Courts send 9 to life in jail

CEBU, Philippines - Nine individuals, accused for illegal drugs, were each meted with life imprisonment in separate promulgation of judgement rendered by the Regional Trial Court in Negros Oriental.

RTC-Branch 34 Judge Rosendo Bandal Jr. sentenced Arvin Duhaylungsod to one life term after being convicted for delivering 1,357.94 grams of dried marijuana leaves, seeds and stalks to a poseur-buyer, and then yielding 47.13 grams more of marijuana leaves from his possession.

Duhaylungsod was arrested at Barangay Daro, Dumaguete City during a buy-bust on the eve of the city fiesta, and the judge meted him total fines of P900,000.

Banal also convicted Ryan Ricososa for violating Section 11 of Republic Act 9165 for possession of a sachet of shabu weighing .78 grams. Ricososa was sentenced to a maximum of 14 years and fined P400,000.

RTC-Branch 30 Judge Rafael Crescencio Tan Jr. convicted, Josephine Cabasag, Elvira Pinili Delica, Ma. del Pilar Rosario Casa and Cristina Cagas, and two males, Sir Kenneth Joseph Montesor and Leo Ray Awid Imbo.

Cabasag was arrested in 2015 for selling 4.38 grams of shabu, and possessing 27 sachets of shabu weighing a total of 278.12 grams. The court sentenced her to double life terms and fined P1 million.

Casa, Cagas and Montesor were also sentenced to life imprisonment each and to pay a fine of P500,000 each, while Delica and Imbo were sentenced to suffer a maximum penalty of 12 years and one day in prison each, and a maximum of 14 years in jail, and to pay a fine of P400,000.

RTC-Branch 36 Judge Joseph Elmaco convicted Edmund Roy Peña to life imprisonment for selling shabu to a poseur- buyer in 2014. He was also fined P500,000. (FREEMAN)