statement in an interview with The Benildean.
“De La Salle University has a drug-free policy and does not tolerate the use, sale, and distribution of prohibited drugs by any of its students, faculty, and personnel,” the institution stated.
Furthermore, the central administration is “currently conducting an internal investigation and coordinating with the authorities on this matter.”
“We will ensure that any academic community member proven to be engaged in illegal drugs will be subject to the appropriate disciplinary action, which includes possible dismissal or expulsion, in accordance with the University policy,” they added.
Esteban and Suzuki were arrested early morning last March 18 at Cityland Tower 9, a Makati City condominium for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
