FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Some 7107 International Music Festival revellers may have enjoyed too much, forgetting that smoking marijuana or weed is still illegal in the Philippines.
Amid the spectacle of international rock bands dominating the stage, anti-narcotic agents arrested a teen actor and three others while taking hits of marijuana in the concert grounds in Global Gateway Logistics City in Clarkfield, Pampanga.
On the second and last night of the music festival on Feb. 23, elements of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and Angeles City police apprehended a certain Juan Paulo Serafica, 19, Geano Dionisio, 23 and two other minors.
One of the two unnamed minors was a 17-year-old teen actor, who was described by PDEA as a former contestant of a popular reality TV show and an actor in the ABS-CBN TV series “Galema.”
Arturo Cacdac Jr., PDEA Director General, said in a statement that a stainless box containing dried marijuana leaves was confiscated from the teen actor.
For Dionisio and Serafica, one piece of marijuana stick and one blue tablet suspected to be Valium, and an anti-anxiety drug and a smoking pipe with marijuana residue were seized, respectively.
Cacdac said both the 17-year-old boys will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development regional center in San Fernando.
“Although they are minors, they will be criminally liable under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, if the court finds that they violated the anti-drug law,” Cacdac said.
Violation of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, will be filed in court against the suspects.
Originally posted at 7:34 pm | Wednesday, February 26, 2014
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