Court denied bail to Taguba, consignee Tatad over P6.4-B shabu shipment, lawyer says

A Manila court has denied bail to two of the persons accused of illegal drug importation in connection with the P6.4-billion worth of shabu smuggled into the country from China in 2017.

The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 denied the bail petitions of Customs fixer Mark Ruben Taguba II and shipment consignee Eirene Mae Tatad, said Taguba's lawyer, Raymond Fortun.

The court rejected the petitions after finding "the prosecution's evidence is strong," Fortun said in a text message Thursday. "We respectfully disagree," he said.

According to the 1987 Constitution, crimes punishable by reclusion perpetua -- or up to 40 years imprisonment -- are non-bailable when the evidence of guilt is strong. Importation of dangerous drugs carries the maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The lawyer said they will file a motion for reconsideration.

Unless the Manila court's decision is reconsidered or reversed by a higher court, the two will stay in detention while they stand trial for violation of the dangerous drugs law in connection with the illegal importation of more than 600 kilograms of shabu discovered by authorities in two warehouses in Valenzuela City in May 2017.

Taguba is detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Tatad is behind bars at the Manila City Jail.

Businessman Kenneth Dong, their co-accused, was arrested last February and reportedly intends to file his own petition for bail, whose resolution will require hearings for the prosecution to present its evidence.

Fortun earlier said the proceedings for Dong's bail petition may lead to an "invariable delay" in the disposition of the entire case, since the same witnesses who testified against Taguba and Tatad will likely be called back to court and cross-examined by the defense.

None of the Chinese and Taiwanese citizens named as accused in the case have been arrested. — RSJ, GMA News