Motion to discharge Shabu 11 suspect as state witness denied

Regional Trial Court presiding judge Marilyn Yap denied the motion of the prosecution to discharge accused Hung Ching Chang or Simon Lao as state witness for failure to send notice to parties to set the motion for a hearing.

Yap denied the motion and treated it as nothing but mere scrap of paper, as pointed out by one of the defense lawyers, Hector Fernandez, who said that such motion must be put in the "limbo of unpleasant memories."

Senior state prosecutor Archimedes Manabat, however, said that they will refile their motion today as the defect is "merely a technical one and does not touch on the merit of the case."

Hung Ching Chang's lawyer, Danilo Yap, said that the testimonies of his client are very vital to the prosecution as it is only his client who can testify the money trail including all the bank accounts of the suspected drug financier and co-accused Calvin Tan.

In yesterday's hearing, defense lawyer Noel Archival opposed the move of the prosecution after it failed to present their witness. Instead he will ask the Office of the Court Administrator to provide them with a credible and trained interpreter who will assist Chang or Lao during the time he will be called to the witness stand.

Archival manifested in court that Chang or Lao must testify yesterday even without an aid of an interpreter as it can be gleaned from his affidavit that it is written in English.

Chang or Lao according to his lawyer cannot fully understand the English language as he speaks Mandarin. His lawyer also said that when his client filed the affidavit, an interpreter assisted him courtesy of Cebu south district Rep. Antonio Cuenco who is the vice chairman of the committee on drugs in Congress.

Further, Yap denied the motion for leave to attend a family reunion filed by lawyer Allan Legaspi on behalf of his client Joseph Lopez, one of the suspects in detention.

Yap said the court will only allow the detention prisoner a leave if somebody dies among his family members or if the detainee himself will get married.

Yap also denied the motion for reconsideration of Tan through his lawyer William de los Santos on the urgent motion for her voluntary inhibition in hearing the two criminal cases lodged in her sala in connection of the shabu manufacturing charges filed against Tan and 13 others.

Last March 31, Yap denied the petition for bail filed by Tan stating that the court finds that the evidence of guilt of the accused Tan is strong, thus denying the bail petition. Aggrieved and disappointed by such decision, Tan through his lawyer filed an urgent motion for reconsideration.

Upon receiving the order of the judge denying the motion for reconsideration, de los Santos told the court yesterday that he will elevate this matter to the Supreme Court.

"We can no longer tolerate this injustice. I am bringing this matter to the Supreme Court," de los Santos said.

Tan is among the 14 accused in the shabu manufacturing, charged together with 11 others, mostly foreigners; as well as the warehouse owners who are both out on bail.

Tan is identified as the financier of the shabu laboratory located in barangay Umapad, Mandaue City and two other warehouses in barangays Looc and Paknaan.

The said shabu laboratory was said to be the biggest in Southeast Asia.

Seized in the raid were 675 kilos of shabu worth P1.5 billion and chemicals enough to produce 15 tons more of the banned substance. - Mitchelle P. Calipayan