• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
An incumbent kagawad of Barangay Payao, in the town of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, tested positive for drug abuse after he was nabbed along with three companions on October 2.
The arrested was identified as alias “Humphrey,” an incumbent kagawad and a drug surrenderer. Arrested along with him were three other individuals who were caught in the act of selling drugs.
Binalbagan Municipal Police Station Chief PCapt. Joelan Vinson said that the kagawad was tagged as a high-value individual (HVI) after he was listed in the Community-based Rehabilitation Program (CBRP).
Vinson added that based on their monitoring, the barangay official was in charge of pushing and selling drugs in the area, a discovery that triggered the police to carry out the operation.
During the operation, at least 70 grams of suspected shabu with a standard drug value of P476,000 was seized from the suspects’ possession.
To verify the arrest, the 4 suspects underwent a drug test, and the results revealed that all were positive for illegal drug use.
The suspects were now detained in the custodial facility of Binalbagan MPS and will face criminal charges for selling and using illegal drugs in violation of sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act.
The recovered items were brought to the Negros Occidental Forensic Unit for laboratory examination.*
