January 2, 2026 - Police in Nueva Ecija arrested a former municipal mayor in a buy-bust operation that yielded nearly half a million pesos worth of suspected shabu.

Authorities identified the suspect as Marvin Parinas, 53, former mayor of Sto. Domingo town from 2007 to 2010. He was apprehended in the early hours of December 31 in Barangay Calipahan, Talavera, Nueva Ecija, after selling illegal drugs to an undercover operative posing as a buyer.

According to the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office, the suspect had been under surveillance prior to the operation. Provincial police director Col. Heryl Daguit Bruno said: “Actually, nasa HVI watchlist siya pero hindi pa siya parang newly identified pa… ah, street pusher siya.” (“Actually, he is on the high-value individual watchlist but newly identified… a street-level pusher.”).

Recovered from Parinas were six heat-sealed plastic sachets of suspected shabu weighing around 70 grams, with an estimated street value of ₱476,000, along with marked buy-bust money.

Police Brig. Gen. Ponce Rogelio Peñones Jr., chief of Police Regional Office 3, emphasized that the arrest reflects their sustained campaign against illegal drugs. “This arrest underscores our intelligence-driven operations. We remain firm, lawful, and consistently focused on protecting communities,” Peñones said.

Investigators believe the illegal drugs confiscated from Parinas may have originated from suppliers in the National Capital Region and Bulacan. Charges for violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, are being prepared against him.

The arrest of a former local chief executive has drawn public attention, highlighting the persistence of illegal drug networks in Central Luzon and the continuing efforts of law enforcement to dismantle them.

From Mayor to Street Pusher

This arrest hits a nerve for many Filipinos, and it should.

A former mayor, once entrusted with public order and safety, now caught selling illegal drugs at street level. It shatters the tired excuse that corruption and criminality sit only at the margins of society. They don’t. They’ve worn barongs, held microphones, and signed documents in air-conditioned offices.

What makes this harder to swallow is the familiar pattern. Officials talk tough about law and order while some quietly operate on the other side of the line. The public is asked to trust institutions, yet time and again, it’s insiders who expose how thin that trust can be.

This case also raises an uncomfortable question. How many others slipped through while in power? How many only become “street pushers” once the title is gone and the protection fades?

Justice should not wait for retirement, defeat, or loss of influence. Accountability must be constant, not selective. If this arrest proves anything, it’s that the fight against illegal drugs cannot stop at the poor, the nameless, or the powerless. It must climb higher, or it means very little at all.