Boratong did not run Pasig drug den - witness

A witness for accused drug dealer Amin Imam Boratong told the court yesterday that Boratong was not the operator of the dismantled shabu “tiangge” in Pasig but a government witness identified as Samer Palao.

Joan Santos, 29, the seventh defense witness, testified she stayed at the Mapayapa compound from December 2005 until before the place was raided by government agents on Feb. 10, 2006.

Defense lawyer Raymond Fortun said Santos corroborated prosecution-turned-defense witness Cherryl Pace’s testimony that it was Palao who operated the shabu flea market.

Santos admitted being a drug user and purchasing shabu from the drug den since 2004.

When she quarreled with her live-in partner, she went to live in the house of Pace, where she met Palao, who was known as Andy Tangkad, at least four times, she added.

Pace told her that Palao, a government witness against Boratong and his wife Sheryl Molera, was operating the shabu “tiangge,” Santos said.

The prosecution complained to Judge Abraham Borreta, of Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 154, that Santos was seen attending the previous hearings.

During cross-examination, Santos said Pace told her that Palao operated the shabu “tiangge.” However, she said she did not see Palao dealing in shabu.

It was Molera’s father, a certain Momoy, who convinced her to appear as a defense witness in court, Santos said.

When the hearing was adjourned yesterday, Santos was seen taking care of Molera’s three-year-old daughter outside the courtroom.       – Non Alquitran