Court denies bail for 2 accused in shabu smuggling case

OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines – A judge here denied the petition for bail of two alleged accomplices of Anthony Ang, the suspected mastermind in the smuggling of 710 kilos of high-grade shabu into the Subic Bay Freeport Zone last year.

In an order, Judge Raymond Viray of the Regional Trial Court Branch 75 here said a preliminary assessment of the prosecution’s evidence “shows to the satisfaction of the Court that there is sufficient ground to deny bail” for Enrique Lim Ong and Rolando Labandelo.

Ong, Ang’s alleged business partner, and Labandelo, a driver in Ang’s firm, Hualong International, were arrested shortly after the Subic drug bust in May last year. Ang has reportedly fled the country together with his family.

The two filed their petition for bail last Feb. 3, arguing that the prosecution’s evidence against them “is weak, uncorroborated and based on circumstantial evidence.”

However, Viray ruled that although there was no eyewitness to prove that the accused transported or possessed the dangerous drugs, a sampling of the prosecution’s evidence “reveals that the issue of possession was admitted by the accused in their counter-affidavits.”

“For purposes of the instant petition, the Court is not in accord with the claim of the accused that the prosecution’s evidence against them is weak,” he said.

This developed as an independent panel created by President Arroyo began its probe on the circumstances leading to the escape of Ang. Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Carolina Grino-Aquino chairs the panel.

According to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Ang was accosted by its law enforcers after he was seen unloading eight tightly sealed boxes from the Vietnamese fishing vessel MV Shun Fa Xing on May 25, 2008.

However, Ang was reportedly allowed to leave the police station when he promised to secure documents for the cargo, which he claimed was “sensitive computer parts.”

Two days after Ang failed to return with the supposed documents, authorities opened the shipment and it turned out to be high-grade shabu said to be worth P5 billion.

During the first hearing of the Aquino panel, SBMA senior deputy administrator Ramon Agregado said the Bureau of Customs may be blamed for the shabu smuggling case because only the agency has full authority to inspect shipments even before they are off-loaded at the Port of Subic.

Agregado added that while the SBMA manages the freeport, which is considered a separate Customs territory, it has no mandate to board vessels and inspect cargoes.

Agregado’s testimony jibed with documents showing that the vessel carrying the contraband had passed Customs inspection.

According to the “Record of Vessel Boarded,” a BOC form that is filled out and signed by Customs personnel who inspect incoming vessels, the MV Shun Fa Xing arrived in Subic Bay at 8 p.m. on May 24, 2008, with one Jou Jong Rong as captain.

The document also showed that Romulo Labrusca from the office of Subic Customs collector Marietta Zamoranos boarded the vessel and certified that there was “no dangerous cargo on board.”

Although the MV Shun Fa Xing supposedly contained no cargo, the document stated Hualong International, Ang’s company, as consignee.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales has ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of Labrusca, an operations officer II at the Port of Subic, and has filed administrative charges against him.

Meanwhile, court records show that six separate criminal cases are pending against Ang and 10 other suspects, including his wife Estrella.

Assistant city prosecutor Roel Samonte said the trial of Ong and Labandelo would proceed despite Ang’s reported escape to China. – With Evelyn Macairan