Lawyer barred from handling shabu case

BAUANG, La Union – A woman lawyer claiming to be a Counsel of Dante Palaganas, the detained shabu laboratory caretaker, was barred from handling the high profile case during his arraignment yesterday at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 33 here.

Lawyer Aida Dizon told The STAR that she was asked by an alleged common-law wife of Palaganas to help in the case but was not allowed to represent her client yesterday because there were other lawyers who appeared to handle Palaganas’ case.

“We will no more represent them (Palaganas and co-accused Andy Tangalin). We have lost our personality (to represent them in court) because they already have other lawyers,” Dizon said explaining that she came from Manila and working as an individual lawyer without law firm connections.

Lawyers of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – La Union chapter were sought by the Catholic Church, in coordination with Task Force Bimmutubot, to help Palaganas in the case.

“I was expecting that I would be his counsel but somebody entered his appearance (in the court),” Dizon said, saying Palaganas snubbed her inside the courtroom.

Dizon said she went last week to the La Union provincial jail to talk to Palaganas but was prevented  from entering because there were ongoing investigations by policemen.  

Judge Rose Marie Alim deferred the arraignment yesterday due to the filing of an amended complaint based on Palaganas’ supplemental affidavit.

Intelligence agents suspected that the woman lawyer was probably sent, not by Palaganas’ common-law wife, but by somebody to work on the case.

“There maybe effort (from the other suspects) to get the sympathy of Palaganas by providing him legal assistance,” a source said.

If not barred, Dizon said she was supposed to file a motion for dismissal of the case because there was allegedly no probable cause on the evidences based on her evaluation.

“It’s good enough I was able to get the entire record of the case. Based on my evaluation, I concluded that there is no probable cause,” Dizon said saying that she filed last Friday a “motion for determination of probable cause and to hold arraignment in abeyance.”

Aside from Palaganas and Tangalin, other respondents of the case were former Dagupan police chief superintendent Dionicio Borromeo, Police Officer 3 Joey Abang, Police Officer 2 Walter Banan, Police Officer 1 Rodolfo Damian, lot owner Eusebio Tangalin, and Joselito Artuz alias George Cordero, a resident of Marilao, Bulacan who allegedly served as financer of the drug laboratory.

Also charged were several John Does who include at least six Chinese men headed by a certain Jimmy.

Palaganas alleged that Borromeo ordered him to scout for an area where he is allegedly going to build a piggery but it turned out to be a drug laboratory.

He said Cordero leased the area where the Chinese manufactured shabu four times since May last year.

He said that the policemen allegedly ignored his plea when he informed them about the matter.

Authorities raided the laboratory on July 9 yielding six truckloads of chemicals which can produce a trillion peso-worth of shabu.