Case Digest (G.R. No. 224297)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Edgardo Royol y Asico, G.R. No. 224297, February 13, 2019, Supreme Court Third Division, Leonen, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee is the People of the Philippines; the accused-appellant is Edgardo A. Royol.On November 27, 2007, a confidential informant reportedly told police that Royol was selling marijuana in Barangay Lourdes, Bamban, Tarlac. A buy-bust team was organized with Police Officer 2 Mark Anthony Baquiran as poseur-buyer and Inspector Sonny Los Banos Silva and others as arresting officers. PO2 Baquiran was given two marked P500 bills and a pre-arranged head-scratching signal. At a bridge in Barangay Lourdes, Royol allegedly sold a half-brick of marijuana for the marked money; PO2 Baquiran signaled, and members of the buy-bust team arrested Royol. The brick was said to have been marked at the Tarlac Provincial Police Office and brought by PO2 Baquiran to the Tarlac Provincial Crime Laboratory, where it tested positive for marijuana.
Royol denied the sale. He testified that while collecting garbage he was accosted by two men, handcuffed, searched, brought to Makabulos, shown marijuana and asked if it was his, and that he did not consent to or participate in any sale. The prosecution presented two witnesses: PO2 Baquiran (poseur-buyer) and Inspector Silva (arresting officer).
The Regional Trial Court (Branch 66, Capas, Tarlac) convicted Royol of violating Section 5 of Republic Act No. 9165 (the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) in a Decision dated December 13, 2010, sentencing him to life imprisonment and a P500,000 fine. The Court of Appe...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the prosecution prove beyond reasonable doubt that Edgardo A. Royol violated Section 5 of R.A. No. 9165 (illegal sale of dangerous dru...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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