PDEA intel officer nabbed by Nueva Ecija cops for robbery

SAN JOSE CITY, Nueva Ecija, July 31, 2011-Police Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo, chief of the Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC) revealed that they arrested inside a subdivision here last Friday afternoon an intelligence officer of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency who is wanted for robbery and has pending warrants for grave coercion and for repeatedly failing to attend hearings involving drug-related cases where he is identified as Sherwin Holgado, 32, of Christianville Subdivision, Brgy. Abar 1^st here, who is now detained at the PPSC stockade.

The PPSC team led by Inspector Alexander Reyes arrested Holgado inside the subdivision at around 2 in the afternoon Friday.

Okubo said that the arrest of Holgado was carried out by virtue of four warrants of arrest separately issued against him on April 29, May 16, July 12 and July 18 by two regional courts (RTCs) and a municipal trial court in cities (MTCC) in Cabanatuan City.

The warrants were issued by RTC Branch 27 Judge Angelo Perez for                Holgado’s failure to attend two hearings of drug-related cases, by RTC  Branch 25 Judge Teresita Cativo for robbery and by MTCC Branch 1 Judge Ana Marie-Joson Viterbo for grave coercion.

No bail bond was recommended for the warrants issued in connection with Holgado’s failure to attend the hearings while bail bonds totaling P112,000 were recommended for robbery and grave coercion.

San Jose City down town in Nueva Ecija.

Okubo said that the cases for robbery and grave coercion stemmed from an incident last February 19 when Holgado, accompanied by three others, barged into the house of businesswoman Zenaida Bustamante at Purok 1, Brgy MS Garcia, Cabanatuan City without any search warrant and stashed  away cash worth P16,000.00 and four cellular phones.

As they left Bustamante’s house, the suspects fired three shots to scare on-lookers. They even dragged a by-stander, Teresita Abergas inside their get-away vehicle looking for additional money. The two victims separately filed a case of robbery and grave coercion against Holgado’s group.

Okubo said that the two other warrants were in connection with his failure to appear in scheduled court hearings after taking part in two buy-bust operations of the PDEA last June 10, 2010 and September 20, 2010 which led to the arrests of several drug pushers in Cabanatuan City.  

Okubo said that Holgado has other pending cases for illegal possession of firearms and grave threats in the cities of Muñoz and San Jose stemming from his having drawn his gun following a traffic altercation with members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo who were directing traffic in front of the sect’s church along the Maharlika Highway in Muñoz last June 27, 2010. (Jason de Asis)