By Jennifer P. Rendon
It was a typical Wednesday for Joemel Sabio, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who had just arrived from Qatar on Feb 6, to bring his 17-year-old girlfriend to her home.
But before his girlfriend Aira (not her real name) could reach their house, men on board a pick-up forcibly dragged Sabio inside a vehicle at Molo Plaza around 9 a.m. of Feb. 12, 2020.
Aira was made to board another vehicle.
The occupant then declared that they were conducting a drug buy-bust operation, Sabio narrated. He was also made to confess his alleged source of illegal drugs.
All these happened while being punched and elbowed by another person beside him.
The man then told Sabio to rat on his source and if it leads to a positive operation, he will be allowed to go home and his life spared.
Sabio said he was forced to utter the name “Eric Alan” of Arevalo, Iloilo City.
When they reached Arevalo, he pointed to a random man on the street to be this “Eric Alan.” The man was also dragged into an Isuzu Crosswind AUV where Sabio’s girlfriend was being held.
They went around Mandurriao district where Sabio allegedly heard that the group wanted to bring him to a “kandingan” or goat restaurant in San Miguel town.
But when they reached Hibao-an village in Mandurriao, the pick-up’s engine stalled, giving Sabio a chance to flee.
He then headed home amid apprehensions for his girlfriend’s situation.
But his worries about Aira’s whereabouts mounted after the Iloilo Police Provincial Office – Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (IPPO-PDEU) confirmed her arrest in a buy-bust operation around 5 p.m. of Wednesday at Barangay Pandac, Pavia.
Police reports indicated that they had two suspects: Aira and Sabio, both residents of Barangay Hibao-an, Mandurriao.
While Aira was arrested, Sabio was considered at large.
Aside from the IPPO-PDEU, the operation was also conducted with members of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Pavia Police Station, according to official reports.
Recovered were “P50,100” buy-bust money; 25 medium sized sachets of suspected shabu; another 20 medium sized sachets of shabu, two wallet, a mobile phone, and a sunglasses case.
The estimated market value of seized drugs was P75,000.
LIES, EXAGGERATIONS
Police Major Jonathan Pinuela, IPPO-PDEU chief, vehemently denied Sabio’s claims.
“Those are lies and exaggerations. He’s trying to destroy us through trial by publicity,” he said.
Pinuela said the suspects were earlier arrested in Pandac village.
Sabio was then interrogated about his source, whom he subsequently revealed.
“Our operatives trusted that he won’t flee,” Pinuela said.
But Sabio managed to evade while they were on the lookout for his source.
“And besides, our recoveries would speak that we did not invent the operation,” he said.
Pinuela said Sabio’s mobile phone contained proof of his alleged illegal drugs dealings.
Sabio had also admitted to using illegal drugs but stopped for more than two years already. He also claimed to have asked a cousin to buy illegal drugs for him before at Barangay Bakhaw, Mandurriao.
