CA Junks Petition of Drug-Planting Cops

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals has dismissed the petition of five police officers accused of planting drug evidence in 2022, allowing their prosecution for the offense to proceed. The appellants had filed a petition challenging a Manila court’s order in 2025 denying their motion to quash the charges of planting evidence filed against them. In 2022, police staged the confiscation of 990 kilos of shabu worth P6.7 billion in Tondo, Manila. Twenty-nine police officers, including the appellants, were arrested in January 2025. In its ruling promulgated on Aug. 25, the appellate court’s Eighth Division ruled that the petition of the five policemen were “devoid of merit” and the lower court did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The appellants are Senior M/Sergeants Jerrywin Rebosora and Mariam Mananghaya, M/Sgt. Lorenzo Catarata, Staff Sgt. Arnold Tibay and Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzales.