Yasmien, never magpo-pose sa men’s mag

Finding the accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt, the court sentenced a houseboy to 40 years in prison for selling shabu and another 15 years for possession of the illegal drug four years ago.

In his decision, Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles said the evidence of the prosecution was sufficient enough to convict Peter Dy.

Dy was arrested in the act of selling a pack of shabu to a poseur-buyer during a buy-bust operation in the afternoon of December 20, 2003. Subsequent bodily searched yielded at least five decks of shabu from his position.

The testimony of PO2 Jose Yamasaki Repompo, as corroborated by PO3 Jerome Tanudtanud, revealed that the two policemen were on board a tricycle in sitio Awayan in Carcar town where the buy-bust operation took place.

Repompo said they were four to five meters away from scene of the buy-bust operation and immediately swooped down on Dy upon seeing the deal was consummated. After frisking the accused, policemen found a Vicks container that contained five decks of shabu.

In his defense, Dy told the court that he was cleaning the mahjong joint that time when five persons arrived, held him, pointed a gun at him, and brought him to the Municipal Hall for investigation.

There, he was reportedly told that he would be released if he would reveal the names of the persons that delivered shabu to his employer, a certain Divina Saducas.

However, when he told the policemen that his employer was not engaged in illegal drugs, the policemen reportedly got angry and “dragged” him to prison without even telling him of his offense. 

Dy also denied that there was a buy-bust operation. Though he admitted that he was frisked, he denied that the five decks of shabu were seized from him.

But Ingles said it is clear from the testimonies of the two policemen that their narration of events “was positive, probable and in accord with human experience. They bear such badges of truth that it is difficult for this court not to find them credible.”

Ingles said that Dy’s insinuation that he was falsely charged because he did not cooperate with the arresting officers was “easy to invent.” — Joeberth M. Ocao/LPM