Motel chains under fire after guests nabbed for drugs

Local

AN ANTI-DRUG operation inside a budget inn along Manalili Street has triggered a wider city investigation into all branches of WJV Inn operating in Cebu City.

The Cebu City Council on Tuesday, May 12, approved a resolution seeking a comprehensive inspection and validation of the lodging establishment following reports from the National Bureau of Investigation - Cebu District Office that one of its branches had allegedly been used as a drug den.

The resolution was introduced by Councilor Paul Labra, chairman of the Committee on Peace and Order, after the National Bureau of Investigation-Cebu District Office (NBI-CEBDO) endorsed the findings of a March 12 anti-drug operation conducted in Barangay Sto. Niño.

City legislators are now asking the Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO), together with the Cebu City Police Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, City Health Department, and other concerned agencies, to inspect all WJV Inn branches in the city and determine whether they are compliant with existing laws and city ordinances.

The resolution further recommends the closure of any branch found violating regulations, subject to due process.

According to the NBI’s post-operation report, agents from NBI-CEBDO and the NBI Central Visayas Regional Office carried out a buy-bust and drug den neutralization operation at the WJV Inn branch on Manalili Street at around 5 p.m. on March 12.

Fifteen individuals were arrested during the operation, including the alleged maintainer of the drug den identified as Norilyn Rivera Soroño, alias “Inday,” and another suspect identified as Joshua de Abib Plando.

Authorities alleged that the suspects received marked money from undercover operatives in exchange for access to rooms allegedly being used for illegal drug activity.

The NBI also reported that 13 other individuals were caught allegedly using shabu inside several rooms of the inn.

Investigators said the operation stemmed from information that the establishment was supposedly being used as a 24-hour drug den catering to various clients, including students, drivers, merchants, and call center workers.

Seized during the operation were suspected illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, used sachets with alleged shabu residue, syringes, improvised burners, cash proceeds, computer equipment, CCTV-related devices, and other materials believed linked to illegal drug activities.

Charges for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, have already been filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

The NBI communication to City Hall also raised possible administrative and regulatory violations involving the establishment.

Authorities said the inn was allegedly operating with an expired Department of Trade and Industry registration, expired fire safety and sanitary permits, and without valid barangay and business permits.

These findings prompted the City Council to expand the inquiry beyond the Manalili branch, citing the need to determine whether similar conditions exist in other WJV Inn branches across Cebu City.

In the resolution, the council stressed that such circumstances, if verified, pose risks to public safety and peace and order.

The measure also underscored the need to observe due process before any sanctions, including suspension or closure orders, are imposed against the establishment.

The NBI report added that Barangay Sto. Niño officials had already ordered the closure of the Manalili branch after the operation.

Authorities are also looking into the possible liability of the establishment’s owner, identified in the report as Wilberto J. Villarmia, pending further investigation into any alleged knowledge or participation in the operation of the supposed drug den.(TGP)