rappers

Filipino rapper Loonie cleared of drug charges, wants countersuit vs cops

Lian Buan

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Filipino rapper Loonie cleared of drug charges, wants countersuit vs cops

CLEARED. Rapper Loonie is cleared of drug trade charges.

Photo from Makati police

The police’s witness, a poser-buyer, gives inconsistent and misleading testimony according to the court

The Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) cleared Marlon Peroramas, a rapper who goes by the name Loonie, of charges of trading illegal drugs after finding the police witness inconsistent and misleading, and with no other independent witness offered.

Makati RTC Branch 64 Judge Gina Bibat-Palamos dismissed the charges against Loonie and two others in an order on Tuesday, June 22. It was a granted demurrer of evidence. This meant Loonie and company did not need to present their evidence, as the prosecution’s evidence was weak enough to stop the trial.

The court dismissed the charge because of the violation in the requirement that there needed to be independent witnesses in the buy-bust, like a barangay official and someone from the Department of Justice (DOJ). A recent Supreme Court ruling highlighted the importance of following this rule, as the DOJ called on courts to be “more liberal.”

In this case, the Makati court said “there was no evidence presented or there was even no attempt to justify the absence of an elected public official and a DOJ representative during the buy-bust operation.”

In a statement on Facebook, the rapper said he and his younger sister Idyll, who was accused with him, “are now consulting with their lawyers of an option to file counter charges against individuals who planted evidence during the supposed buy bust operation.”

Loonie won a petition for bail last year, and was out on a P2-million bond during trial. The case went through four judges, the defense having one motion to inhibit and the prosecution having two.

The case

The buy bust happened on September 18, 2019, at the basement parking lot of a hotel in Makati, where Loonie and two others, including his sister, allegedly sold 15 sachets of marijuana weighing 78.77 grams.

The police witness, Corporal Jan Kirby Vigilla, claimed to have conducted a pre-operations surveillance at another bar in August where Loonie allegedly gave him a SIM card.

The court said the witness “misled” the court because the claim that Loonie gave the SIM card never appeared in Vigilla’s affidavit, in the investigation report, or in any case record “despite the sheer importance of this fact.”

Vigilla also claimed having a selfie with Loonie taken during his surveillance at the bar in August. But on cross examination, the witness circled around the requests to show that selfie to the court, until he was forced to admit that the alleged selfie has been deleted.

Before the admission, the witness showed the court during cross examination a selfie with the rapper. But this selfie turned out to have been taken on another date at another place.

“The repeated attempts of the witness to tell the court that the picture was not on his smartphone because he already passed it on to someone else, before finally giving in and admitting that he allegedly deleted the very important piece of evidence, clearly demonstrates the witness’ lack of respect to the court and the witness’ testimony under oath,” said the judge.

The police showed texts where Loonie allegedly coordinated with the witness for the sale, but the rapper denied this claim.

“God knows we never sold drugs. Those shown in the media last September 2019 were all planted. It was an inhumane setup,” said Idyll Peroramas. 

“We were there in Makati City to visit a dying fan with leukemia whose aunt booked Loonie for a special apperance on his birthday. It turns out it was all a set-up to corner us into that basement parking lot of the hotel,” said Peroramas. – Rappler.com

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Lian Buan

Lian Buan is a senior investigative reporter, and minder of Rappler's justice, human rights and crime cluster.