The Regional Trial Court yesterday sentenced two men to two years in jail and to pay P25,000 each for sniffing shabu.
RTC judge Gabriel Ingles ruled that Rolly Policarpio, 33, of sitio Plastikan, barangay Duljo-Fatima, and Engilberto Pancho, were guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the charges filed against them.
Policarpio and Pancho were charged together with a certain Jaime Manook who had pleaded guilty to the charges when he was arraigned by the court on July 26, 2004, six months after the three of them were arrested.
Policemen from Mambaling police station said that prior to the arrest they received a call from a concerned citizen who told them about some men sniffing shabu inside a shanty in sitio Plastikan.
When the team reached the place, they saw the shanty mentioned by the informer and since it was partly open, they saw the men sniffing shabu through a foil and a tooter and arrested them for violation of section 12, Article II of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law.
Policarpio and Pancho tried to evade conviction by denying the charges filed against them, but their testimonies were rejected by the court.
According to the defense the denial of the defense is considered weak as it can easily be invented. To create doubt on the evidence for the prosecution, the court said the prosecution must establish clear and convincing evidence. –Rene U. Borromeo/BRP