Girl, 18, gets life for drug trafficking

MANILA, Philippines—An 18-year-old girl was sentenced to life imprisonment for illegal drugs trafficking, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director (PDEA) General  Jose Gutierrez Jr. said Tuesday.

Gutierrez said that the teenager, identified only as Nene, “knowingly committed [the crime] when she was still a minor two years ago.”

Gutierrez  was 16 years old when anti-narcotics agents from PDEA-Cordillera Administrative Region arrested her after she sold one piece of medium heat-sealed sachet containing methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu,” to a poseur buyer on June 12, 2009.

Being considered as a “Child in Conflict with Law” (CICL) since she was a minor when the crime was committed, Nene was released “on recognizance to her mother pursuant to Section 35 of Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006,” while her case was being heard in court, he said.

“The term ‘recognizance’ refers to an undertaking in place of a bond assumed by a parent or custodian who shall be responsible for the appearance in court of the CICL, when required,” Gutierrez explained.

In the 18-page resolution of Judge Iluminada Cabato, of Branch 59 of the Regional Trial Court, First Judicial Region of Baguio City, she said that “from testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, it was proven beyond reasonable doubt that all elements of the illegal sale of shabu was present.”

She further said that “from the clear and positive evidence of the prosecution and the bare denial of the CICL, the former must prevail. Negative and self-serving denial of the CICL deserves no weight in law when substantiated by clear and convincing evidence.”

Gutierrez Jr. said that although the judgment of the case was promulgated when Nene reached the legal age, the court said that “the principle of prospective application of the penal laws still applies as the crime was committed when the accused was still a minor. Said minor shall be placed under suspended sentence until further order from the court.”

The court also ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development–Cordillera Autonomous Region to take the necessary measures in relation to the teenager.