KENYAN national Asha Atieno Ogutu broke out in tears as she was presented in court yesterday morning.
“I’m stressed. I miss my kids. My children are too young. I want to go home to Kenya,” Ogutu told Cebu Daily News before the proceedings in the sala of Judge Toribio Quiwag of the Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Lapu-Lapu City.
Ogutu, a mother of two boys, said she believes she will be cleared of the charges filed against her.
During the pre-trial conference, Ogutu’s lawyer Ricardo Amores admitted the existence of the suitcase that contained shabu with a street value of about P18 million.
However, the defense lawyer aid Ogutu doesn’t own the bag.
“We will limit our admission on the existence of the bag. Whatever is inside it, we deny it,” said Amores who is representing the woman for free.
Lapu-Lapu City Assistant Prosecutor Dinah Portugal admitted that agents of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) were not armed with a search warrant when they seized the suitcase.
But the prosecutor insisted that NBI-7 agents conducted a “valid warrantless search.”
“There was no time to secure a search warrant,” Portugal said.
When Amores asked if the NBI-7 agents had advance information about the transport of illegal drugs to Cebu, Portugal answered yes.
But Portugal qualified her answer, saying, “But time was so short that the arresting officers couldn’t secure a search warrant.”
The prosecution will present five witnesses including two agents of the NBI-7, personnel from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, a representative from the Bureau of Customs, and NBI-7 chemist Rommel Paglinawan.
The defense will present at least three witnesses, including Ogutu.
The court scheduled successive trial dates to hasten the case.
The next hearing is scheduled on Nov. 16.
In an interview, Amores said the court usually grants “marathon hearings” to foreigners who are facing charges here.
Ogutu was arrested by NBI-7 agents upon her arrival at the Mactan Cebu International Airport from Doha, Qatar, on board Qatar Airways Flight 656 at 4 p.m. last Sept. 29.
She was charged with transporting illegal drugs.
NBI said the shabu, contained in two foil packs concealed in the lining of a checked-in trolley bag, were intended for another destination, not Cebu.
If convicted, she faces life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P10 million.
Ogutu denied the allegations saying someone gave her the luggage in lieu of her backpack.
She said she travelled to the Philippines for a vacation.
“The bag is not mine. Someone just sabotaged me,” Ogutu said.