News Briefs

KENYAN TO APPEAL DRUG SENTENCE

THE KENYAN national convicted of drug trafficking in Cebu  will elevate her case to the Court of Appeals.

Ricardo Amores, lawyer of Asha Atieno Ogutu, said they asked the CA to review the ruling of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Toribio Quiwag of Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City.

Ogutu  was sentenced to life impisonment and ordered to pay 3 million after being found  guilty of bringing in  kilos of shabu in her checked-in luggage upon her arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport last Sept. 29, 2011.

Amores said the judge only considered the prosecution’s side and not Ogutu’s defense.

Ogutu, a mother of two boys, was  arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) at the Mactan airport after arriving from Doha, Qatar, on a Qatar Airways Flight.

Drug-sniffing dogs picked out her suitcase. Inside were found two foil packs of shabu concealed in the lining of a checked-in trolley bag.

The NBI-7 pegged the street value of the shabu taken from Ogutu at P18 million. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol

NEW BARANGAY CAPTAIN

Barangay Antipolo in Medellin town, northern Cebu, will have a new chairman.

The court declared Dominador Saplad the winner in the 2010 barangay elections over incumbent barangay captain Dromero Desabelle.

Saplad won by only  two votes during the revision of ballots done by the court.

He filed an election protest against Desabelle following his defeat in the Oct. 20, 2010, elections. The court found out that Saplad actually won in the elections.

During the revision of ballots, Saplad had 699 votes over Desabelle’s 697 votes.

A writ of execution of judgment was issued by Judge Cornelio Jaca of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Medellin-Daanbantayan-San Remigio.

Early this month, a Cebu City trial court also declared Ester Concha the new barangay captain of Calamba, Cebu City.

Barangay captain Victor Quijano vowed to exhaust all legal remedies to stop Concha from unseating him.

Last year’s results showed that Quijano won by a margin of 81 votes over Concha who filed a protest and asked for a recount.

The  court  declared Concha the winner garnering 2,539 votes while Quijano got 2,500 votes. Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol

SINGLE-PARENT SERVICES

The Department of Social Welfare and Services of Cebu City Hall called on single parents to avail of identification cards issued by their office to avail of services like skills training and medical assistance.

City Social Welfare Officer Cathy Yso said as of Dec. 31, 2011, her office only registered 160 solo parents.

Applications for solo parent ID cards may be secured at  the DSWS office.

Applicants need to  present their child’s birth certificate and a barangay certification. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac