State college president charged for keeping guns, shabu in school residence

KIDAPAWAN CITY – The provincial prosecutor in North Cotabato has found probable cause to indict a state-run college president for keeping unlicensed firearms and illegal drugs in his cottage located inside the school campus in Arakan town, three months ago.

Charged was Dr. Samson Molao, president of the Cotabato Foundation College for Science and Technology (CFCST), who, since March this year, went on a one-year sabbatical or study leave.

Also included in the charge sheet were Anwar Maulana alias Astron; Gerry Miclat; and a certain Jojo Gaspar, all employees of the CFCST.

The prosecution said it found enough evidence or probable cause to charge Molao and his staff for violating Section 6, Article II of RA 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, and Section 28 (b) of RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition.

“A qualifying circumstance is present in this case, respondent Molao being a government official,” said the prosecution.

The decision was signed on May 11 by provincial prosecutor Bonifacio Estremos, but was only made available to media on Tuesday.

The complaints filed against Molao and staff came after personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), many of them from the national headquarters, searched the President’s cottage located inside the CFCST compound last February.

“A review of the case reveals sufficient evidence to engender a well-founded belief that the Molao Drug Syndicate has maintained and operated the President’s cottage, which has been searched by virtue of search warrants, as a drug den for the storage, distribution, and selling of methamphetamine hydrochloride or otherwise known as ‘shabu’,” the decision said.

It added the complainants presented several witnesses to testify that such report was ‘well founded.’