‘Boratong’s second wife also a pusher’

The second wife of alleged Pasig City shabu "tiangge" operator Amin Imam Boratong is also a big-time drug pusher, a government witness said.

The witness, Samer Palao, said Boratong’s wife, Sheryl Molera, is a "sistemador" or drug pusher, with her parents and three brothers working under her wing.

Palao said Molera’s five relatives receive 100 grams of shabu daily from Boratong.

He added that Molera remits P200,000 each day to Boratong from her drug-pushing operations.

It was the first time that Palao mentioned Molera while testifying against Boratong before the sala of Judge Abraham Borreta of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 154. He positively identified Molera who was seated on a bench in Borreta’s chamber.

Molera broke into tears when Palao named her as one of Boratong’s drug pushers.

"It’s a lie," she said in an interview at Borreta’s chamber last Thursday.

According to Molera, Palao linked her to Boratong’s illegal drug business because she refused to grant his request for her to testify against her husband. Boratong earlier claimed Molera was his errand girl.

Palao told the court how Boratong met Molera and courted her until they were married in 2005.

He said Boratong had a "beautiful" house built for Molera, located at the entrance to the shabu "tiangge" on F. Soriano St., Sitio Mapayapa in Barangay Sto. Tomas in the same year they were married.

It was in the same house that Molera and her five relatives conducted their drug peddling business, Palao said.

The house was not among those "destroyed" upon orders of Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio days after the shabu "tiangge" was raided by personnel from the Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOFT) on Feb. 10 last year.

Palao ended his testimony last Thursday by revealing which law enforcement agencies are accepting weekly payola from Boratong.

Borreta directed Boratong’s lawyer to be the first to cross-examine Palao during the next hearing on April 19. Molera’s lawyer is scheduled to be next to cross-examine Palao. – Non Alquitran