ASKED by the parole board on Wednesday if he ever sought counseling for his drug addiction while serving his prison sentence, parole applicant Benigno Muna Sablan said: “There are drugs at the Department of Corrections.”
“How can I seek help when even…in [prison] there are a lot of drugs?” he asked.
Variety was unable to get a comment from Corrections officials regarding Sablan’s statement, but according to Chief Prosecutor John Bradley: “The availability of illegal drugs within the Department of Corrections is an ongoing problem.”
He added, “There is currently a bill before the Legislature making possession of contraband illegal. This law would help prosecute anyone who helps a person bring drugs into [Corrections]. In addition, ongoing drug testing would help identify anyone that is assisting in smuggling drugs into prison.”
For his part, Board of Parole Chairman Ramon B. Camacho said: “This is a concern for us. Prisoners should have no access to drugs in the jail.”
Sablan, 38, was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance (not theft as earlier reported), and was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment all suspended except three years.
Parole board deliberates
The parole board on Thursday afternoon began deliberating on whether to grant or deny the parole applications of Sablan and 10 other convicted felons serving time at the Department of Corrections.
Camacho said they will make an announcement on Friday at 10:30 a.m.
On Thursday Daniel Muna Quitugua and Artemia Gabayero, appeared before the board.
Quitugua said it was his addiction that led him to commit a crime.
“I’ve come to realize that my actions not only affected myself but also the ones that I love, my family,” he said.
Quitugua, 42, was convicted of impersonating a police officer and theft. He was sentenced to five years for impersonating a police officer, and five years for theft but suspended and to run concurrent with the other sentence.
The 53-year-old Gabayero, who robbed a poker arcade, told the parole board that she was desperate when she committed the crime.
“If granted parole, I will just go home to the Philippines,” she said.
The other parole applicants are Huang Rui Jun (“ice” trafficking), Liao Guofeng (“ice” trafficking), Xiao Ping Wang (“ice” trafficking), Benjamin Lee (burglary), Ronnie San Nicolas (“ice” trafficking), Felisha Ann Basa (robbery and theft), Paul Anthony Lizama (“ice” trafficking), and Juan Tydingco (repeat offender: fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, speeding, reckless driving).
The other parole board members present at the hearings were Michael San Nicolas, Vicente Borja, Ignacio Mendiola and George Hocog.
Also present was Assistant Attorney General Leslie Healer, the board’s legal counsel.
Parole applicant Daniel Muna Quitugua, 2nd left, back to the camera, appears before the CNMI Board of Parole during a parole hearing in the training room of the Department of Corrections.
