Son of prominent businessman nabbed in La Union for cocaine possession

MANILA, Philippines — Police arrested Julian Ongpin, the 29-year-old son of prominent businessman Roberto Ongpin, on Saturday in San Juan, La Union, after they found cocaine in the hostel room that he and his female companion were occupying.

Maj. Gerardo Macaraeg, San Juan town police chief, said Ongpin was held at the police station after police officers found drugs in the room and his companion, 30-year-old Bree Jonson, was found unconscious at 4:30 a.m. Saturday.

“We did not know if she was already dead [when we arrived at the hostel]. So we had her brought to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival,” Macaraeg said.

The San Juan police asked for an autopsy to determine the cause of Jonson’s death.

“What I can only say now is we found plenty of cocaine in the bed. We cannot tell what caused her death. We have to wait for the result of the autopsy,” Macaraeg told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Sunday night.

Police said Ongpin and Jonson arrived at the hostel at 8:30 p.m. Friday. They were later fetched by their friends at 10 p.m.

They returned to the hostel at 2:58 a.m., as shown by the guard’s records. At 3:30 a.m., a commotion started in the room occupied by Ongpin and Jonson and it lasted for about 15 minutes.

Macaraeg said footage from a security camera showed Ongpin was looking anxious as he went in and out of the room. He also noted that Ongpin was drinking alcohol.

“We received the call from the resort at 4:30 a.m. [Saturday[ and we found her [Jonson] lying on the bed. We called for an ambulance to bring her to the hospital,” Macaraeg said.

Police said they were filing a case of possession of illegal drugs against Ongpin on Monday.

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