Manila RTC acquits daughter of ‘drug queen’ of drug charges

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas
THE Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 49 acquitted and ordered the immediate release of Diana Y. Uy, daughter of alleged “drug queen” Yu Yuk Lai, in connection with charges of illegal drugs, after the court declared the search warrant against her as invalid “for lack of probable cause.”
Ms. Uy was arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Nov. 6, 2017, in a condominium in Manila following the search warrant. She was charged with possession of 682.924 grams of shabu on Nov. 8.
The decision stated that the evidence submitted against Ms. Uy is inadmissible as it found “strong and compelling evidence” that the CCTV cameras were tampered and the alleged illegal drugs seized were “planted.”
The K9 dogs also did not detect any presence of narcotics during the search and the seized contraband “may not even be real narcotic,” the decision read.
The entry of a “clearing team” of PDEA operatives is also “highly irregular and illegal” as it was conducted without the presence of the accused or any media or barangay representative, the decision also read.
The decision stated that the affidavits by two PDEA agents were filled with general allegations and conclusions, “absolutely without citations of sources and verifiable factual allegations.”
“The Court does not believe that there was a walk-in Confidential Informant. No such person existed,” the court said.
The decision also stated that the search warrant judge failed to ask “searching, probing, discerning questions” as she has accepted all the conclusions submitted against Ms. Uy and never asked for the appearance of the alleged informant.
“The search warrant judge simply took the assertions of the PDEA hook, line and sinker. The issuance post-haste of the search warrant, based on the flimsiest of evidence turned out to be a grave injustice.”