2 drug traffickers get life imprisonment

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) welcomed court rulings sentencing a man and a woman to life imprisonment in separate cases involving over P33.7 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu.

PDEA director general Isagani Nerez said the convictions demonstrate the agency’s commitment to securing judicial results through evidence-based investigation and legal compliance.

In a 40-page decision dated 15 September 2026, the Parañaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 259 found Anthony “Kuya” Reyes guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal drug sales under Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Presiding officers sentenced Reyes to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay a P1-million fine.

The case stemmed from an 8 May 2026 buy-bust operation conducted by PDEA Regional Office 3 agents at a hotel along Doña Soledad Avenue in Barangay Don Bosco, Parañaque City. Officers seized 994.3 grams of shabu valued at P6.76 million during the sting.

“An arrest is only the beginning of the process,” Nerez said. “Our responsibility is to ensure that evidence is properly documented, cases are thoroughly prepared, and those found guilty by the courts are held accountable under the law.”

In a separate ruling, Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 297 sentenced Arlene Labajo Angeles to life imprisonment and a P1 million fine in a 21-page decision dated 14 October 2026. The court found Angeles guilty of drug importation under Republic Act 9165.

Angeles was arrested on 14 June 2025 during an interdiction operation at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

Members of the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group intercepted Angeles upon her arrival from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after discovering 3,970.6 grams of shabu — valued at P27 million — in her possession.