Siblings Arrested in PHP1M Drug Bust; Sister Held for Obstruction

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Three siblings were arrested in an anti-narcotics operation on March 19 in Jaro, Iloilo City, though only two were the targets of the buy-bust operation.

Alias Gigi, 42, and her younger brother Andy, 39, were apprehended during a sting operation at their home in Barangay Lanit, Jaro.

Members of the Iloilo City Police Office-City Drug Enforcement Unit (ICPO-CDEU), along with the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit (RPDEU) 6 and Iloilo City Police Station 4, arrested them after Gigi and Andy allegedly conspired to sell a sachet of suspected shabu for PHP12,000.

Capt. Ryan Christ Inot, ICPO-CDEU team leader and concurrent chief of ICPS4, said the police poseur buyer was about to arrest Andy when he fled toward the back of their house.

“They had another house at the back, and that’s where he ran,” Inot said.

When police attempted to pursue Andy, his other sister, 37-year-old Remely, blocked their path.

She was immediately arrested for obstruction of justice.

Andy was eventually caught, and all three siblings were taken into custody.

Police seized 15 additional sachets and two knot-tied plastic packs of suspected shabu.

Inot said the confiscated drugs weighed around 150 grams and had an estimated street value of PHP1.02 million.

Authorities confirmed that Gigi was the primary target of the operation.

Gigi, reportedly a USWAG local leader, had a prior drug-related arrest in 2016 and was released from jail in 2020.

Her two siblings had no prior criminal records.

Police said Gigi allegedly used Andy as her runner, tasking him with transporting their drug supply from Bacolod City.

Gigi and Andy will be charged with violating Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, while Remely faces obstruction of justice charges under Presidential Decree No. 1829.