Some 1.5 kilos of metamphetamine hydrochloride, more popularly known as "shabu," were stolen from a Caloocan City Regional Trial Court judge's chambers.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Fraud Division is investigating the staff members of Executive Judge Bayani Rivera of Caloocan RTC branch 129 for the loss.
Rivera kept under his safekeeping 1,994.60 grams of shabu worth an estimated P2 million, confiscated by agents of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force from four Filipino-Chinese businessmen, Wilson Lim, Danilo Sy, Antonio Sio and Jackielyn Santos in a buy-bust operation last March 27, 1999 in the Apollo Motel along Rizal Avenue in Caloocan.
The four were convicted by Rivera of illegal drug trafficking last February 2, each was ordered to pay a fine of P500,000 and sentenced to death. However, Rivera's staff failed to turn over the shabu to the Dangerous Drugs Board for "destruction in accordance with law".
Sources told The STAR that last April 7, Rivera discovered that only one-fourth of the shabu, or some 494 grams, was left in the cabinet in his chambers where the 1.94 kilos had been kept.
Another Caloocan RTC judge, who requested anonymity, said Rivera's storage of the shabu in a cabinet was highly-questionable because each court has vaults provided by the Department of Justice.
The judge said that he himself has three vaults in his branch, two of them issued by the DOJ in 1997.
The source said the branch clerk of court, as concurrent evidence custodian, is tasked to guard and keep the combination of the vaults.
Rivera, for his part, insisted that his court does not have a safe or vault. He said the shabu was kept in a cabinet in an anteroom of his chambers.
Rivera said he immediately wrote a letter to the NBI asking for his staff to be investigated and subjected to lie-detector tests to determine who among them stole the shabu.
Rivera stressed that he himself was willing to undergo polygraph tests.
Commenting on the delay of his court to turnover the drugs to the DDB, Rivera said there was no time period prescribed by law for a court to turnover illegal drugs to the said government agency.
Rivera has 12 staffers under him.
STAR sources questioned the NBI's keeping the case secret.
A judge said the NBI should have informed the Supreme Court of the incident for appropriate action against Rivera who they said should also be made to answer for the loss of the shabu based on the principle of command responsibility.
The judge pointed out that the "loss" of the "shabu" in the illegal drug trafficking case against the four convicted drug suspects was the second embarrassing incident in the trial of the case.
The source recalled that the boodle money used by the PAOCTF in the buy-bust operation against the four convicted drug peddlers, which included P6,000 in genuine money, also got "lost" during the almost one-year trial.
The source said another "theft" case was earlier perpetrated by one of Rivera's staffers identified as Nelson Sadulio, which involved P10,000 in evidence money.
Rivera revealed that the PAOCTF recovered the boodle money but the trial was already finished by then. Rivera admitted the case of the P10,000 evidence money stolen by Sadulio.
Rivera said he had already investigated the case and reprimanded Sadulio who returned the money.
Rivera explained that he had written the Supreme Court Property Division as early as October 31, 1998 asking for a cabinet with vault as theirs was in disrepair. His request was not acted upon, Rivera said.
Rivera said he had also written Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo asking for a cabinet with vault last Feb. 18 but his request was also not acted upon by the city government.