Lawyer contests claim Ongpin took cocaine despite test result

Despite testing positive for benzoylecgonine, a major metabolite of cocaine, the lawyer of Julian Ongpin on Wednesday said he disagrees with the conclusion that his client took the illegal drug.

“I am agreeing that the test was conducted, I am agreeing to the fact that benzoylecgonine in the urine test, but I am not agreeing to the conclusion that it means that he took cocaine,” Dennis Manalo said in an ANC interview.

The Department of Justice recently filed a charge for possession of illegal drugs against Ongpin, a person of interest in the death of artist Bree Jonson, at the Regional Trial Court in San Fernando, La Union.

Police had recovered 12.6 grams of the illegal substance in the room Ongpin shared with Jonson in a beach resort in La Union, where Jonson’s lifeless body was also found.

Authorities said both tested positive for cocaine.

Manalo said that the alcoholic drinks taken by Ongpin and Jonson may have affected their urine content.

“Now, what were the actual bottle or brands that were used when they were imbibing in all these alcoholic drinks. Those are material facts that have yet to be determined because it could have affected the urine content of the people involved,” he said.

“There are certain products which have cocaine content which could also produce the same result… like, for example, coca tea,” he later added.

However, when asked if Ongpin drank coca tea, Manalo could not confirm this and said they were “still looking at the facts.”

He stressed that Ongpin denies taking cocaine with Jonson.

“On record, right now, does not contain any admission on the part of Mr. Julian Ongpin that he used cocaine with Bree on that occasion,” he said.

Ongpin’s release

Meanwhile, Manalo said Ongpin was released because the cocaine was not in his possession when he was arrested.

Based on the decision of the prosecutor's office, Ongpin was released from custody days after Jonson’s death while police continue their investigation.

“He was arrested for possession of cocaine. And when the prosecutor looked at the evidence of the case, he saw that the cocaine was not in the possession of Julian Ongpin when he was arrested,” Manalo said.

“And so he was not… caught in the act because when you are going to make a warrantless arrest, it has to be in the act or you are committing a crime in the presence of the police and this was not the case,” he added.

He said Ongpin is currently in the country with his father, Filipino businessman Roberto Ongpin.

Suicide angle

According to Manalo, Ongpin is “aware that Bree committed suicide by hanging.”

Jonson’s mother, Sally, had said that she believes Jonson fought for her life after seeing that Ongpin had scratches and wounds on his arm.

Sally said Jonson had also been planning for future endeavors, one reason why she does not believe her daughter would end her life.

“What is clear from his narration is that he was aware that Bree committed suicide by hanging because when he was unable to open the bathroom door for quite some time, he started to worry because Bree was not responding,” Manalo said.

“And so he went around the hotel room through the window and attempted to see what Bree was doing inside,” he added.

Ongpin had previously said that he got the wounds after forcibly opening the door of the restroom to free Jonson. He also denied having a disagreement with Jonson on the same day she was found lifeless. —LBG, GMA News