SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Three illegal drug pushers were meted life imprisonment in separate rulings by the regional trial courts here after they were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of selling dangerous drugs.
Raymund Monton, a former overseas worker, Algreg Cabalo of Barangay Ilocanos Norte, and Allan Saldua of Barangay Catbangen, all of this city, were sentenced to suffer reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) based on separate decisions by Judge Asuncion Fikingas-Mandia of RTC Branch 29 and Judge Victor Concepcion of RTC Branch 66.
In her March 8, 2017 ruling, (aside from life imprisonment for illegal sale of prohibited drugs), Judge Mandia also sentenced Monton for additional 12-20 years for possession of illegal drugs and ordered to pay a fine of P800,000.
In his two separate decisions on Feb. 13, 2017, Judge Concepcion also sentenced Cabalo, aside from life imprisonment for illegal possession 43.2 grams of shabu, to suffer 14 years in jail for illegal possession of 0.31 grams of marijuana, and two more years for illegal possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cabalo was also ordered to pay a total fine P710, 000.
Saldua, for his part, was meted reclusion perpetua after Judge Concepcion found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegally selling two plastic sachets of shabu to a police agent who posed as buyer of illegal drugs.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of P500,000.
Records showed that Monton and Saldua were arrested in separate buy-bust operations on April 2015 and February 2014, respectively, while Cabalo was caught based on a search warrant also on April 2015.
All were arrested by San Fernando City policemen headed by then Police Superintendent Julius Suriben, the former city police chief.
The three convicts were part of the 251 illegal drug suspects arrested in various police operations in 2014 and 2015 by the San Fernando police station.
During that period, Suriben and his personnel implemented various excellent law enforcement strategies against criminalities and illegal drugs supported by Executive-Legislative agenda of the administration of then mayor, now Congressman Pablo Ortega.
Ortega’s tight anti-criminality and illegal drug campaign resulted to the congestion of the City Jail which prompted him to construct additional two storey detention facility to accommodate the increasing detainees involved in illegal drugs.
By Dexter A. See
