Dumaguete court convicts 6 drug suspects to life

While law enforcement units have targets under Operation Tokhang, drugs courts are also mandated to conduct continuous trial to speed up resolution of drugs cases.

Regional Trial Court-Branch 30 presiding Judge Rafael Crescencio Tan Jr. said his sala has an average disposition of 10 to 12 drug cases a month with a conviction rate of more 89.5 percent.

In today’s promulgation of cases, Judge Tan convicted six individuals accused of violating provisions of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and sentenced them to life terms in prison.

Sentenced to suffer a penalty of life imprisonment were Eddie Tinapay, Kurt Dylan Toralde, Remondo Pardo, Nestor Bulabos, Malyn Ceriales and Edwin Valienta, who were all accused of unlawfully and knowingly selling and delivering shabu to police-poseur buyers in different anti-drugs operations in 2014 within the metro Dumaguete area.

Tan also ordered each of them to pay P500,000 as penalty. However, a seventh accused, Darin Pusod Deloria of Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, was acquitted based on reasonable doubt.

According to the judge, the story of the prosecution against Deloria was “unbelievable” when it said that the police found drugs in his jogging pants, but when the jogging pants was presented before the court it had no pockets at all.

Tan said, “in the light of the failure of the prosecution evidence to pass the test of moral certainty, a judgment of acquittal becomes inevitable. Suffice it to say, a slightest doubt should be resolved in favor of the accused (Deloria).”

Meanwhile, Tan issued a warrant for the arrest of a drug convict, Rogie Mindac Cinco, of Zamboanguita town also, whose conviction in his court was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

Tan said the decision has been final and executory, having been recorded in the Book of Entries of Judgment. The arrest warrant was issued by Tan, following a letter from a concerned citizen who has seen the accused out of jail, when he was supposed to be locked up.