Man gets life and 14 years for peddling illegal drugs

The Regional Trial Court yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment, and another 14 years, a drug pusher operating in sitio Awayan, Poblacion III in Carcar town, after he was arrested and detained in jail for almost two years.

RTC judge Silvestre Maamo Jr. ruled that William Guc-ong, 20, single, was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for selling a pack of shabu to a poseur buyer during a buy-bust operation that elements of the Carcar Police conducted on August 21, 2004.

Aside from life imprisonment, Maamo also sentenced Guc-ong to another 14 years imprisonment for possession of eight packs of shabu seized from him by said policemen after his arrest.

Also, Maamo slapped Guc-ong with P800,000 fine for violating two of the provisions as provided for under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

But Guc-ong just smiled after he heard the verdict of his case. Some court employees, however, commented "Wala na man gani na siya'y tagtungod nga magduawan niya sa prisohan."

During the trial of the case, Guc-ong accused the policemen of planting the evidence against him because he was just playing a video game at the house of a certain Noling Yap when the policemen arrived and arrested him.

But PO2 Jose Repompo said he and his fellow enforcers conducted the buy-bust operation after they received a tip about the illegal activities of Guc-ong and it was proven when the latter sold a pack of shabu to a poseur buyer.

Maamo said Guc-ong failed to support his claim because he never presented before the court the owner of the video game machine he was playing with, as what he had claimed earlier, when he was arrested, and the little girl he mentioned sitting beside him.

"Despite his claim that a little girl was present during his arrest, he failed to mention her name, nor call her as his witness to corroborate his story. The denial of the accused cannot prevail over the positive assertion by the prosecution witness," the court ruled. - Rene U. Borromeo