JAIL GUARD 'FAILED' TO GO ON REHAB

THE jail guard arrested for possession of more than 50 grams of shabu had
been suspended for testing positive in a random drug test of jail personnel.

According to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
Undersecretary for Peace and Order Marius Corpus, SJO1 Erwin Sarcon was
suspended for one year so that he could be given the chance to undergo
rehabilitation.

"Presumably, he did not do this because he was arrested in that raid,"
Corpus told Sun.Star in a telephone interview yesterday.

The Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB) raided Sarcon's
house in Villa del Rio, Barangay Bacayan at dawn last Saturday and found
four packs of shabu.

The four packs weighed a total of 55.13 grams. Possession of more than 50
grams of the drug is a non-bailable offense, according to the Comprehensive
Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

A penalty of life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from P500,000 to
P10 million will be imposed on anyone possessing 50 grams or more.

Government officials and employees face the maximum penalty if proven
guilty. They will also be disqualified from holding any position in the
government

BBRC Links?

Aside from the drugs, Sarcon yielded an unlicensed .38 revolver with two
bullets.

Corpus ordered Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Acting
Director Gen. Arturo Alit to investigate and determine probable cause to
have Sarcon dismissed from service.

Alit will decide if the regional office or the central headquarters will
handle Sarcon's administrative case.

Corpus said they could not discount the possibility that Sarcon smuggled in
shabu for use by inmates of the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC),
where he was once assigned.

Corpus' office conducted a series of investigations on jail officers after
several allegations of corruption and special treatment surfaced.

Corpus could not recall, though, if Sarcon's name was in a list of officers
allegedly involved in the drug distribution in jails last year.

"All I know is that we submitted these names to the PDEA (Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency)," Corpus said.