Cop tagged in La Union shabu lab gets life term
BAUANG, La Union - A police official tagged as protector of the shabu laboratory busted by authorities in July 2008 in Barangay Bimmotobot, Naguilian town this province was sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of P10 million.
Superintendent Dionicio Borromeo was found “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” of protecting the operation of the shabu lab, in a decision handed down yesterday by Judge Ferdinand Fe of the Regional Trial Court Branch 33 here.
With his conviction, Borromeo was dismissed from the police service.
Borromeo was implicated by Dante Tomas Palaganas, the arrested caretaker of the illegal drug facility who turned state witness. Palaganas is now under the custody of the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice.
Borromeo, former police chief of Dagupan City, was released from the La Union provincial jail in February 2011 after posting P1-million bail.
Aside from Borromeo, also sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in jail and ordered to pay a P500,000 fine was SPO1 Joey Abang, who served as Borromeo’s bodyguard and handler of Palaganas.
Prosecutors Danilo Bumacod, Gaudencio Valdez Jr. and Manuel Dulnuan were elated with the decision because they had been working in the case for almost five years.
“The conviction of Col. Borromeo is a vindication to all stakeholders of La Union who have been very supportive to the prosecution. Definitive justice has finally had its day and we are not all that hopeless after all. The honorable Judge Fe made it happen,” Bumacod said.
For his part, Valdez said Borromeo could be arrested immediately by any law enforcement agency because his bail is now cancelled and his arrest warrant is now in effect.
“He can be arrested immediately and will be committed to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP),” Valdez said.
Borromeo was not present during the prom- ulgation, but one of his counsels was present. Abang was handcuffed and was taken into custody by personnel of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology for his transfer to the NBP.
During the investigation, the prosecutors found probable cause to indict Borromeo, Joselito Artuz, the shabu lab’s alleged financier; and several unnamed Chinese nationals who served as chemists in the shabu lab. Artuz and the Chinese men are still at large. Documents submitted by the prosecutors showed that Borromeo and Artuz had been in constant communication with Palaganas, starting from the time the police officer and the caretaker began looking for a site for the shabu lab until July 9, 2008 when the illegal facility was raided.
Authorities said shabu worth about P1 billion was manufactured in the lab in its more than one year of operation.
Investigation showed the group behind the shabu lab used the piggery business as front for their illegal activity.