Sister of Laguna lawmaker cleared of drug charges

BIÑAN, Laguna — After more than five years in jail, a younger sister of Laguna first district Rep. Uliran Joaquin is now free.

In a 29-page decision, Biñan Regional Trial Court Judge Hilario Corcuera said the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Sumilang Tee owned the 800 grams of shabu which a police raiding team found in one of her supposed houses here in August 1998.

Corcuera ordered Tee’s release from the provincial jail. He, however, has yet to rule on a motion seeking Tee’s return to the jail from confinement at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

Two houses which Tee reportedly owned here were simultaneously raided in 1998 by the provincial Special Operations Group (SOG) on the strength of search warrants issued by an Imus, Cavite RTC judge.

While the search warrants were valid and legally obtained, Corcuera said the SOG team went beyond the scope of their warrants when they searched a bungalow owned by Tee’s driver, Totoy Mata, who had died months prior to the raid.

It was in this bungalow where the SOG team headed by Superintendent Edgardo de Leon claimed they found 800 grams of shabu in an envelope hidden in a steel table.

But the judge said the prosecutors failed to ascertain that Tee owned the seized shabu.

During the trial, Tee admitted that she rented the bungalow from Mata.

Tee was detained at the provincial jail in Sta. Cruz town. She, however, has been confined at the PGH since September 2002 because of bronchitis and other ailments.

Tee is the sister-in-law of Boy Tayao, a mayoral candidate in San Pedro town.