Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Village exec, 2 others nabbed for marijuana By Albert B. Lacanlale
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- A councilman of Barangay Sta. Lucia here and two others were arrested in this city for alleged drug pushing, a police official said.
Superintendent Renato Soria, city police chief, said Fernando Yutuc, 27, who was elected as a barangay councilman in the last barangay election, and his cohorts, Michael Yutuc and Renato Buenaventura, were arrested in a joint buy-bust operation and implementation of search warrant by the City of San Fernando police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (Pdea).
When arrested, the suspects, who were presented last Tuesday morning to Mayor Oscar Rodriguez and the media, yielded some 30 kilograms of dried marijuana tops and a caliber .45 pistol with live ammunition.
Soria said the suspects had been under police surveillance and had sold several grams of the prohibited drugs to confidential agents in a couple of test buys.
Last Monday, Pdea operatives led by lawyer Joey Quiriones and the City of San Fernando police implemented the search warrant issued by Judge Adelaida Ala-Medina of the Regional Trial Court Branch 44 at the house of Fernando Yutuc, where the dried blocks of marijuana were found.
The confiscated marijuana tops are estimated to cost around P300,000.
"We only expected to find about five kilograms (of the marijuana) in the house," said Soria.
The mayor said he was also surprised to learn that a barangay councilman was involved in such crime.
"It is unfortunate that a person, whom we are supposed to depend on to provide the services to our constituents, is part of this crime," he said.
Rodriguez said the City Government would recommend the dismissal of Yutuc from service if the elected barangay official's link to the drug trade is established.
"We will not condone this kind of activities, especially among our officials who the people chose to champion their cause," Rodriguez said.
At the same time, the mayor lauded the city police and the Pdea for the accomplishment -- the biggest so far for the city police office this year.
He said the City Government's assistance to the police force is yielding positive effects to the over-all peace and order situation of the component city.
