COTABATO CITY — A local court has sentenced a drug peddler to life imprisonment.
Kutin Guiamel Manunggal of Barangay Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, was found guilty of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and was meted a life sentence.
The decision was handed down Wednesday by Judge Kasan Abdulrakman of the Regional Trial Court Branch 15 in Cotabato City, who also ordered Manunggal to pay the government PHP500,000.
Manunggal was arrested by agents of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) during a drug sting in Barangay Dalican in March this year, according to Jocelyn Mary, PDEA-ARMM spokesperson.
Seized from him were three sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride with an estimated market value of more than PHP1 million, a rifle and a pistol.
His wife, Jenny, who was arrested with him was spared and ordered released by the court due to lack of evidence linking her to illegal drug activities.
Juvenal Azurin, PDEA-ARMM regional director, lauded the court for its swift resolution of the case.
He expressed optimism that more drug cases now pending in courts will be resolved very soon in favor of the government. (Edwin Fernandez/PNA)
