Man gets life, wife cleared of drug rap

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – A man was sentenced to life imprisonment while his wife was acquitted of charges of illegal drug possession and trafficking here.

In a ruling released over the weekend, Judge Raymond Joseph Javier found Bienvenido Chavez Jr. guilty of violating Republic Act 9165.

Records show Chavez was arrested in June 2002 after he sold a sachet of shabu to an undercover agent in Barangay 2. Two sachets of shabu were also confiscated from him.

Police officers reportedly seized 16 sachets said to contain shabu from Chavez’s wife, Genalyn.

Bienvenido denied the allegation, claiming he was framed.

The court said the shabu seized from Genalyn could not be used as evidence against her after Intelligence Officer 2 Eugene Prieto testified that she was not involved in the illegal transactions.