2 meted life terms, one acquitted in drug cases

Two men were each convicted to life terms and fined P400,000 for possession of shabu in their houses but another man, accused of selling shabu to a police decoy was ordered released because he was illegally arrested.

Regional Trial Court-branch 17 Judge Silvestre Maamo Jr. ruled that the two, Marcos Abendan and Rolando Villagonzalo, were guilty beyond reasonable doubt for keeping several packs of shabu at their houses when searched by the police.

Both accused, in their defense, claimed that the pieces of evidences were just planted by the arresting officers, but the court rejected this because it was not supported by clear and convincing proofs.

On December 22, 2003, members of the Drug Enforcement Unit raided the house of Villagonzalo in barangay Mambaling by virtue of a search warrant issued by RTC executive judge Fortunato de Gracia. The lawmen arrested Villagonzalo after 10.5 grams of shabu in several packs were recovered from his house.

Abendan, for his part, also denied ownership of the 14.2 grams of shabu recovered from his house, arguing that the illegal items could be planted by the policemen. A radioman, who witnessed the search, however helped the prosecution by testifying that the shabu were not planted by the raiders.

The court noted that prosecution witnesses testified in “straightforward and coherent manner” while the defense failed to show that the policemen were driven by bad motives in prosecuting Abendan.

Aside from sentencing Abendan and Villagonzalo to life imprisonment, Judge Maamo ordered each of them to pay P400,000 as fine for violating section 11 of Republic Act 9165.

Meanwhile, the case of accused drug pusher Warlito Baldezamo was different. RTC-branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles ordered him released after it was found out that the policemen illegally arrested him on October 25, 2006.

Policemen of the Punta Princesa Police station said they arrested Baldezamo after he sold a pack of shabu to a poseur buyer, and that after the arrest, three more packs of shabu were recovered from his pocket.

Baldezamo, through his counsel, successfully proved that the policemen arrested him while he was just tending fighting cocks. Two defense witnesses testified that they never saw Baldezamo sold a pack of shabu to a poseur buyer before he was arrested. — Rene U. Borromeo/RAE