Bacolod: The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) has cleared a male Grade 9 student from a public high school in Bacolod City of charges related to illegal drug possession. This development comes after laboratory test results confirmed that the student did not have illegal drugs in his possession while at school.
According to Philippines News Agency, the student has been identified as a victim in the incident, as another student allegedly placed fake 'shabu' in his school bag as an act of retaliation following a prior conflict between them. BCPO Director Col. Eugene Rebadomia stated during a press conference that results from the Philippine National Police Regional Forensic Unit revealed that the sachets found in the student's possession did not contain the prohibited substance shabu. "It's negative for shabu. We cannot find a case (against the student)," Rebadomia added.
The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region had initially reported on Tuesday that the 17-year-old was taken into protective custody and transferred to the Social Development Center after being accused of possessing suspected illegal drugs during a campus security inspection on Monday. Following his clearance, the student was released from the center.
In a radio interview, Police Station 3 officer-in-charge Lt. Benjo Ballo-Allo mentioned that an investigation is underway to determine which student was responsible for placing the sachets in the Grade 9 student's backpack. The incident came to light after a report was made to the school security guard about the student allegedly carrying a firearm, prompting the inspection.
Additionally, in a separate interview, Secretary to the Mayor Jose Marty Go stated that Department of Education-Bacolod City Schools Division Superintendent Dennis Develos advised the two students involved to remain at home and use alternative learning methods for the time being. "They will also provide psycho-social intervention for the students. It looks like the other student retaliated at the (Grade 9) student since they had a previous conflict," Go noted.
