Title
Pagal y Lavarias vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 251894
Decision Date
Mar 2, 2022
Johnny Pagal acquitted as prosecution failed to prove unbroken chain of custody for seized drugs, compromising evidence integrity.
illegal possession
dangerous drugs
prosecution failure
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 251894)

Criminal Charges and the Allegations in the Informations

In Criminal Case No. L-11269, Pagal was charged with violating Section 11, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 for alleged possession of a total of 0.02 gram, 0.02 gram, 0.03 gram, and 0.03 gram of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), seized from his residence during a search and seizure conducted pursuant to a search warrant issued by a competent court. The Information alleged that Pagal was “without authority” and that the seizure involved shabu kept in his residence.

In Criminal Case No. L-11270, Pagal was charged with violating Section 12, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 for alleged possession of one (1) open small transparent sachet containing shabu residue and several pieces of drug paraphernalia, including an improvised lamp, two improvised scoopers, and two improvised tooters, which were alleged to be equipment fit for introducing shabu into the human body system. The Information similarly stated that the paraphernalia were seized from his residence during the same search.

Trial on the Merits and Prosecution Evidence

Pagal pleaded not guilty, and the case proceeded to trial. The prosecution presented three witnesses: Police Officer 1 Emmanuel A. Saringan (PO1 Saringan), Barangay Kagawad Manolo Manuel (Kagawad Manuel), and Police Chief Inspector Myrna Malojo Todeno (Chief Inspector Todeno).

The prosecution narrated that on October 14, 2016, Executive Judge Maria Laarni Parayno issued Search Warrant No. 33-2016-L. On October 17, 2016, the search team briefed at 4:00 a.m. at the Lingayen Police Station. The search team later arrived at Pagal’s house at around 5:00 a.m., and when Chief Inspector Pagaduan announced their presence, Pagal came out of the house. PO3 Naungayan showed and explained the search warrant to Pagal. After Kagawad Manuel arrived, the search commenced.

In the living room, PO1 Saringan found atop the television a Marlboro cigarette pack containing four heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets with white crystalline substances. He also found an improvised lamp, two lighters, a rectangular plastic box containing a small open transparent sachet with white crystalline residue, fifteen aluminum foil strips, and two improvised scoops and two improvised tooters on top of a small table inside the room of Pagal’s nephew.

During the search, Police Officer 1 Oliver Sinaban contacted Emil Toledo (Toledo) of Northwest Sun News and a representative from the Department of Justice. Toledo eventually arrived only when the search was already ongoing. The prosecution stated that PO1 Saringan marked the items in the presence of Pagal, Kagawad Manuel, and Toledo. The four sachets were marked “JLP1” to “JLP4,” and the paraphernalia were marked “JLP5” to “JLP27.” Still in the presence of the witnesses, PO1 Saringan allegedly conducted the inventory and thereafter brought Pagal to the police station.

The seized items were later presented before the court that issued the warrant. They were then brought to the Pangasinan Provincial Crime Laboratory Office in Lingayen for chemical analysis. Chief Inspector Todeno testified that specimens corresponding to the marked drug items tested positive for shabu. She placed the items in a brown envelope, signed it, and turned it over to the evidence custodian for safekeeping.

Defense Evidence and Theory

Pagal denied the charges. As the lone defense witness, he claimed he did not own the seized items. He testified that at about 5:00 a.m. on October 17, 2016, he was sleeping on the first floor when three police officers knocked at the door of his nephew’s room on the second floor. He said they ordered him, along with his nephew and niece, to go out of the house at gunpoint. He said he was handcuffed and told to sign a paper. According to Pagal, the police remained inside until Kagawad Manuel arrived and then searched the house.

Pagal asserted that shabu was found in a cabinet in the living room within a Marlboro cigarette case that he did not own. He admitted he smoked but claimed he used a different brand. He maintained that after he was made to sit in the living room, the search team checked other rooms and eventually discovered the drug paraphernalia in his nephew’s room. He was later detained at the police station.

