PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Thursday identified a former Bangsamoro lawmaker and longtime political ally of the Duterte family as among the suspected masterminds of an attempt to smuggle P3.5 billion worth of illegal drugs from Laos into the Philippines, but said investigators still needed key documents before filing charges.
PDEA Director General Isagani Nerez told the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs that evidence gathered by investigators pointed to former Bangsamoro Parliament member Edriezan Hadji Nasser Rimbang, also known as Sultan, as more than just the alleged financier of the operation.
“Not as a mere financier, but among the key players, the mastermind,” Nerez said, citing affidavits obtained by the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG).
The House committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Anthony G. Santos, is gathering information from law enforcement, intelligence and border security agencies ahead of a planned congressional inquiry into the drug seizures in Laos and Thailand and their possible Philippine connections.
The inquiry will also examine ways to strengthen border security and coordination among government agencies against international drug trafficking.
Nerez made the disclosure after Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima asked whether Rimbang had emerged as the main person of interest in the investigation.
De Lima also asked whether investigators had obtained an affidavit from Rimbang or interviewed him.
“Not yet, ma’am. We are still in the process of getting the affidavits of others before we go to him,” Nerez replied.
Rimbang was appointed to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019. He also ran under PDP-Laban, the political party associated with the Duterte family, in the 2026 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections but lost.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla previously acknowledged Rimbang’s longstanding political ties with the Duterte family but stressed that investigators had found no evidence linking the family to the drug shipment.
Nerez said investigators had gathered evidence pointing to the involvement of Rimbang and Abdulkarim Macalatas, the alleged intended recipient of the shipment in Manila.
“At the moment, we have already solid evidence to say that Rimbang and Macalatas are involved in this incident,” Nerez said.
However, he said authorities still needed transaction records involving Police Master Sgt. Aileen Jayne Manalo Mendoza, former airline pilot Rioklyn Pizarras Toledo and the Malaysian company that provided the chartered aircraft.
“But what is lacking at the moment is the transaction document from the policewoman to the airline company ALS, represented by this Toledo, and the transaction documents between Toledo and that Malaysian company,” Nerez said.
He said investigators also needed to identify targets for cyber warrant applications and obtain official investigation records from Laos.
The records must be transmitted through official government channels so they can be used as evidence in Philippine courts.
Nerez welcomed the Department of Justice’s offer to help secure the records through the Office of the State Counsel.
De Lima also asked whether PDEA and the PNP-CIDG had identified the same persons of interest.
Nerez confirmed that the two agencies were coordinating and maintaining a common list.
“At the start of this case, we always coordinate with PNP-CIDG, and whatever is in the list of the CIDG is also included in our list,” he said.
The PNP-CIDG has invited at least 21 individuals to provide statements as part of the investigation.
De Lima stressed that none of the Philippine-based persons of interest had been arrested or charged in connection with the Laos shipment.
The case stems from the Oct. 1 seizure of 521 kilograms of suspected shabu worth about P3.5 billion at Luang Prabang International Airport in Laos.
The drugs were allegedly bound for Manila aboard a chartered private jet.
Authorities previously identified Rimbang as the suspected financier, Macalatas as the alleged consignee, Mendoza as the police officer who supposedly arranged the aircraft’s arrival and hangar access, and Toledo as the person who allegedly procured the aircraft.
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