Judge: Nothing irregular in release of 'shabu queen'

MANILA, Philippines - A Baguio City judge yesterday said there was nothing irregular in the release on bail of a female drug suspect which police have tagged as an alleged “shabu queen.”

Judge Antonio Reyes of the Baguio City Regional Trial Court Branch 61 said Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Dionisio Santiago may have been entirely misinformed when he denounced the release of drug suspect Brenda Singson after posting P80,000 bail.

Singson was nabbed in a raid last Aug. 22 and was released on bail despite being tagged as the fourth most wanted female drug suspect in the Cordillera region.

Santiago directed lawyer Alvaro Lazaro, PDEA’s prosecution service head, “to exhaust all legal remedies” to overturn the Aug. 27 ruling of Reyes.

Seized from Singson were 21 sachets of shabu worth around P40,000, assorted drug paraphernalia, and live ammunition.

But Reyes said there was nothing wrong in granting bail to Singson as she was accused of a bailable offense.

“First, bail is a matter of constitutional right, and the accused, Brenda Singson, was released because the crime she is being charged with is bailable,” he said.

Under the law, a person found in possession of at least 50 grams of shabu is not entitled to post bail.

In accordance with the recommendation of the Baguio City prosecutor’s office, Singson’s bail was set at P160,000, Reyes said.

However, considering that Singson had asked for a reduced bail, “our courts, as a matter of practice, usually grant half the recommended bail but (it) must be paid in cash.”

Reyes said the city prosecutor did not raise any objection when asked to comment on Singson’s P80,000 bail.

As to Singson’s acquittal in 1992, Reyes said it was then Judge Salvador Valdez, not him, who cleared her because he was appointed to the judiciary only in 1994.

This erroneous statement, according to Reyes, not only put him in a bad light but also the judiciary.