MANILA, Philippines—Two of the three “Alabang Boys” involved in a controversial illegal drugs case are now being held at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City after a Muntinlupa City court granted a request from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to transfer the pair from its detention center to another facility.

PDEA legal service chief Alvaro Lazaro said the drug agency asked the court to move Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph, also referred to as the “Alabang Boys,” to the local jail, but the Taguig facility was chosen instead. Judge Juanita Guerrero of Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 granted the request

“Our concern is the congestion at the PDEA,” said Lazaro.

Joseph and Brodett, who arrived at Camp Bagong Diwa Thursday, were charged with drug pushing or violation of Sec. 5 of R.A. 9165. Only Brodett was indicted for violation of Sec. 11, or possession of illegal drugs.

Their alleged cohort, Joseph Tecson, is now at a Quezon City jail following his transfer there on April 20.

Brodett entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Thursday, while Joseph filed a motion questioning the finding of a probable cause against him. The court, which decided to resolve Joseph’s motion first, set a hearing on May 14 for his arraignment and a pretrial conference for Brodett.

The two suspects were nabbed by PDEA agents inside the Ayala Alabang village in Muntinlupa in September 2008 for allegedly peddling drugs, including the popular “designer drug” ecstasy. Tecson, on the other hand, was arrested in Quezon City.

The Department of Justice previously junked the case against the three, but allegations of bribery prompted a reinvestigation and a congressional inquiry.

In March, the Palace ordered the filing of charges against the “Alabang Boys” upon the recommendation of an independent fact-finding body that undertook a separate investigation on the reported bribery-tainted drug case.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who had named herself anti-drug czar, also ordered a review of other dismissed drug cases.