Title
Castil y Alvero vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 253930
Decision Date
Jul 13, 2022
Petitioner convicted for illegal possession of a firearm during a buy-bust operation; warrantless arrest and search deemed valid, judicial admission of lacking license upheld.

Case Summary (G.R. No. 253930)

Petitioner’s Charges and Procedural History

Petitioner was charged with violation of Section 28(a) and (e) of Republic Act No. 10591 (Illegal Possession of Firearms) for possessing the Norinco 9 mm pistol without a license. He was separately charged under Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act No. 9165 (Illegal Sale and Possession of Dangerous Drugs) but this appeal concerns only the firearms charge. After pleading not guilty at arraignment, petitioner was convicted by the Regional Trial Court (March 21, 2018), affirmed by the Court of Appeals (October 14, 2019; resolution dated October 9, 2020), and his petition for review was denied by the Supreme Court (July 13, 2022).

Prosecution’s Version

Acting on a tip from a confidential informant, police conducted a buy‐bust operation targeting Sandra Young. At the sting, Young arrived in a black Honda CRY accompanied by petitioner. Inside the vehicle, PO1 Rebustes handed marked money to petitioner, who returned a sachet of suspected shabu. Unable to signal arrest, Rebustes identified himself as a police officer. Young attempted to escape, felled into a gutter at Quezon City Circle, and fled. Petitioner wrestled with Rebustes until back‐up officers arrived. A search incidental to arrest revealed on petitioner’s person the Norinco 9 mm pistol with five live rounds and two sachets of shabu; additional sachets were recovered from the vehicle. All items were marked and later confirmed by laboratory examination.

Defense’s Version

Petitioner claimed he had merely responded to a friend whose car had a flat tire near the Commission on Audit Building. He alleged that unidentified persons whisked him into a van, asked irrelevant questions about firearm ownership without presenting any weapon, and then arrested him upon arrival at the police station.

RTC Decision

The trial court found the prosecution’s witnesses credible, held that petitioner’s denials lacked truth, and convicted him of Illegal Possession of Firearms under RA 10591. The court sentenced him to ten (10) years and one (1) day to ten (10) years, eight (8) months, and one (1) day of prision mayor, applying the medium period as minimum and the maximum period as maximum.

Court of Appeals Decision

The CA affirmed the conviction, ruling that:

  1. Petitioner’s warrantless arrest was valid under Section 5(a) of Rule 113, Rules of Court, as he was caught in flagrante delicto committing Illegal Sale of Dangerous Drugs.
  2. The subsequent search incidental to that lawful arrest rendered the firearm admissible.
  3. All elements of Illegal Possession of Firearms were proven: (a) actual existence of the Norinco 9 mm pistol, identified by serial number and markings; (b) lack of a license, established by petitioner’s own admission under cross‐examination.
    Minor inconsistencies in PO1 Rebustes’s testimony were deemed immaterial.

Parties’ Arguments

Petitioner argued that no legitimate buy‐bust occurred, rendering his arrest and the search unlawful, and that judicial admission of lack of license without a negative certification from the PNP was insufficient to sustain conviction. The Office of the Solicitor General countered that the buy‐bust was valid, the arrest lawful, and petitioner’s judicial admission conclusively proved lack of authorization.

Issue

Whether petitioner’s conviction for Illegal Possession of Firearms under Section 28(a) and (e) of RA 10591 is valid, considering the warrantless arrest, search, and proof of lack of license.

Legal Analysis

Validity of Warrantless Arrest and Search

Under the 1987 Constitution (Art. III, Sec. 2) and Section 5(a), Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, a warrantless arrest is lawful when the offender is caught in flagrante delicto. Here, petitioner was actively engaged in a buy‐bust transaction for illegal drugs with a marked bill, personally witnessed by PO1 Rebustes. The ensuing search incidental to a lawful arrest yielded the firearm and ammunitions, which are therefore admissible.

Elements of Illegal Possession of Firearms

RA 10591, Section 28, paragraphs (a) and (e), penalizes the unlawful possession of a small arm and increases the penalty by one degree if the firearm is loaded. The two essential elements are:

  1. Existence of the subject firearm, positively identified by serial number and markings placed by the arresting officer; and
  2. Lack of a licen



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