Shabu market’ operator, wife get life

By Beverly T. Natividad, Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:29:00 07/10/2009

Filed Under: shabu, Illegal drugs, Crime and Law and Justice, Punishment

MANILA, Philippines — The operator of a “shabu tiangge” (drug market) near the Pasig City Hall that police raided three years ago was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment. Police said the operator had earned P900 million selling shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) at the market.

Amin Imam Boratong and his second wife Sheryl Molera Boratong each got a life term for violating Section 6 of Republic Act No. 9165 (Dangerous Drugs Act).

Judge Abraham B. Borreta of the Pasig Regional Trial Court’s Branch 154 found the two guilty beyond reasonable doubt for jointly running the drug market in the Mapayapa Compound on F. Soriano Street.

The court gave credence to the testimony of Samer Palao, Boratong’s right-hand man for the Mapayapa drug operations and the main witness of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force.

Besides meting out the life terms, the court ordered Boratong to pay P10 million in fines and his wife, P1 million.

Sheryl was also convicted of a separate charge of drug possession as she was found with 52.19 grams of illegal narcotics when the Mapayapa Compound was raided by the police task force in February 2006.

5 lady prosecutors hailed

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera praised the Department of Justice prosecutors on the case for resisting tremendous pressure.

“Today, we have a triumph of justice and it is very significant that the prosecutors who performed very well are five ladies,” Devanadera said. “The vigilance of the community contributed to the success.”

The prosecutors are Anjanette Ortile, Amor Robles, Elizabeth Berdal, Eden Wakay-Valdez and Marlet Balagtas.

Devanadera said the prosecutors had received threatening text messages and had felt they were being followed home. She added there were also bribe attempts.

Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, chair of the Dangerous Drugs Board, said the conviction “sends a strong message that the three pillars of enforcement, prosecution and judiciary are working together to hit the drug peddlers in full force as we get our act together against the scourge of illegal drugs for the sake of the Filipino youth.”

Sobbing

Following the promulgation, Boratong, surrounded by his escorts from the National Bureau of Investigation, told reporters that the decision was unfair.

“They were influenced by the media. What happened to me was a trial by publicity,” he said.

Sheryl could not even get up from her seat after the announcement of the life sentence and was covering her face. She was sobbing long after the court session had adjourned.

“I wish they knew the truth. I’m not supposed to be here. I had nothing to do with what they charged me of,” she said in an interview.

Judge Borreta ordered the immediate imprisonment of the convicts at the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City.

The judge also ordered that all the drugs, money and assets seized by the police task force in connection with the case be turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for proper disposition.

Testimony credible, convincing

Boratong’s conviction, Borreta said in an interview, rested mainly on the testimony of primary witness Palao, which was also corroborated by other witnesses presented by the prosecuting lawyers.

In his decision, the judge said Palao’s testimony was “straightforward, clear, convincing and credible.”

Palao was able to detail how Boratong “procured shabu from his suppliers and how the shabu was actually delivered by the suppliers of Boratong; how the drugs were weighed, repacked and how the shabu was distributed to the ‘sistemadores’ or the pushers who sold them wholesale or retail in the shanties located inside the compound,” the decision said.

The primary witness also showed the court how the proceeds were collected from the pushers and how these were deposited by Boratong in a bank.

The court also took into account the fact that Boratong was also proven to be the owner of the 2,000-square-meter Mapayapa Compound.

In his defense, Boratong claimed that while he owned the compound, he had nothing to do with the drug operations there.

200 NBI agents

Ruel Lasala, commander of the NBI Anti-Illegal Drugs Task Force, said the conviction of Boratong and his wife was a resounding victory in the fight against the illegal trafficking of drugs.

“We are happy that we are instrumental in making it possible,” Lasala said.

The couple were detained at the NBI following their arrest in 2006.

Convoy

At least 200 bureau agents provided security for the couple when they were taken out of the NBI compound in Manila for the promulgation of their case at the Pasig Regional Trial Court.

A convoy of at least 24 vehicles took the couple to the court. The bureau even created Task Force Gavel to provide protection for the couple.

Apart from NBI agents, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics and Highway Patrol Groups served as augmentation teams. Snipers were also deployed on nearby buildings, apart from agents assigned to secure court premises.

‘Victim’

A few hours before he left the NBI, Boratong expressed confidence that he would be acquitted. He said he felt nervous and excited at the same time.

“I know that there is not enough evidence against me. I am a victim of a trial by publicity. My case was politicized,” Boratong told reporters. “I’m not a drug lord, I’m the victim here.”

He denied that he was the operator of the drug market, that he earned P900 million from illegal drugs and that he underwent nose surgery to conceal his identity.

“This is the worst thing that happened to me,” he said, vowing to make up for lost time with his family if he got acquitted. “But if I get convicted, I guess I just have to accept it.” With a report from Dona Pazzibugan