Case Digest (G.R. No. 97949)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Armando Gireng y Pinto, G.R. No. 97949, February 01, 1995, the Supreme Court First Division, Bellosillo, J., writing for the Court. The accused-appellant is Armando Gireng y Pinto (alias "Mandy"); the plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines.On 24 May 1989, members of the Philippine Constabulary Narcotics Command (NARCOM) in Cabanatuan City received information from a confidential informant identifying a suspected drug pusher at DS Garcia, Cabanatuan City. PC soldier Romeo de Jesus relayed the tip to a superior and planned a buy‑bust with Sgt. Teofilo Solis as poseur‑buyer and the informant accompanying him. De Jesus gave Solis two marked P10 bills; Solis placed a dot inside the "0" on the upper right corner of each bill. De Jesus positioned himself 15–20 meters away as backup.
Solis and the informant knocked on appellant's door; appellant came out and handed Solis four plastic tea bags, and Solis gave appellant the two P10 bills. Solis signaled the completion of the transaction by scratching his head. De Jesus then arrested appellant and recovered the marked bills from his right‑front pocket; the marijuana was already in Solis' possession. The seized items (four tea bags and a small roach) were tested that day at the NARCOM chemical laboratory and later at Camp Olivas, both yielding positive results for marijuana.
Appellant testified that he was asleep when de Jesus and Solis awoke and dragged him out while looking for someone named "Larry," denying that any sale occurred; his mother purportedly tried to prevent his removal but did not testify. The trial court found the prosecution witnesses credible and, on 18 March 1991, convicted appellant of violating Sec. 4, Art. II of R.A. 6425 (The Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972), sentencing him to life imprisonment and a P20,000 fine.
Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court (mode of review: petition from conviction on appeal). He challenged sufficiency of proof of sale, asserted that the poseur‑buyer and informant were not presented and that the marked bills and laboratory/custodial docu...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Procedural: Was the prosecution's failure to present the poseur‑buyer and the confidential informant fatal to its case?
- Procedural: Were the marked bills, the certificate of field test, and the "pagpapatunay" admissible in evidence?
- Procedural/Substantive: Was filing the information before laboratory confirmation improper?
- Substantive: Did the prosecution prove illegal sale of marijuana beyond reasonable doubt?
- Substantive: What is the correct penalty under R.A. 6425 as amended (by ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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