Awol cop, wife face drug raps

CHARGES for sale and possession of illegal drugs were filed before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office on Monday against a policeman, who is on absent without leave (Awol) status, and his wife.

Chief Inspector Mark Anthony Darroca, head of Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Unit (PAIDU), said Police Officer 1 Math Mercano was charged for violation of Sections 5, 11 and 12 of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Mercano yielded two sachets of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) in a drug bust at Ramos Subdivision, Barangay 4 in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on Saturday.

His wife Liam Kim was charged for violation of Section 11 and 12 of RA 9165 after police recovered from their house 14 sachets of shabu worth P151,000 and drug paraphernalia.

Mercano was previously assigned at Kabankalan police station and had gone Awol in 2014 after he was tested positive for illegal drugs.

He is considered a high-value drug suspect in Negros Occidental and is the number one drug personality in the city police drugs watchlist.

The couple were also subjects of a search warrant issued by Judge Danilo Amisola of Regional Trial Court Branch 57 in San Carlos City.

Their two alleged runners, Mompo Cavile and Valentine Bravo, were not charged since they were not in the house during the raid.