Authorities confiscate P13M worth of shabu

ANTI-NARCOTICS operatives seized more than P13 million worth of illegal drugs in the cities of Talisay and Cebu in the past two days.

In Barangay Lagtang, Talisay City, two alleged underlings of self-confessed drug lord Franz Sabalones were caught by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 at 9:30 p.m. last Tuesday.

Mesael Oyao Palermo, 35, and his wife Janice Paras Palermo, 29, yielded 600 grams of suspected shabu worth P3 million.

PDEA 7 information officer Leia Albiar said they received information that the suspects continued their operation even after Sabalones surrendered to Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa in 2016.

Mesael is reportedly Sabalones’s nephew, while Janice augmented their income as a home-based call center agent.

In Sitios Guardia and Mapa in Barangay Tagba-o, Cebu City, a joint team from PDEA 7, Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu Provincial Police Office and the Naval Intelligence Security Group uprooted 22,532 marijuana plants worth P9 million.

However, they didn’t catch any cultivators.

At 12 p.m. yesterday, CCPO operatives arrested Jolito Parigoso Campos, 32, an alleged former PDEA 7 agent; Jeff Espende Sumagaysay, 34; and Bryan Marenas Cantila, 34, in Sitio Sinalikway, Barangay Mambaling. The suspects yielded 13.31 grams of “shabu” worth P157,176.

At 3:30 p.m., CCPO intelligence and anti-narcotics units arrested Rembey Estiola Pera-an, 24, and Marvin Lipalam Pagador with 30 grams of “shabu” worth P345,000 in Barangay Calamba.

The Mambaling and Calamba operations were part of a one-time big-time operation that seized 138.34 grams of “shabu” worth P1.6 million.

No authority

In another development, PDEA 7 said that it will not disclose the names of barangay officials believed to be involved in drug trafficking as it might hamper future operations.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Rafael Olaño, in a press conference last week, said he saw nothing wrong with the plan.

The list, he said, will guide voters during the barangay and Sangguniang sa Kabataan elections on May 14.

However, PDEA 7 information officer Albiar said only President Rodrigo Duterte has the power to disclose the identities.

PDEA’s national office has 563 public officials in its narco-list and half of them are under validation.

“Unfortunately we cannot disclose the list because disclosing it would be premature,” she said.

Albiar said the law enforcement’s goal is to arrest and prosecute drug personalities.

“Don’t ever think you are free. We are monitoring you and we will subject you to an operation once we get enough evidence against you,” she said.

CCPO Director Joel Doria also said that only the national government and Camp Crame are authorized to publicize the names.

However, he said they will investigate in the event the list is published and there are Cebu City barangay officials included.

Meanwhile, Doria said that security measures for the first day of the election period, or April 14, are in place.

Police officers, who have relatives running in the elections, will be transferred outside Cebu City, he said.

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