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Saturday, June 04, 2005
Cop who led arrest not happy Nanan, 2 others are free
A retired policeman expressed disappointment over the acquittal of Giovannie “Nanan” Gimenez, whom he arrested for illegal drug possession four years ago.
When retired SPO4 Perfecto “Roy” Codiñera read the news yesterday morning, he could only think of the time and effort he and his men exerted when he was still chief of the defunct Detective Bureau of the Cebu City Police Office.
“Wala gyud ko malipay. Ka-lig-on ato among ebidensya (I got upset because our evidence was strong),” he muttered from his wheelchair.
Gimenez, his brother Jovan and driver, Victor Ceniza, were acquitted of possession of 337.97 grams of shabu.
Codiñera was the team leader who served a search warrant on Gimenez last Sept. 7, 2001 in front of his condominium in Barangay Kasambagan. Judge Ildefonso Suerte issued the warrant.
He said he had no malicious intention when he applied for a search warrant in Barili town, as he was pressed for time.
“I wanted to make sure that the warrant was issued immediately because I was afraid that the drugs might be sold before we got to him,” Codiñera explained.
He learned that other units at the time sometimes applied for search warrants in Barili and got these immediately. “How come their cases did not get dismissed?” he asked.
Speedy
Codiñera said the objective was to nab the pusher. The arrest was not an ordinary one, he said.
“May lang og grams ra o mga sachet ang nakuha. Hapit na to half kilo nga shabu (We got almost half a kilo of shabu, not just a few grams or sachet,” Codiñera said.
However, the retired cop does not blame Judge Fortunato de Gracia for the decision, saying the judge was helpless because the Court of Appeals ruled that the evidence seized was inadmissible.
Codiñera said he still has the documents of the case to prove that the warrant was valid, and it included the van in the search.
Their asset was reportedly the one who informed them that the drugs were inside the van.
In jail too?
Codiñera stands by their claim that Gimenez was a member of the Hong Kong Triad drug syndicate, and that the suspect continued with his illegal drug operations even while detained at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC).
Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Acting Director Melvin Gayotin regarded Gimenez’s freedom as a threat.
“It is frustrating on our part, but we cannot do anything about the decision of the court,” Gayotin told reporters in a separate interview.
Gayotin heard about the information Codiñera revealed, but said he could not confirm Gimenez’s alleged involvement in BBRC drug dealings.
Several officials were dragged into controversy because of the Gimenez case.
Codiñera, SPO2 Ronilo Nabua, SPO2 Fernando Velarde and PO3 Richard Valencia were accused of maliciously obtaining a search warrant from a court without required jurisdiction.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Military dismissed a bribery charge against them.
The case also raised allegations of bribery and cover-up implicating Judge Suerte, Assistant City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro, defense lawyer Pedro Leslie Salva and private lawyer Gines Abellana. (MEA)
(June 4, 2005 issue)
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