Cop convicted of drug charges ill, says Cavite PNP chief

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines—A high provincial police official recently convicted of protecting a multi-million-peso  illegal drug manufacturing operation and sentenced to life in prison is ill and his turn over to the court in La Union that tried his case has been delayed, Cavite police director Senior Superintendent Alexander Rafael said Friday.

Senior Superintendent Dionisio Borromeo, currently the deputy police director for administration in Cavite was “ill” and had to stay in his quarters at the provincial camp in Imus City as of Friday, according  Rafael.

Rafael maintained that Borromeo, who is the object of an arrest warrant issued by the La Union Regional Trial Court was now under the Cavite police’s “custody.”

Borromeo and his co-accused, Senior Police Officer 1 Joey Abang were found guilty of protecting a shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) laboratory in Naguilian, La Union that anti-drug operatives discovered in 2008. He was chief of police of Dagupan City in neighboring Pangasinan province at the time.

Borromeo was also ordered to pay a fine P10 million.

“He’s been sick since Monday that was why he went on leave,” Rafael said in a telephone phone interview Friday. He said Thursday that Borromeo was to be transported to La Union later that day.

Rafael said Borromeo filed  medical certificates and furnished the court copies of the documents to back his claim of being ill.

However when asked what particular illness Borromeo had, Rafael said he was not sure as he had not seen yet a copy of the medical certificate.

The arrest warrant was received by the Cavite police on Thursday, the same day Borromeo supposedly “turned himself in” to Rafael.

Rafael said his command would turn over Borromeo to the court and would leave Cavite on Sunday so they would arrive in La Union by Monday.