Bongbong accuser guilty of perjury

A San Fernando City court has found Jonathan Morales, a former anti-narcotics agent who had linked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to drug use, guilty of perjury for providing false testimony against two suspected drug traffickers in 2011.

In an 11-page decision dated 7 August, Acting Presiding Judge Jason Alquiroz of the San Fernando City Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Branch IV, sentenced Morales to four months in prison and imposed a fine of P1,000.

Under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, perjury is committed when a person willfully and knowingly makes a false statement under oath on a material matter before a competent officer.

Morales, who had been dismissed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, was accused of giving false testimony under oath on 15 June, 1 August, and 21 September 2011 before the San Fernando City Regional Trial Court, Branch 43, in connection with a drug case.

Morales had executed an affidavit and testified that accused Albert Co Chua and Wen Chen Miao were arrested in a legitimate anti-illegal drug operation.

However, during cross-examination on 7 November 2012, Morales recanted his affidavit, claiming he had been compelled to execute it under duress by his former immediate superior, Director Lyndon Aspacio.

Morales stated that he feared being fired, harmed, or reassigned to dangerous locations if he did not comply with the order.