Two women get life terms for drugs

A Caloocan City Regional Trial Court judge sentenced yesterday two young women to a life term each while acquitting their male companion for illegal drug trafficking last year.

Myka Maguindra, 27, of 73 Malakas Street and Myrna Falip, 49, of 79 Mutya Street, both of Payatas B, Fairview Quezon City, were also ordered to pay a fine of P 1 million to the government.

On the other hand, Harizon Maguindra, 28, Myka’s husband, was acquitted of the drug charges filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) "for failure of the prosecution to overcome the required quantum of proof of his constitutional presumption of innocence."

Judge Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal of the Caloocan RTC Branch 127, said in her 24 page decision that in the absence of any mitigating or aggravating circumstances, the lesser penalty, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment was applied instead of death.

Vidal junked the claims of Myka and Falip that they were victims of extortion, commonly known in local parlance as "hulidap," as they denied they were drug pushers.

The court gave more weight to the testimonies of the arresting CIDG agents, particularly PO3 Larry Buriel, the poseur-buyer, who presented evidence including the seized one-kilo shabu (metamphetamine hydrochloride) from the duo.

Court records showed that prior to the drug bust on November 27, 2000 at around 4:30 p.m. along 6th Avenue, Grace Park, Caloocan, Senior Inspector Leo Francisco formed a seven-man team, including Buriel, bringing with them P6,000 in genuine marked money in a bundle of boodle money after they received a tip-off that Myka was looking for a buyer of a kilo of shabu worth P650,000.

Buriel told the court that they immediately pounced on the two women after they were caught red-handed, with Myrna handing over the shabu as Myka was receiving the marked money from him (Buriel).

In Harizon’s case, the Caloocan judge said he could not be implicated since he was not present when the drug bust was conducted as confirmed by the arresting policemen. – Jerry Botial