De la Paz, 17 others awarded
for arrest of education official

Bacolod City Police Director Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group head, Supt. Santiago Rapiz, and 16 other policemen were presented efficiency medals Monday at Camp Delgado in Iloilo City for the arrest of an official of the Department of Education in a drug den in Brgy. Banago two weeks ago.

Police Regional Office-6 Director Chief Supt. Cepriano Querol officiated at the distribution of medals to the policemen behind the arrest of Joshua Santillana, 55, of Fortune Towne Subdivision in Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod, who was assigned as District Supervisor in Cadiz City.

Santillana, Rey Torrico, 27, of Cadiz City; Hans Cortez, 30, and Mark Himongala, 25, both of Silay and Osmar Dela Fuente, 28, of Purok Nami-Nami in Brgy. Banago; were apprehended at the house of Dela Fuente’s neighbor Rommel Navarra, where they allegedly held pot session on June 5, 2012.

Two male teenagers, both 16, whose names are being withheld, were rescued from the house of Navarra after the father of one of them claimed that Santillana was inducing the minors to take drugs, hiring commercial sex workers for them, and sexually molesting them.

Santillana was charged for illegal drug use after he was found positive for shabu use, based on the test conducted by the crime laboratory of PRO-6. Charges for two counts of child abuse were also filed against him for allegedly molesting the two teenagers.

Aside from Rapiz and De la Paz, also awarded were Senior Insp. Charles Gever, Senior Police 3 Leo Anthony Genita, Police Officer 3 Sherwin Rojas, Rodel Delos Reyes and Benjo Ballo-allo, Police Officers 2 Paul John Canuday, Alexander Bata-anon, Ana Rose Espolong and Ferdimark Peñaroyo.

Other awardees were Police Officers 1 Tony Hechanova, Raymond Abaring, Ivan Inoperio, Fred Vingo. Dave Dapat, Ramon Juablar an Gerldine Guinanao.

Querol lauded the Bacolod City Police for its intensified campaign against illegal drugs during the awarding.*APN

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Judge acquits tricycle driver

A trisikad driver was acquitted by Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 47 Judge Edgar Garvilles of illegal possession of drugs charges due to insufficiency of evidence.

Garvilles said Jimmy Tanguan of San Sebastian Street, Bacolod City, was not guilty of the charges and ordered his immediate release, and the three marijuana cigarette sticks allegedly recovered from his possession delivered to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for destruction.

Police Officer 2 Ricardo Villacastin testified that at around 9 p.m. on February 22, 2006 while they were on board a patrol vehicle, they received a call from their radio base informing them that about 27 monoblock plastic chairs were stolen from the Immaculate Concepcion Church in Brgy. Mansilingan, Bacolod.

Led by then Station 1 commander, Chief Insp. Jimmy Fortaleza, they conducted a patrol operation and passed San Sebastian Street at the Bacolod downtown area, where they saw Tanguan standing beside the road with the stack of white mono-block plastic chairs belonging to the church, near him, Villacastin said.

Villacastin said he and his companions alighted from their patrol car, introduced themselves to Tanguan and asked him where the chairs came from. When Tanguan did not reply, he frisked him and seized three marijuana cigarette sticks from the pocket of his shorts, he added.

Tanguan, meanwhile, said two unidentified men rented his trisikad at Mabini Street, Bacolod, loaded the chairs, and left him at San Sebastian Street, where the policemen saw him.

He said he was brought to Police Station 1 where Fortaleza tortured him and did not permit him to see a doctor. He also vehemently denied that the three marijauana cigarets seized from him were his.

In his 8-page decision, Garvilles stressed that the search conducted on Tanguan where the marijuana cigaret sticks were recovered has no basis and is warrantless.

Garvilles also reprimanded the apprehending policemen for their failure to accomplish the inventory of the items supposedly seized from Tanguan.*APN

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