MORE NEWS, LA UNION

Lawyer barred from handling shabu case

BAUANG, La Union – A woman lawyer claiming to be the lawyer of Dante Palaganas, the detained shabu laboratory caretaker, was barred from handling the high profile case during his arraignment last week at the Regional Trial Court, Branch 33 here.

Lawyer Aida Dizon said she was asked by an alleged common-law wife of Palaganas to help in the case but was not allowed to represent her client because there were other lawyers who appeared to handle Palaganas’ case.

“We will no more represent them (Palaganas and co-accused Andy Tangalin). We have lost our personality (to represent them in court) because they already have other lawyers,” Dizon said explaining she came from Manila and was working as an individual lawyer without law firm connections.

Lawyers of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines – La Union chapter were sought by the Catholic Church, in coordination with Task Force Bimmutubot, to help Palaganas in the case.

“I was expecting that I would be his counsel but somebody entered his appearance (in the court),” Dizon said, saying Palaganas snubbed her inside the courtroom. Dizon said she went last week to the La Union provincial jail to talk to Palaganas but was prevented from entering because there were ongoing investigations by policemen. J

udge Rose Marie Alim deferred the arraignment on Aug. 4 due to the filing of an amended complaint based on Palaganas’ supplemental affidavit. Intelligence agents suspected that the woman lawyer was probably sent, not by Palaganas’ common-law wife, but by somebody to work on the case.

“There maybe effort (from the other suspects) to get the sympathy of Palaganas by providing him legal assistance,” a source said.

If not barred, Dizon said she was supposed to file a motion for dismissal of the case because there was allegedly no probable cause on the evidences based on her evaluation.

“It’s good enough I was able to get the entire record of the case. Based on my evaluation, I concluded that there is no probable cause,” Dizon said saying that she filed on Aug. 1 a “motion for determination of probable cause and to hold arraignment in abeyance.”

Aside from Palaganas and Tangalin, other respondents of the case were former Dagupan police chief superintendent Dionicio Borromeo, Police Officer 3 Joey Abang, Police Officer 2 Walter Banan, Police Officer 1 Rodolfo Damian, lot owner Eusebio Tangalin, and Joselito Artuz alias George Cordero, a resident of Marilao, Bulacan who allegedly served as financer of the drug laboratory.

Also charged were several John Does who include at least six Chinese men headed by a certain Jimmy. Palaganas alleged that Borromeo ordered him to scout for an area where he is allegedly going to build a piggery but it turned out to be a drug laboratory.

He said Cordero leased the area where the Chinese manufactured shabu four times since May last year. He said that the policemen allegedly ignored his plea when he informed them about the matter. Authorities raided the laboratory on July 9 yielding six truckloads of chemicals which can produce a trillion peso-worth of shabu.


2 missing La Union fishers rescued
By Freddie Lazaro

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union — The two fishers, who were reported missing last Aug. 3 after they went fishing in the sea off Agoo, La Union were rescued by residents near the shore of Barangay Paringao, Bauang, La Union on Aug. 6. Office of the Civil Defense in Ilocos Region regional director Eugene Cabrera bared this identifying the rescued fishers as Virgilio Abarra Angan Angan, 31, and Ana Doming Soriano Gutieres, 22, both residents of Balwarte, Agoo.

"The two were rescued at about 11 a.m. last Wednesday August 6," Cabrera said.

He said search-and-rescue operations for three other missing fishermen of Barangay Paratong, Bangar, La Union continues.

"The Philippine Navy and the Coast Guard units, both based in Poro Point, this city, have dispatched their diesel fast craft in the China Sea for the search and rescue operations of the other three missing fishermen," Cabrera said.


Opena is La Union new PDEA chief

CAMP DIEGO SILANG, La Union – Senior Supt. Roberto S. Opena was designated Ilocos regional police director of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Regional Office 1 on Aug. 6, in turnover rites here.

The event was witnessed by the heads of law enforcement units of Region 1 including PDEA Director General Dionisio Santiago who highlighted achievements of outgoing regional director Supt. Jan Andres Aunzo who served the regional office for more than two years.

Aunzo was reassigned to the PDEA national headquarters made effective by the agency orders dated July 25 which also stated Opeňa as her replacement. Opena traces his roots in Balanga, Bataan, but grew up in Baguio City where he graduated a criminology course.

On 2003, he finished his Masters in Business Administration at Wesleyan University, Philippines. Formerly a technical assistant of Task Force Garuda of PDEA, he worked on numerous government and private institutions as an intelligence officer and held key military positions covering a broad range of field command and staff assignments. He is also a recipient of numerous awards and decorations. -- Bismarck L. Bengwayan