Senate panel lifts contempt order vs. 6 cops linked to alleged cover-up of 990 kg shabu haul in Manila

Published May 30, 2023 03:42 PM By HANA BORDEY,GMA Integrated News

The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Tuesday lifted the contempt order against six policemen who were linked to the alleged attempted cover-up of the 990-kilogram shabu operations in Manila last year.

The motion to release the policemen from Senate detention was made by Senator Jinggoy Estrada and was duly seconded by Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.

The policemen who will be released from Senate custody

are PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) Special Operations Unit 4A arresting team head Captain Jonathan Sosongco and his subordinates, Police Master Sergeant Carlo Bayeta, Patrolman Rommar Bugarin, Patrolman Hustin Peter Gular, Patrolman Hassan Kalaw, and Patrolman Dennis Carolino.

Sosongco was earlier cited in contempt for failing to provide the phone number of the supposed informant in the shabu operations in Manila.

Last week, the Senate panel also ordered the detention of the five other policemen for refusing to share information on the arrest of Mayo in Bambang.

Sosongco had claimed that his five subordinates were with him during the arrest.

The cops denied the allegation and said that they arrested Mayo’s alleged accomplice, Ney Atadero at the WPD Lending.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Gular, who spoke on behalf of their group, said they are part of the operating team that confiscated the 990-kilogram of shabu but they are not part of the team that arrested dismissed Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.

Gular said they are also not part of a syndicate, and they are not involved in any anomalies surrounding the shabu haul.

Meanwhile, Estrada made a motion to transfer Police Senior Master Sergeant Jerrywin Rebosora and Police Master Sergeant Lorenzo Catarata from PNP Custodial Center to the Senate’s custody.

Reborosa and Catarata were allegedly involved in the pilferage of 42 kilograms of shabu from the illegal drugs that were seized from Mayo.

Mayo, who served as an intelligence officer for the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, was nabbed after authorities confiscated some 990 kilograms of suspected shabu with an estimated value of over P6.7 billion in a series of anti-drug operations in Manila. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News

View on GMA News