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[av_heading heading=’High-profile Negros drug suspects fall ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY and CYRUS GARDE
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BACOLOD City – A village official here and two scions of prominent families in Negros Occidental fell into a dragnet set up by antinarcotics agents in an inn at Liroville Subdivision, Barangay Singcang.
Barangay 35 captain Manuel Huelar Jr. and Joshua Roberto Ignacio-Arroyo, 24, of La Carlota City were in the watch list of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Negros Island Region.
Arroyo was a grandson of former first gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.
He and the other suspect, the 20-year-old Christian Joseph Mijares of Pontevedra town, were reportedly stepbrothers and grandsons of sugarcane planter Roberto “Bob” Cuenca of La Carlota City.
An undercover PDEA agent went inside the room Huelar was renting supposedly to buy shabu around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28.
Huelar was arrested after handing a pack of suspected shabu in exchange for P500, said PDEA regional director Julius Navales. Another plastic pack of suspected shabu worth P1,000 was seized from him.
After this, PDEA agents knocked on the door of Arroyo’s room, which was next to Huelar’s.
But Arroyo tried to evade arrest by preventing an agent from entering. The agent pulled their gun’s trigger when their hand got stuck on the door, hitting Arroyo, said Navales. Mijares was in that room, too.
Two packs of suspected shabu and drug paraphernalia were seized from Arroyo, while Mijares yielded a pack of similar substance, a cell phone and a digital weighing scale. PDEA agents also seized Huelar’s vehicle.
Huelar, a former player for Negros Slashers in the Metropolitan Basketball Association, and Mijares were detained in Police Station 8 lockup cell. Arroyo was taken to a hospital for the treatment of his gunshot wound on the arm.
Huelar denied selling shabu but admitted that he used to be user. He claimed he was in the inn to pawn his firearm to his friends — Arroyo and Mijares — as he was headed to a derby in Barangay Tangub.
Navales said the PDEA got to Huelar after establishing a connection with the latter’s alleged runner. He claimed Huelar buys shabu for personal consumption and, sometimes, for some of his friends. He described Huelar a “high-value target.”
In 2010 Huelar was arrested and charged with illegal gambling. Just this year he was indicted for robbery, carnapping, arbitrary detention, and grave coercion but was able to post bail.
No. 1 Barangay 35 kagawad Elizabeth Baker is temporarily taking over as village chief until a court decides on Huelar’s case, said Carmelo Orbista, officer-in-charge of the local Department of the Interior and Local Government office.
Meanwhile, Mayor Evelio Leonardia called the incident “unfortunate.”
Leonardia urged the authorities to find out if there are more barangay officials involved in the illegal drug trade.
“It is bad enough that the city has illegal drug problems,” said the mayor. “Worse, a public official is the one involved.”/PN
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