Title
Palo y De Gula vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 192075
Decision Date
Feb 10, 2016
Petitioner convicted for illegal possession of 0.03g shabu; chain of custody upheld despite minor procedural lapses; penalty modified under Indeterminate Sentence Law.
illegal possession of shabu
prosecution
chain of custody

Case Summary (G.R. No. 192075)

Factual Background

Petitioner and Daguman were charged in an Information for conspiring to possess 0.03 gram of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride (shabu) without authority of law. The prosecution’s narrative began with the apprehension of both accused by police officers during patrol activity in a dark alley along Mercado Street, Gen. T. De Leon, Valenzuela City.

Police Officer 3 Miguel Capangyarihan (PO3 Capangyarihan) testified that around 6:30 p.m. on July 24, 2002, he was walking with Police Officer 1 Ernesto Santos (PO1 Santos) and with a boy who was a victim of a stabbing incident. As they approached the petitioner’s direction from a distance of about five to seven meters, PO3 Capangyarihan saw petitioner and Daguman talking. He further testified that petitioner held a plastic sachet and was showing it to Daguman, and that, believing the sachet contained shabu, he immediately approached, held, and recovered the plastic sachet from petitioner’s hand. PO3 Capangyarihan then arrested petitioner on the spot. Daguman was likewise arrested by PO1 Santos.

After arrest, the police allegedly informed both accused of their constitutional rights and brought them, along with the seized item, to the police station. PO3 Capangyarihan testified that he marked the seized plastic sachet with petitioner’s initials “RPD.” The parties later stipulated that SPO1 Reynaldo Tapar (SPO1 Tapar) received from PO3 Capangyarihan one heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet bearing “RPD” marking, which was marked as Exhibit “B.” The parties also stipulated that the letter-request for laboratory examination was prepared by SPO1 Tapar, and that the seized item and letter-request were transmitted to Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory—Northern Police District Crime Laboratory Office, and then received by P/Insp. Juanita Sioson (P/Insp. Sioson).

The defense at trial sought to create doubt through the claim that petitioner failed to appear at the scheduled arraignment on September 23, 2002 because of a mental disorder. The RTC ordered the family of petitioner to bring him to the National Center for Mental Health for psychiatric evaluation. After the court received notice that petitioner was fit for trial, his arraignment was rescheduled to March 10, 2003, at which time he entered a plea of not guilty.

Trial Court Proceedings

At trial, the prosecution called PO3 Capangyarihan as its sole witness because the testimonies of the other listed police witnesses were dispensed with upon stipulation. PO3 Capangyarihan’s testimony, together with stipulated facts on handling and transfer of the seized item, formed the evidentiary base for proving the offense.

The prosecution introduced the chemical findings through P/Insp. Sioson as evidenced by her written Chemistry Report No. D-706-02, as reflected in the record. The report stated that the submitted specimen was a heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet bearing the “RPD” marking containing 0.03 gram of a white crystalline substance, and that qualitative examination yielded a positive result for Methylamphetamine hydrochloride, concluding that the specimen contained shabu.

In the same case, Daguman was acquitted because the RTC found insufficiency of evidence as to him. Specifically, it was stipulated that PO1 Santos arrested Daguman but found no shabu in his possession at the time of his arrest.

The RTC convicted petitioner after ruling that all elements of illegal possession of dangerous drugs were sufficiently established and that petitioner’s arrest fell within the circumstances of warrantless arrest justified by Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, as it was claimed to have been in flagrante delicto. The RTC also applied the presumption of regularity in the performance of police duties.

The Parties' Contentions

Petitioner’s defense consisted principally of denial. He testified that he could no longer recall the exact date and time of his arrest, and that when police officers passed by him and Daguman during the alleged raid, they arrested and frisked them but found nothing. He insisted that he had no prior involvement in drug-related incidents.

Daguman, who testified for the defense, denied the accusation and narrated a different version of events. He claimed he went to play cara y cruz at petitioner’s place. Instead of gambling, he said he was invited to look for shabu, and they allegedly met a person named Joseph. Daguman stated that while petitioner and Joseph were selecting sachets, police officers approached them. He claimed petitioner went berserk, and all three were arrested. Daguman also acknowledged that several sachets were confiscated from Joseph, while one small sachet and a P100.00 bill were allegedly recovered from petitioner, but he categorically insisted that no shabu was taken from him.

