Case Digest (G.R. No. L-68523-24)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. William Eslabon y Martinez, Wilson Eslabon y Martinez, and Roman Bitauag y Lacangan, G.R. Nos. 68523-24. November 10, 1986, the Supreme Court First Division, Melencio-Herrera, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee was the People of the Philippines; the defendants-appellants were William Eslabon y Martinez, Wilson Eslabon y Martinez, and Roman Bitauag y Lacangan. The accused were tried in the Regional Trial Court of Aparri, Cagayan, Branch VIII, on separate informations charging Illegal Possession of Firearms (Cr. Case No. VIII-296) and Drug Pushing in violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act (R.A. No. 6425, as amended) (Cr. Case No. VIII-298).The prosecution presented facts that on the evening of July 18, 1983 Captain Teocencio T. Abrigo of the 117th PC Company directed a test-buy operation against William after surveillance suggested he was selling prohibited drugs. Two enlisted men (De la Cruz and Cabangbang), accompanied by another (Santos), went to the Eslabon residence with a marked P20.00 bill and pretended to buy marijuana; William allegedly instructed Bitauag to fetch five sticks from a room and Wilson received the money while holding a gun. The undercover men reported back and, about forty-five minutes later, a raiding team led by Capt. Abrigo announced its presence, which prompted William to flee upstairs and later surrender; the raid allegedly produced 24 additional sticks of marijuana, a sub‑machine gun, a hand grenade, various ammunitions, and the marked bill.
The five sticks initially bought were sent to the PC laboratory but were lost when the laboratory burned on September 26, 1983. During trial, by joint motion of prosecution and defense, the court ordered five sticks taken from the 24 seized sticks to be examined; the chemistry report tested positive for marijuana. At trial the accused denied the sale, contested the legality of the search (no warrant), alleged planting of evidence, and reported maltreatment while in custody. Neighbors and other defense witnesses gave testimony inconsistent with the prosecution’s account of the raid and seizure.
The Trial Court acquitted the accused of Illegal Possession of Firearms because the search was held illegal for lack of a warrant, but convicted all three of Drug Pushing and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua, a P20,000 fine, and costs. The ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Were the marijuana sticks and other items used to convict the accused admissible in evidence despite the trial court having found the house search illegal (warrantless)?
- Should the trial court’s credibility determinations be disturbed given the defense claim that evidence was planted and that prosecution wi...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)