Kagawad, in-law caught with PHP68K shabu in Hinigaran

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — A 31-year-old barangay councilor and her 60-year-old mother-in-law were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Sitio San Roque, Purok 5, Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, on Wednesday.

Police identified the councilor only as “Pam” and her mother-in-law as “Nay Grace,” both residents of the same barangay.

According to a report from the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, the two allegedly conspired to sell illegal drugs to an undercover agent from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency posing as a buyer.

Authorities confiscated two sachets of suspected shabu weighing about 10 grams and valued at PHP68,000.

Also recovered were PHP13,000 in marked money, a lighter, an improvised straw scooper, and three mobile phones.

Police Lt. Col. Joem Malong, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region, said the arrest followed a joint intelligence operation by PDEA and local police after Pam was linked to alleged drug activities.

This is the first time both suspects have been apprehended for any drug-related offense, she added.

Malong also confirmed that Pam had been classified as a high-value target.

Her husband was earlier arrested by PDEA in a separate drug case in May 2024 and remains in custody at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.