The Supreme Court has approved the transfer of the drug cases against an arrested former National Bureau of Investigation official and several others implicated in the so-called “mega shabu laboratory” busted by authorities in Virac, Catanduanes in November 2016.
In a resolution, dated June 19 but released only Monday, the SC granted the request of the Department of Justice for the transfer of the three drug cases against former NBI anti-illegal drugs unit chief lawyer Augusto Eric Isidoro and nine others from Virac Regional Trial Court to the Makati City RTC.
It ordered the Virac RTC Branch 43 to forward the records of the cases to the Makati City RTC, which was also ordered to raffle off the criminal cases among its branches “within three days from receipt of records.”
The SC made the order after finding merit in the reasons cited by the DoJ in its request last March.
In its request, the DoJ cited the “partiality” of the judge in Virac RTC and “local political connections of the accused” in seeking the transfer of the cases.
Then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II did not name the judge, but there is only one judge in the Viral RTC who also handles branch 42.
In March 2017, the Catanduanes Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed a resolution urging the SC to immediately relieve Executive Judge Lelu Contreras of her appointment to RTC Branches 42 and 43 for “lack of trust and confidence” in the performance of her duty in connection with the “shabu” laboratory case.
The raid at the “mega shabu laboratory” in Virac yielded 22.509 kilos of shabu, and more than 359 kilos of ephedrine and other chemicals.
Isidoro has been under the custody of the NBI.