Surrenderee nabbed for returning to drug pushing

CEBU CITY, Philippines—He thought that the government would give him a job after he surrendered so he could no longer go back to peddling illegal drugs.

But no job came for Nestor Maghanoy.

He decided to go back to selling shabu to earn a living.

On Friday, the former street sweeper was arrested after he was caught repacking about 50 grams of shabu while policemen were conducting another round of Oplan Tokhang in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

READ: With no job offer from govt, surrenderee goes back to drug peddling

Maghanoy said he returned to his usual business of selling illegal drugs five weeks after he surrendered to the police under Oplan Tokhang thinking the government would give him a decent job.

“Our barangay captain promised to give us work but until now, there’s none. So I decided to go back to this kind of job,” he said in an interview.

“I can’t go on without a job. I also need to eat. I also want to live.  At my age, it’s hard for me to look for a job,” he added.

READ: Where do ‘surrenderees’ go?

Senior Insp. Homobono Sayon, chief of the Mabolo police station, said they went to the houses of those who surrendered to monitor them and make sure they had stopped selling shabu.

They knocked on the door of Maghanoy’s house and then went inside, said Sayon.

They were surprised to see the suspect repacking shabu and immediately arrested him.

Seized from the suspect were several sachets of shabu, at least four cellular phones and peso bills of different denominations.

Inventory of the seized items was still ongoing as of 3 p.m. on Friday.

Charges for violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly illegal possession of drugs, would be filed against Maghanoy at the Cebu City prosecutors’ office.

Since the prohibited drugs taken from the suspect were over five grams, the offense is non-bailable.

Maghanoy has been on the watch list of drug personalities in Barangay Mabolo, said Sayon.

He was arrested and charged with selling drugs in 2003. After five years, the trial court acquitted him of the charges.

Mabolo Barangay Captain Reynaldo Ompoc said the surenderees in his village would be given livelihood assistance as promised by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.

But Ompoc said the surenderees must report to the barangay twice a week and undergo rehabilitation.

He said Maghanoy had not gone to see him since the suspect surrendered during the Oplan Tokhang last June 17.

“Why would we give jobs to those who didn’t want to undergo drug rehabilitation? They must first comply with the requirements, otherwise we can’t give them jobs,” Ompoc said. RAM/rga