EBU CITY -- Mandaue City officials ordered the strict implementation of the city's curfew ordinance starting today, Saturday, after 18 youngsters were caught in pot session.
The 18 youngsters, six of whom are underage, were arrested after the police caught them smoking marijuana inside an abandoned house in Mandaue City last Thursday night.
Most of the suspects caught were allegedly members of the Crips Gang.
Operatives of the Opao Police Station led by Inspector Wilson Abot found half a kilo of dried marijuana leaves, which has a street value of P10,000.
Abot, in a press conference Friday, told reporters that at 5:45 p.m., they received a tip from an anonymous informant that a group of teenagers were having a pot session in an abandoned house in Purok Limonsito, Barangay Umapad.
Abot sent his men to verify the report. That resulted in the arrest of the 18, including six girls, believed to be minors.
Arrested in the operation were Ryan Vergara, 18; Ryan Gullamac, 24; James Etorma, 21; Aldie Amaya, 23; Noel Geraldi, 20; Andy Chris dela Cruz, 23; Alex Bryan Pertulfo, 21; Sonny Navacilla, 21; Roel Ranili, 18; Raymund Germin, 19; Jovalyn Alonzo, 22, and Juliet Mendoza, 20.
Six of the 18 suspects are only 17, 16, 15 and 14 years old.
Most of the suspects, except for Amaya, Alonzo, and Geraldi, are from different barangays in Mandaue City.
Aside from the half-kilo marijuana leaves, the police recovered two partially burned sticks containing dried marijuana.
Abot said Amaya and Alonzo had brought the drugs from southern Cebu.
Amaya is a resident of Barangay Poblacion, Oslob, while Alonzo, his reported girlfriend, is from Mantalongon, Dalaguete.
Abot said they are still determining whether Amaya and Alonzo sold the drugs inside Barangay Umapad.
He said most of the suspects came from poor families and that some of them, including the minors, were believed to have not returned home for some time.
Abot plans to file complaints against the suspects, including the minors, for violating Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law.
Some of the suspects may be charged with drug possession, while others will be charged with drug use.
Abot said they included the minors in their case so that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) can determine if they acted with discernment when they committed the crime.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes told Sun.Star Cebu it's the right time to strictly implement the curfew, but there are legal issues that have to be considered.
Umapad barangay captain Nelson Rubio said that minors caught violating the curfew will be detained in the barangay center until their parents claim them. Aside from community service, parents will be forced to pay a fine for their son or daughter.
Rubio said that while the incident is an isolated case, he would still strictly implement the curfew ordinance.
Mandaue City's social welfare office will invite the parents of the minors caught to assess if any intervention will be needed.
Violeta Cavada, City Social Welfare Services (CSWS) chief, said they are monitoring the condition of the six minors and have summoned their parents.
Cavada, in a separate interview, said that during her initial interview with the suspects, she found that most of them are high school dropouts.
The suspects, particularly the six minors, denied they participated in the pot session, saying they were only there to be with their boyfriends.
The suspects are now detained in the Opao Police Station, pending the filing of charges against them. (JKV/Sun.Star Cebu)