Ruling of the Regional Trial Court

The Regional Trial Court convicted Pagal in Criminal Case No. L-11269 for illegal possession of dangerous drugs, and acquitted him in Criminal Case No. L-11270 involving drug paraphernalia. The RTC found the elements of illegal possession established beyond reasonable doubt and applied the doctrine of constructive possession, holding that exclusive control over the premises was not necessary. It gave greater weight to the prosecution evidence and treated Pagal’s defenses of denial, planting of evidence, and frame-up as unsubstantiated. It also found substantial compliance with chain-of-custody requirements under Section 21 and concluded that the integrity of the seized drugs had been preserved.

However, the RTC invalidated the seizure of the drug paraphernalia for failure to comply with the two-witness requirement in executing a search warrant under Rule 126, Section 8 of the Rules of Court, and applied the exclusionary rule to acquit Pagal for drug paraphernalia.

Ruling of the Court of Appeals

On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC conviction in Criminal Case No. L-11269. It held that, absent contrary evidence, Pagal was presumed to have knowledge and full control and dominion over items seized from his house. It dismissed Pagal’s denial and frame-up defenses for failure to rebut the presumption of regularity in police performance.

The Court of Appeals also rejected Pagal’s argument that his acquittal on the invalid search of the nephew’s room tainted the search in the living room. It reasoned that Pagal himself was in the living room when the shabu sachets were found. It also ruled that Pagal waived objections to the search warrant’s validity when he failed to challenge it before the trial court.

On chain of custody, the Court of Appeals found no significant break. It considered the marking and other deviations non-fatal, including the marking of seized items outside the house and the failure to indicate date, time, and place. It also found that the Chain of Custody Form was sufficient and that testimony for the fourth link was not indispensable. It acknowledged that the inventory was inadmissible due to its signing without Pagal’s counsel but concluded that this did not affect the integrity and identity of the corpus delicti.

Issues Raised Before the Supreme Court

Pagal argued that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He assailed the search warrant as invalid for lack of particularity regarding the area to be searched and alleged that the executive judge did not personally examine the applicant or witnesses. He further contended that the prosecution failed to prove he knew of the drugs found in a common area and that the discovery of paraphernalia in his nephew’s room, where he was allegedly unlawfully subjected to an improper search, undermined the presumption of regularity and violated his constitutional rights.

He also challenged the chain of custody, asserting defects in the first link because marking occurred outside his house and because the marking procedure allegedly did not follow protocol. He argued that the second and third links were defective due to the absence of the designated investigating officer and due to an alleged unaccounted time between seizure and turnover to the laboratory. He also pointed out a discrepancy between a Custodial Receipt of Confiscated Items and the Chain of Custody Form, and he contended that the fourth link was not shown because no testimony established how the evidence custodian preserved the integrity of the seized items before court presentation.

The Court framed the main issue as whether Pagal’s guilt for illegal possession had been established beyond reasonable doubt.

Preliminary Issue on Search Warrant Requisites and Waiver

The Court addressed Pagal’s contention that the search warrant lacked the requisite evidence that the executive judge had personally examined the applicant and witnesses under Rule 126, Section 4. The Court held that Pagal raised this argument only for the first time before it. For that reason, it considered the objection waived for failure to raise it before the trial court.

On the substantive claim regarding particularity of the place to be searched, the Court applied doctrine that technical precision was not required so long as there was reasonable particularity and certainty as to the identity of the place to be searched and seized, and that the warrant should not amount to a roving commission. It held that the search warrant specifically identified the person searched—“Johnny Pagal y Lavarias,” described as a resident of Barangay Basing, Lingayen, Pangasinan—and qualified the ownership of the house to be searched in a manner excluding others. The Court noted that Pagal did not deny that the house searched was his. Accordingly, it upheld the validity of the search warrant.

Elements of Illegal Possession and Presumption of Constructive Possession

The Court reiterated that illegal possession of dangerous drugs required proof that: (one) the accused was in possession of an item identified as a prohibited or regulated drug; (two) such possession was unauthorized by law; and (three) the accused freely and consciously possessed the drug. It recognized that illegal possession is mala prohibita, thus criminal intent is not an essential element. Still, it held that the prosecution must prove knowledge of the existence and character of the drugs as an internal act, which may be presumed from constructive possession when drugs are found in premises under the accused’s control and dominion, absent satisfactory explanation.

The Court accepted that the seized shabu wa

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