Maasim mayor Lopez surrenders to Pacquiao

Maasim Mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr surrenders just hours after authorities discovered illegal drugs in his home

MANILA, Philippines – Hours after a raid on his home yielded illegal drugs and a supposed list of drug personalities, Maasim Mayor Aniceto Lopez Jr of Sarangani surrendered to authorities on Friday, October 6.

Lopez surrendered to Senator Manny Pacquiao at the lawmaker's mansion in General Santos City. The senator then turned him over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, PDEA chief Aaron Aquino told Rappler in a phone interview.

The PDEA was already waiting at Pacquiao's home when Lopez surrendered. The turnover was done in a matter of minutes.

Aquino said that the mayor surrendered at around 12:30 pm, and showed "no resistance" in turning himself in. He earlier said the mayor had sent feelers that he would surrender around lunchtime.

The PDEA chief said that Lopez's case will be handled by courts in Sarangani as the raid was done there.

At 3:30 am on Friday, a joint team of the PDEA, Philippine National Police Special Action Force, and the Philippine Army, conducted a raid on the Sarangani home of the mayor, but he and his family were not there.

At the mayor's home, authorities reportedly found one kilo of shabu with an estimated value of P5 million, two firearms, explosives, and flasks and vials believed to be used to manufacture drugs.

Operatives also found 100 tablets of suspected Ecstacy and a “green book” which supposedly contained proof that Lopez was a "drug lord."