Facts:
Jake Mesa y San Juan (
petitioner) was charged in the RTC of Binangonan, Rizal, Branch 67, in Criminal Case No. 12-0647, for
Violation of Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165. The Information alleged that on or about November 25, 2012, in Binangonan, Rizal, petitioner, not being lawfully authorized, willfully, unlawfully, and knowingly possessed and had in his custody and control
0.05 gram of white crystalline substance contained in one heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet, which tested positive for
methamphetamine hydrochloride or
“shabu.” Upon arraignment, petitioner pleaded
“not guilty” and the case proceeded to trial. The prosecution presented that on November 25, 2012 at about 8:30 a.m., Police Officer 1 Rommel Bilog (
PO1 Bilog) received information from a confidential informant that alias
“Sapyot” was selling illegal drugs in Barangay Mahabang Parang, Binangonan, Rizal. PO1 Bilog and Police Officer 1 Raul Paran (
PO1 Paran) verified the report with the informant, and they observed Sapyot coming from a house and being approached by another man to whom Sapyot handed a small plastic sachet. When the officers attempted to advance, firecrackers suddenly exploded, prompting Sapyot and his companion to run. The officers were able to apprehend petitioner, who was later identified as the companion, and right then and there they ordered him to empty his pockets, which resulted in the confiscation of a plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance. The sachet was marked with
“JAK,” and an inventory was conducted, allegedly witnessed by Cesar Barquilla (
Barquilla), a media representative. Petitioner was brought to the police station, and the seized item was sent to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory in Taytay, Rizal for examination; the Chemistry Report yielded positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride. The defense, on the other hand, narrated that petitioner arrived at around noon at the house of Eric Mesa, where he heard an explosion, saw armed men running toward the neighboring house of Sapyot, and later witnessed police officers chase Sapyot; when they failed to catch Sapyot, they allegedly accosted petitioner, threatened that he would be charged if they could not catch Sapyot, handcuffed him to a steel bar for three days, and forced him to hold a gun allegedly recovered from Sapyot. The RTC convicted petitioner on February 28, 2017, finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentencing him to an indeterminate penalty of
twelve (12) years and one (1) day as minimum to
thirteen (13) years as maximum, with a
fine of P300,000.00, and revoked his bail. The RTC also ordered the drug samples to be forwarded to the PDEA for disposition. Petitioner appealed, arguing that his
warrantless arrest was illegal and that the
chain of custody requirements, specifically the procedure under
Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165, were not followed. The Court of Appeals (
CA) affirmed the RTC on March 23, 2018, ruling that there was
substantial compliance with the chain of custody rules, and later denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration on July 11, 2018. Hence, petitioner filed a
Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45.
Issues:
Whether the CA committed reversible error in affirming petitioner’s conviction under
Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165, considering (a) the alleged inadmissibility of the seized drugs as fruit of an illegal arrest, (b) alleged irregularities in marking and the inventory conducted over the seized item, and (c) the alleged failure of the prosecution to overcome the
presumption of innocence.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: