A resident of Barangay Banago in Bacolod City was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday for the sale of one sachet of shabu for P100 to policemen.

Judge Edgar Garvilles, of Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 47, found Joel Dumago Agbas of Purok Rosas Pandan, Sitio Sibucao, Barangay Banago, guilty beyond reasonable doubt for violating Republic Act 9165 for the sale of dangerous drugs, and sentenced him to suffer life imprisonment and pay a P500,000 fine.

The one sachet of shabu weighing .05 gram was ordered turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for destruction, while Agbas was committed to the national penitentiary for service of his sentence.

PO1 Robert Torreno, of the Regional Mobile Group who is on detached service to the City Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, told the court that at 10:35 p.m. of Sept. 14, 2004 he and other police officers were at Sitio Sibucao in Barangay Banago to conduct a buy-bust operation against Agbas who, according to an informant, was selling drugs.

Torreno and PO2 Gary Muñoz acted as poseur-buyers and negotiated to buy shabu from Agbas, who was arrested after he received their marked money, the court was told.

Agbas, who denied selling the shabu to the police officers, told the court he was arrested for no reason.

The defense of plain denial by Agbas does not inspire belief, the judge said.

There is no evidence that Torreno was motivated by reasons other than his duty to enforce the law, the judge added.

“In fact the accused was caught in flagrante delicto in a legitimate entrapment operation and was positively identified by the police officer who conducted the operation,” the judge said.

The court has consistently stressed that denial, like alibi, is a weak defense that becomes weaker in the face of positive identification of the accused by the prosecution witnesses, he also said.*CPG

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