On appellate review before the CA and later before the Supreme Court, petitioner raised two principal issues: whether the CA erred in affirming guilt despite alleged evidentiary deficiencies, and whether the CA erred in affirming despite alleged non-compliance with chain of custody requirements under Section 21, Article II of R.A. No. 9165.

The Parties' Contention on Chain of Custody and Integrity

Petitioner argued that the arresting officers’ alleged failure to comply with statutory and regulatory directives—particularly those relating to markings, physical inventory, and photograph of the seized item—resulted in failure to preserve the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized drug. He contended that these lapses should have led to acquittal.

The Court of Appeals rejected the argument. It held that the chain of custody was unbroken from the time the sachet was confiscated at the crime scene until it was brought to the crime laboratory. It further ruled that failure to strictly comply with directives under Section 21, Article II of R.A. No. 9165 was not necessarily fatal where justifiable grounds existed and the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized item were properly preserved.

Appellate Court Ruling and Subsequent Denial of Reconsideration

The CA affirmed the RTC conviction. It accorded credibility to PO3 Capangyarihan’s testimony and applied the presumption of regularity to the arresting officer’s performance of duty. It disregarded petitioner’s denial as self-serving and uncorroborated. When petitioner moved for reconsideration, the CA denied it through a Resolution dated April 14, 2010.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court addressed petitioner’s conviction under Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165, which penalizes possession of dangerous drugs without authority of law. The Court reiterated that for conviction, the prosecution must prove: first, that the accused had possession of an item identified as a prohibited or regulated drug; second, that such possession was not authorized by law; and third, that the accused freely and consciously possessed the drug.

Applying these elements, the Court found that the prosecution evidence established that petitioner was caught possessing a plastic sachet containing 0.03 gram of shabu. It gave weight to PO3 Capangyarihan’s testimony that petitioner was holding, scrutinizing, and from whom the plastic sachet was confiscated, and that the arrest took place in flagrante delicto. The Court also relied on the laboratory findings showing that the sachet tested positive for shabu and that the seized item contained the quantity alleged in the Information. It further noted the absence of any showing that petitioner was lawfully authorized to possess the dangerous drug.

On the third element of conscious possession, the Court found support in the evidence that Daguman admitted petitioner intentionally sought and succeeded in getting hold of shabu. In this way, the Court concluded that petitioner knowingly possessed the shabu without legal authority.

On the credibility of the police officer, the Court agreed with the trial court. It held that PO3 Capangyarihan’s testimony was clear, straightforward, and consistent with the documentary and physical evidence presented. It found no record basis showing improper motive. Accordingly, the Court upheld the presumption of regularity.

The Court then turned to the corpus delicti and the chain of custody rules. It emphasized that in drug cases, the corpus delicti refers to the dangerous drug itself. The Court explained that the chain of custody rule exists to ensure that the drug presented in court is the same drug recovered from the accused. In this context, it discussed Section 21(1), Article II of R.A. No. 9165, and Section 21(a), Article II of the Implementing Rules and Regulations. The provisions require immediate physical inventory and photograph of the seized items in the presence of the accused and certain required witnesses, and they recognize that non-compliance may be excused only if justifiable grounds exist and the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items are preserved.

The Court rejected petitioner’s chain-of-custody challenge. It held that marking at the police station instead of at the place of seizure did not compromise integrity because jurisprudence recognizes that “marking upon immediate confiscation” includes marking performed at the nearest police station or office of the apprehending team. It similarly held that the absence of physical inventory and photograph did not automatically render the evidence inadmissible. The Court stressed that what is crucial is the preservation of integrity and evidentiary value.

The Court found that, based on the record, the integrity of the seized drug was preserved. It relied on evidence showing that immediately after both petitioner and the plastic sachet were brought to the police station, PO3 Capangyarihan marked the sachet with “RPD” and turned it over to SPO1 Tapar. SPO1 Tapar then forwarded the marked sachet bearing “RPD” and the letter-request to PO2 Isla, who in turn delivered them to P/Insp. Sioson for laboratory exam

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