BARANGAY Carreta Captain Marciano Ando denied that a buy-bust was conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) that led to the arrest of his son, alias Jun.
In an interview with lawyer Ruphil Bañoc’s program on dyHP, Ando said that on September 3, 2025, his son had just returned to the barangay after collecting garbage to ask money from the treasurer because their garbage truck had a flat tire and needed vulcanizing.
But to his surprise, operatives -- whom he described as police officers -- arrived and arrested his son.
He said his son was brought to Tejero, where packets of shabu were already laid out when they arrived.
Ando denied that his son was involved in illegal drugs, saying he neither smoked nor drank alcohol.
“Niingon siya nga mangayo mig P300 para bayad sa bulkit, mao to gitagaan sa treasurer nga magpa bulkit sila ngadto. Pag-abot niya ngadto sa vulcanizing, pag naog niya, gi diretso man siyag dakop sa pulis, nya natinga siya nga gida siya adtong gamay nga payag naa na didto nakalatag na ang shabu didto,” said Ando.
(He told me they needed P300 for vulcanizing, so the treasurer gave him the money. When he got off at the vulcanizing shop, the police immediately arrested him. Then he was shocked when they brought him to a small hut where the shabu was already laid out.)
According to the barangay captain, he allowed his son to drive the garbage truck since they had four vehicles but only one driver.
Aside from driving the garbage truck, his son also worked as a motorcycle-for-hire driver to help earn a living.
Ando also recalled that when his son was arrested in Mandaue City in 2022, it was only because he was driving a habal-habal that a known drug personality happened to ride, leading to his arrest at a checkpoint.
The barangay captain believes that politics is behind his son’s arrest since the barangay elections are set next year and another person is planning to run for barangay captain in Carreta.
However, PDEA 7 information officer Leia Alcantara said they had already received reports linking alias Jun to illegal drugs.
He is on the police and PDEA’s list as a high-value target at the regional level, which means he is considered a major drug player.
PDEA 7 and the Philippine National Police subjected him to a month-long case buildup and validation, which confirmed the reason for conducting the buy-bust operation at 2 p.m. Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
“Medyo naay resistance gyud on his part. Naay video nga naay commotion. Ni-react gyud siya but we were able to successfully subdue him and na-arrest gyud nato siya successfully,” said Alcantara.
(There was some resistance on his part. There’s even a video showing a commotion. He really reacted, but we were able to successfully subdue him and arrest him.)
The PDEA 7 investigation showed that Jun’s customers came from different areas of Cebu City, and they would simply arrange where to meet.
According to Alcantara, Jun sold about 100 grams weekly from his supplier, whose name has not been disclosed by the suspect.
“Dinagko man gud ang iyahang baligya. According sa team, based on their monitoring, mga one kilo per week ang iyahang distribution,” Alcantara added.
(His sales were really big. Based on the team’s monitoring, his distribution reached around one kilo per week.)
Authorities are now looking into whether Captain Ando may also be held liable for his son’s involvement in illegal drugs. (AYB)