American caught with morphine to be deported

PUBLIC Attorney's Office (PAO)-Davao Regional Director Francis Calatrava said he has yet to go over the documents of the American national accused of possessing morphine inside a motel in January.

"I am going over his papers and I will visit him next week to assess his mental state," Calatrava told Sun.Star Davao.

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He said he will personally act on the case following the order of PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta.

Earlier, Acosta personally ordered Calatrava to handle the case of Ryan Sean James, who was charged with Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

James was caught possessing morphine (morphine hydrochloride) inside a motel on January 2.

"Nawawala ang passport niya and ang case naman fell under the special laws kaya madali na ito. I want this man to be deported as soon as possible para maalagaan na rin siya ng kanyang pamilya," Acosta earlier said, adding that they have already talked with the US Embassy.

James is one of the inmates at Davao City Jail earlier visited by Acosta and the city's public lawyers.

Meanwhile, Assistant Regional Public Attorney Rudy Alonzo said they are conducting jail visitation every Saturday.

"Normally, naa gyuy naga-adto, labaw na ang mga lawyers na naay ginagunitan na kaso sa jail. And since kadaghanan sa among kaso is drugs, kato pud lawyers sa drugs ang pirmi naga-visit (Lawyers visit regularly especially those who are handling drug cases)," Alonzo told Sun.Star Davao.

He said inmates, who have pending cases that are handled by their lawyers will now have time to consult with the latter.

"Gina-explain pud namo sa mga inmates ang status sa ilang mga kaso and para makahibalo pud sila sa mga updates (We explain to the inmates the status of their cases so they will know of developments)," Alonzo said.