Drug suspect claims police abducted her

CEBU, Philippines - A cousin of suspected big-time drug personality Giovannie Gimenez filed an omnibus motion asking the court to order the PNP Crime Laboratory to surrender the alleged shabu to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) laboratory in Quezon City.

Maria Theresa Gimenez, 35, also asked the court to order the management of a hotel at Juana Osmeña St. where she was supposedly arrested to bring the CCTV footages to the court.

Moreover, Maria Theresa asked the court to order the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 to conduct a forensic investigation at her room in Deca Homes, Tungkil, Minglanilla.

In a hearing yesterday, Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul ordered Assistant City Prosecutor Mario Rey Gidayawan to submit his comment within five days.

Maria Theresa, in her motion, argued that the subject specimen were never submitted by the PNP Crime Laboratory to the PDEA forensics laboratory for qualitative and quantitative examination, violating Section 21 paragraph 2 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The accused, through legal counsel Alex Tolentino, said the PNP Crime Laboratory performed only a qualitative examination, which is not only thing required by law.

She claimed that on December 27, 2010 at around 11:00 p.m. she was abducted by the complainants, PO3 Brazilio Borinaga and company, while she was in her house in Deca Homes.

At around 2:00 a.m. the next day, she alleged that she was taken by Borinaga to the hotel and was forced to stay there, guarded by a lady police officer.

Maria Theresa claimed that in the morning of the same date, PO2 Norman Años went inside the room and placed some plastic packets of shabu on a table.

After a while, she said, Police Superintendent Paul Labra entered the room and told her she will be charged for the illegal drugs.

“I cried profusely when I was informed by PSUPT Labra about these charges because I knew within my heart that I never committed any crime,” said Maria Theresa.

She said they tried to obtain the footages from the hotel but the management refused to give these.

“My lawyer was able to talk to the one in charge of the operation of the CCTV cameras and he was told that the camera was functioning and all that is needed is for the management to agree to show it to the authorities,” she stated.

She also claimed that the police officers went to her house and searched her room without a warrant. (FREEMAN)