KALIBO, Aklan – A jail guard and an inmate of the Aklan Rehabilitation Center have been arrested in a drug buy-bust operation outside of the detention facility.
A Sangguniang Panlalawigan member wanted to investigate the police operation but his colleagues disagreed.
Jail guard Clary Mel Melgarejo and inmate Rona Espino were caught by police near the facility in Sitio Ilawod, Barangay Nalook on Nov. 5.
Two sachets of suspected shabu were seized from them.
They face charges for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Board member Nemesio Neron, chairman of the committee on peace and order, called for a legislative inquiry into the operation.
“Being a retiree in military and police service, it is my advocacy in life to stop the use and proliferation of illegal drugs in the communities, particularly in Aklan,” said Neron, a former provincial police director.
“I was saddened by the uncalled for police buy-bust entrapment operation,” he said.
ARC officials were under fire for allowing an inmate to venture outside of the facility.
An investigating committee formed by the Office of the Governor was already trying to find out the “real score” in the operation.
“The [Sangguniang Panlalawigan] is also mandated to do something to support the efforts to get rid of illegal drugs, hence, this request for a legislative inquiry,” Neron stressed.
But fellow Board member Emmanuel Soviet Russia Dela Cruz wanted to defer the legislative inquiry pending the conclusion and recommendation/s of the investigating committee.
“We could wait for the executive branch’s investigation to conclude before we pass or recommend legislative measures,” he added.
Another Board member, Jay Tejada, believed it would be “premature for the [Sangguniang Panlalawigan] to conduct a legislative inquiry considering the investigating committee has yet to finish its investigation.” (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
