TALISAY CITY -- Majority of the members of the Liga ng mga Barangay in this city yesterday issued a signed statement of condemnation against the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, tagging as "trumped-up" the accusations against arrested General Services Office head Archibald Tuvilla and Sannil Arcenas for alleged possession of shabu.

At a press conference at the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines Center here, 18 of the 27 barangay captains yesterday sought justice for the two drug suspects arrested by PDEA operatives Friday night at Bangga CICM, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

They claimed that Tuvilla has been used as a "sacrificial lamb" and questioned, among others, the procedures of PDEA led by Insp. Joemarie Occeño in effecting the search against Tuvilla, who, operatives said, had been placed under surveillance before the search on his car that yielded four elongated sachets of suspected shabu and its paraphernalia.

About 100 Talisaynons who trooped to the FSCA center at the city plaza, applauded as the barangay captains took turns in claiming that Tuvilla has never been hooked to the illegal drug trade, is an upright city official who has facilitated the delivery of basic services to their barangays, is someone who would not gamble his stature in exchange for what he purportedly gains from the illegal activity, and was just a victim of human rights violation.

A barangay captain claimed he was willing to vacate his post if Tuvilla is proven guilty of the charges, while others asked that the people behind the incarceration of Tuvilla be enlightened and appealed to their constituents to join them.

The Liga also questioned why the police, including the PDEA, could not run against big-time drug personalities in the province but only on those "small ones."

A barangay captain also said what happened to Tuvilla could have been "a political challenge" while a barangay kagawad declared that some individuals or groups who wanted to seize power may be behind the plot to arrest Tuvilla.

Asked to elaborate, however, the kagawad retracted his statement and said this was what he has been hearing from his constituents, while the barangay captain was no longer around to answer.

Some Liga members, however, clarified that the individual views of their members do not reflect their collective stand.

Tuvilla had earlier claimed that Occeño's team had framed him and accused the PDEA head of asking for P200,000 so he would not be charged. Occeño denied this, saying it was Tuvilla who tried to bribe them.

Tuvilla is the second top official of Talisay government to be apprehended recently because of illegal drugs. Acting city treasurer Levi Doronila was nabbed in November last year right in his office at the City Hall.

Occeño said the result of the crime laboratory examination on the seized shabu came out yesterday afternoon and they are set to file today charges for violation of section 5 or for transporting illegal drugs, and section 12 for possession of its paraphernalia, against Tuvilla and Arcenas, before the Talisay City Prosecutor's Office.*GCT

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