Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jul 2005
Source: Visayan Daily Star (Philippines)
Copyright: 2005 Visayan Daily Star
Contact:  http://www.visayandailystar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1688
Author: Carla Gomez
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/areas/Philippines

PDEA Files Cases Vs. 3 Prosecutors

The head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Western Visayas
yesterday filed criminal and administrative complaints before the
Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas against three Bacolod City
prosecutors for "willfully and deliberately bungling" the prosecution
of three drug cases.

The prosecutors failed to subject the dismissed cases against five
persons, nabbed for violation of New Dangerous Drugs Law, to automatic
review by the Regional State Prosecutor, Supt. Rolen Balquin, PDEA
regional director, also said.

Named in the complaints are Bacolod City Prosecutor Augustus Rallos,
and Assistant Prosecutors Jesus Ocdinaria and Ronald Yngson.

All three are also facing complaints for their handling of drug cases
filed by their colleagues before the Department of Justice and have
been ordered to go on leave by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez.

Rallos yesterday denied that they bungled the drug cases, adding that,
because he was busy, he forgot the department order requiring the
forwarding of cases to the regional state prosecutor for automatic
review.

However, these cases were later forwarded to the Regional State
Prosecutor for review and their refiling was ordered, Rallos said.

It appears that Balquin has misunderstood the provision of the law on
bungling of drug cases, Rallos said, insisting that all their
decisions were based on the facts and the law.

We have not received a copy of Balquin's complaints yet, this is
another example of trial by publicity, he said.

In his criminal and administrative charges against Rallos, Ocdinaria
and Yngson, Balquin said they bungled the prosecution of Criminal Case
No. 03-25085 for violation of the New Dangerous Drugs Law against
brothers Meniel and Carmilo Arquillo, deliberately causing its dismissal.

They also failed to elevate the case to the Office of the Regional
State Prosecutor for automatic review in gross violation of Department
Circular No. 46 dated June 26, 2003, Balquin said.

The brothers had been arrested by the police in a buy-bust operation
for the sale of shabu in Barangay 2, Bacolod City on July 9, 2003.

Yngson, as trial prosecutor was directed by the court to conduct a
preliminary investigation of the case, but failed to do so.

Yngson was relieved from his trial assignment at RTC Branch 53 in view
of numerous complaints lodged against him by the police for
irregularities he allegedly committed in the prosecution of drug cases
pending there, Balquin added.

Prosecutor Dennis Jarder upheld the findings of the inquest prosecutor
and found probable cause to hold the Arquillo brothers but Rallos
reversed his resolution and ordered the dismissal of the charges. The
resolution of Rallos was reviewed by Ocdinaria, Balquin said.

The resolution of Jarder was not appended to the records and the case
folder of the case, and Rallos did not elevate his resolution to the
Regional State Prosecutor for automatic review, Balquin pointed out.

Rallos had also filed a motion for withdrawal of the information filed
against the brothers prompting RTC Judge Pepito Gellada to dismiss the
case.

In his affidavit, Balquin said that Yngson "cannot feign ignorance
over these matters because he was the one who effectively brokered,
negotiated and acted as intermediary" in negotiating with Rallos and
Ocdinaria for the dismissal of the Arquillo case before Gellada.

Rallos, Ocdinaria and Yngson have certainly eroded the trust and
confidence of the public in the City Prosecutor's Office and such
actuations are "indeed badges of dishonesty, corruption, malice and
fraud," Balquin also said in his affidavit.

Balquin also filed criminal and administrative charges against Rallos
for allegedly bungling a case involving drug-pushing against Birvic
Roland Canlas and Elmor Lucatin by deliberately causing its dismissal
and failing to elevate it for automatic review before the regional
state prosecutor.

Canlas and Lucatin had been arrested in a buy-bust operation at
Paglaum Village, Bacolod City, on Nov. 15, 2004, Balquin said.

On Jan. 18, 2005 Assistant City Prosecutor Rosanna Toledano found
probable cause to hold Canlas and Lucatin for violation of the New
Dangerous Drugs Law but Rallos reversed her resolution and ordered the
dismissal of the charges on Feb. 11, 2005, Balquin said.

Rallos did not even have the decency and courtesy to inform Toledano
that the case had been dismissed, he also said, adding that Rallos'
resolution was also not elevated to the Regional State Prosecutor for
review, he said.

In the criminal and administrative charges he filed against Rallos,
Ocdinaria and Yngson, Balquin also cited them for bungling the
prosecution of drug cases involving Eduardo Ng by deliberately
causingits dismissal and failing to elevate it for automatic review.

Ng was arrested by the police in a buy-bust operation in Barangay 40,
Bacolod City on Oct. 23, 2003 during which a police officer was able
to purchase .37 grams of shabu, Balquin said.*CPG

*

Supt. Rolen Balquin, PDEA regional chief, said they decided to file
the complaints against the three government prosecutors before the
Ombudsman, instead of at the Bacolod City Prosecutor's Office to avoid
"biases".

Balquin said the filing of the complaints against Rallos, Ocdinaria
and Yngson stemmed from their failure to comply with the procedures as
stipulated in the Department of Justice Circular 46, where dismissal
of cases by inquest or preliminary investigations should be forwarded
to the Regional State Prosecutors office for information.

PDEA records show that 11 policemen, including three police officers,
assigned in Panay and Negros have already been charged by the PDEA for
alleged bungled drug-related offenses they had filed in court.

Three of the 11 policemen who are now in hot water are presently
assigned in Negros Occidental.

Balquin said they are also investigating eight more policemen assigned
in Negros and Panay, for the dismissal of drug-related cases they had
filed in court last year.

PDEA investigations indicated that the dismissals of drug-related
cases stemmed from the failure of police-witnesses to appear in court
and mishandling of evidences, among others. 
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