A woman from barangay Ermita was convicted to a maximum of 15 years in prison after failing in her defense that the police had allegedly framed her up for the crime of possession of at least a gram of shabu almost four years ago.
Regional Trial Court judge Enriquita Belarmino found the defense weak and ruled that Carlita Ponce was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The judge also imposed upon Ponce a fine of P350,000.
The prosecution testified that on October 1, 2003, SPO2 William Alicaba and some policemen got a tip from an informant about the illegal activities and the location of Ponce.
On their way to the place, Ponce was walking to their direction and when she saw them she quickly retreated and threw away a small pack of shabu.
A transparent plastic pack, later found to contain 1.60 grams of shabu, was also seized from her possession.
Ponce, in her defense, told the court that, on the reported day of her arrest, she was at the house of a certain Lita Sagarino to have a manicure when the policemen suddenly came and dragged her outside the house then forced her to admit having shabu.
Judge Belarmino was not convinced of Ponce’s alibi and her defense of a frame-up. There was no ill motive that might drive the authorities to frame her up, said the judge.
The court also said that if the arresting officers actually dragged and forced her to admit the crime, then Ponce could have filed charges against them.
It was clear to the court however that Ponce threw away a small pack of shabu hoping that the policemen would find nothing of the illegal item from her hands.
Ponce actually told the court two versions of the arrest. She earlier said that the policemen grabbed her towards the house of Sagarino where they found from her the pack of shabu.
She later said that she was inside the house of Sagarino when the policemen arrived and forced her to admit she was in possession of the shabu. — Jacques Rosano Abad Lora/RAE