Toledo village chief arrested for “pushing” illegal drugs

Evidences recovered from Sangi Barangay Captain Eduardo Bacalso when he was arrested last Thursday. (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) arrested a barangay captain in Toledo City, west Cebu for allegedly peddling illegal drugs.

Eduardo Bacalso, the incumbent village chief of Barangay Sangi , Toledo City, was caught in a drug bust inside his residence past 5 p.m. on Thursday. He did not resist arrest.

Recovered from his possession were 105 grams if shabu worth P378,000 and an unlicensed .38 revolver.

PDEA-7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz said they had been conducting surveillance operations against Bacalso for two years.

The 50-year-old barangay captain, he said, is the number one drug personality in Toledo City as classified under government service.

“We’ve been transacting with him but he would lie low everytime he noticed that he was being monitored,” Ruiz said.

“We, however, did not stop pursuing him until we finally got his trust,” he added.

BACALSO (CDN PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Charges for violating Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, particularly for selling illegal drugs. The offense is non-bailable.

Sought for comment, Bacalso denied the accusations against him.

“I’m never involved in selling illegal drugs. The packs of shabu recovered from me were planted,” he said in Cebuano.

Bacalso served for two terms as barangay councilor before he won as village chief of Sangi, Toledo City in 2013. / Ador Vincent Mayol (@AdorCDN)