Manila's crime-fighting mayor Alfredo Lim, nicknamed 'Dirty Harry', praised police over the weekend for arresting his son, who was allegedly caught selling drugs.
'Congratulations to your men,' the mayor told Dionisio Santiago, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, after undercover officers arrested 44-year-old businessman Manuel Santos Lim on Friday. Police allege that the younger Lim was caught trying to sell undercover agents 100 grams of methamphetamine, or shabu, worth an estimated 600,000 pesos (HK$114,000).
Two others, Joel Sabado, 33, and Ronald Pascual, 38, were also arrested during the alleged drug deal at a dental clinic in Manila's Chinatown.
The arrest took place as Alfredo Lim, a prominent member of the opposition ranks, was speaking at a protest rally against alleged corruption in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration.
In a nation where it has been the norm for government officials to shield relatives who run foul of the law, the mayor's response to the arrest is unusual - not least because he was informed about the operation against his son ahead of the arrests.
A press release issued by the agency on Saturday quoted the mayor as telling agency operatives to 'just do your job' when they consulted him about the matter.
Mr Santiago, expressed his gratitude to the mayor for giving his full co-operation. He also stressed that the operation was legitimate and 'without any political motive'.