CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Trial Court has sentenced an ex-policeman to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of selling drugs in 2006.
PO1 John Rey Catiri, 34, was arrested with another policeman, PO1 Aldwin Vicada, during a buy-bust operation conducted past 5pm last July 11, 2006, but the court heard his case separately after he requested for a separate trial.
He was arraigned last November 21, 2006 and pleaded not guilty to the charge. Almost five years later, the court ruled he is guilty of the crime.
In his decision, Judge Silvestre Maamo said there was enough evidence to prove that Catiri sold at least 50 grams of shabu to a poseur buyer.
“The said transaction which took place was clearly admitted by accused Catiri when he testified that indeed, he boarded the taxi where the poseur buyer was and asked for money. There he was shown the money placed inside a knapsack which urged him to hand the pack to the poseur buyer,” Maamo said.
Considering that the accused was a policeman by profession, Maamo also said it was impossible to believe Catiri’s assertion that he had no knowledge that the pack he was bringing contained an illegal item.
“He could not insist on his innocence because a person of his profession and training would normally analyze things before doing anything. He should have been curious enough to know what he is told to do,” Maamo said.
PO3 Vilma Abayan, the designated poseur buyer during the buy-bust operation, told the court the buy bust happened inside a rented taxi parked along the road in barangay Mambaling. The taxi was driven by PO2 Joel Taboada.
Abayan said the operation was for a certain “Edmar” with which her colleague, PO2 Stanley Aldemita, had agreed to meet at the parking lot of McDonalds in barangay Mambaling for the delivery of 50 grams of shabu.
Abayan said she was provided with eight P100 bills placed on top of a wad of papers that served as boodle money.
She reportedly waited for the subject at the agreed area and when Catiri approached her moments later and asked if she had the money, she then went back into the cab together with the accused.
Abayan said transaction was subsequently consummated inside the taxi, after which, Catiri was placed under arrest by her colleagues following right behind.
For his defense, Catiri denied involvement in the illegal drugs trade and said he was only asked by Vicada to deliver the pack that contained the shabu to a client.
With Catiri’s statement, Vicada was arrested two hours later at his house in barangay Basak in a follow-up operation by a joint team of the San Nicolas Police and Vice Control Section of the Cebu City Police Office. Vicada, 31, the designated jailer of the San Nicolas Police Station, also denied any involvement in the trade.
Vicada said Catiri was actually the one who used his mobile phone to carry out the latter’s illicit transactions.
Catiri was assigned at the headquarters of the Regional Mobile Group in Sibonga town before he went absent without official leave in 2001 reportedly because of family problems. has gone absent from his job without official leave since 2001.
Senior Insp. George Ylanan of VCS said they were not aware they were conducting the operation against fellow policemen until they learned of Catiri and Vicada’s backgrounds later.
Further in his decision, Maamo said the testimonies of the members of the buy-bust team deserve “full faith and credit” unless there is clear and convincing evidence that they had ill motive against the subject or were not performing their duties properly.
“Obviously, the presumption of regularity in the performance of their uphold duties can be upheld in the case. There was no showing that the arresting officers were impelled with an improper motive. In fact, Catiri was asked if he had any altercation with any of the policeman involved but he answered no,” Maamo said.
“Buy bust operation is a common and accepted mode of apprehending those involved in the illegal sale of prohibited or regulated drugs. It has been proven to be an effective way of unveiling the identities of drug dealers and of luring them out of obscurity,” Maamo added.
Aside from imprisonment, the court also fined Catiri P500,000. — Jasmin U. Labaco/JMO (THE FREEMAN)