FlipTop rapper Loonie eyes countersuit after acquittal in drug case

Marlon Peroramas aka Loonie —PHOTO FROM MAKATI POLICE

MANILA, Philippines — FlipTop rapper Loonie plans to file countercharges against the Makati police after a court dismissed the drug trading charges against him and his managers over the “inconsistencies and contradictions” in the testimony of a witness.

In an order on June 22, Judge Gina Bibat Palamos of the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 64 granted the demurrer to evidence filed by the rapper’s camp and cleared Loonie, whose real name is Marlon Peroramas, of the charge of violating Section 5 (sale of illegal drugs) of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Cleared along with him were his sister-manager Idyll Liza Peroramas and road manager David Hizon.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss a case due to the insufficiency of evidence presented by the prosecution.

In her decision, the judge cited the “inconsistencies and contradictions” in the statements of the Makati policeman, a member of the station drug enforcement unit (SDEU) who had acted as a poseur-buyer during an entrapment operation in 2019.

No public official present

Palamos also noted the absence of an elected public official (usually from the barangay) and a representative from the Department of Justice during the inventory of the evidence against the accused, as required under Section 21 of RA 9165.

The Makati RTC Branch 64 was the fourth court to handle the case after both the prosecution and defense filed motions for previous judges to inhibit themselves.

The case against Loonie was originally filed in Branch 149, before going to Branch 141 and Branch 150.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Peroramas siblings said they were consulting with their lawyers to file countercharges against the Makati police for planting evidence during the supposed buy-bust operation.

“God knows we never sold drugs. Those shown in the media last September 2019 were all planted. It was an inhumane setup,” Idyll said.

“We can refute the lies that were told in court and in [the] media by those individuals. We have proof and we will follow due process,” she added.

Framed

Around 9 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2019, members of the Makati police SDEU arrested the Peroramas siblings and three of their staff in a buy-bust operation at the basement parking area of a hotel on Polaris Street in Barangay Poblacion.

The police claimed they seized from the suspects 15 packs of “kush” (high-grade marijuana) concealed in two cell-phone boxes worth P100,000.

Loonie, however, said they were framed. He denied owning the drugs and the money seized by the police, claiming these had been planted.

He explained they had gone to the hotel to attend the birthday party of a leukemia-stricken fan.

The rapper was detained at the Makati City Jail but the court ordered his release in January 2020 after allowing him to post bail of P2 million. INQ