Title
People vs. Cabellon y Cabanero
Case
G.R. No. 207229
Decision Date
Sep 20, 2017
Cabellon acquitted due to chain of custody lapses in a 2006 drug case; prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
drug sale case
acquits accused
unbroken chain of custody

Case Summary (G.R. No. 207229)

Factual Background: The Buy-Bust and Arrest

The prosecution evidence showed that on April 13, 2006, police officers planned a buy-bust operation to capture the accused in the act of selling drugs. At about 7:30 p.m., police officers including PO2 Junar Rey Barangan, PO3 Rey Bucao, and PO3 Reynato Abellar proceeded to Sitio Jawod, Barangay Bulacao, Talisay City, with a poseur-buyer designated to transact with Cabellon.

According to testimony, the poseur-buyer negotiated with Cabellon in an alley while the police team observed from a distance. When the poseur-buyer made a pre-approved signal—scratching his head—the police officers descended upon the accused. Cabellon then ran away upon noticing the approaching officers. The accused fled and hid inside a nearby house, and the police officers followed. Inside the house, the police encountered three men sniffing shabu, and they apprehended one of them while the other two escaped. The officers then arrested Cabellon inside the house, frisked him, and recovered marked bills from him, consisting of P100.00 and P50.00.

After the arrest, the poseur-buyer turned over the sachet of shabu purchased from Cabellon to PO3 Bucao. On the same date, a sachet marked “SCC 04/13/06” was turned over to the PNP Crime Laboratory for examination. The request for laboratory examination was received by PO1 Domael. P/S Insp. Mutchit G. Salinas testified that she executed Chemistry Report No. D-698-2006, examining a heat-sealed plastic sachet labelled “SCC 04/13/06.” The chemistry report stated that the specimen weighed 0.03 grams and tested positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu).

Accused’s Version and Defense

The defense was anchored on denial. Cabellon testified that on April 13, 2006, at around 3:30 p.m., he was buying barbecue when he saw his aunt crying. He related that he learned she had fought with someone and that he slapped the person with whom she had an altercation. He claimed that the lady later warned him that he would be arrested for what he did.

Cabellon further alleged that later that evening, at the barbecue station, police officers arrested him and conducted a bodily search, but nothing was recovered from him. He stated he was not informed of the offense he supposedly violated. He also claimed that after he was brought to the station, he was asked to call someone and to pay for his release or for the settlement of the case. As he could not pay or provide a gift and refused to make the call, he was allegedly charged and a case was filed against him.

Trial Court Proceedings and Conviction

The RTC found that the prosecution proved the elements of the illegal sale of shabu. It credited the testimonies of PO3 Bucao and PO2 Barangan, who identified the sachet sold by the accused to the poseur-buyer. The RTC held that the chain of custody, from arrest to presentation in court, was sufficiently accounted for.

The RTC thus convicted Cabellon and imposed life imprisonment, with a fine of P500,000.00, and ordered forfeiture of the relevant exhibit in favor of the State for proper disposition.

Appellate Review by the Court of Appeals

Cabellon appealed to the Court of Appeals, raising several alleged errors. He contended that his arrest and conviction were invalid due to an alleged violation of the right against unreasonable searches. He also argued that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt and challenged the prosecution’s reliance on weak defense evidence.

Among his central appellate arguments, Cabellon asserted that the supposed illegal sale was not proven because the poseur-buyer was not presented to attest to the sale. He also maintained that the police officers were positioned at a distance that prevented them from actually witnessing the sale, leaving their reliance to the poseur-buyer’s signal.

He further argued that the arresting team did not comply with Section 21, paragraph 1 of Republic Act No. 9165, specifically requiring that immediately after seizure the drugs be physically inventoried and photographed in the presence of the accused (or representative/counsel), a media representative or representative of the Department of Justice, and an elected public official. He claimed the prosecution also failed to show an unbroken chain of custody, noting that PO3 Bucao testified that the poseur-buyer handed the sachet to him after Cabellon was arrested, but he did not testify as to whom it was given next or who marked it. He added that he was not informed of his constitutional rights upon arrest and was not informed of the reason for his arrest or detention.

The prosecution responded that the poseur-buyer’s failure to testify was not fatal because PO3 Bucao testified he saw the sale. It claimed substantial compliance with Section 21 of Republic Act No. 9165, arguing that integrity and evidentiary value were preserved and that marking and inventorying at the spot were allegedly impossible due to the circumstances of arrest. It also maintained that Cabellon’s Section 21 issues were raised only on appeal and that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses established Cabellon’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal and affirmed the conviction. It held that the elements of illegal sale were proven. It also downplayed the necessity of presenting the poseur-buyer in court, reasoning that the testimonies of the apprehending team had already sufficiently established the sale. It further applied a more flexible approach to the requirements of Section 21, given the circumstances and the appellate posture that the defense allegedly did not question integrity during trial.

The Core Issue on Supreme Court Review

The Supreme Court framed the single issue as whether Cabellon’s guilt was proven beyond reasonable doubt despite the non-observance of the required procedure under Section 21 of Republic Act No. 9165.

In addressing this issue, the Court reiterated that to sustain a conviction for illegal sale of dangerous drugs, the prosecution must establish two elements: (1) proof that the transaction or sale took place, and (2) the presentation in court of the corpus delicti or the illicit drug as evidence.

Supreme Court Ruling on Proof of the Sale

The Court acknowledged that the prosecution evidence was sufficient to prove that a transaction occurred. PO3 Bucao and PO2 Barangan testified that they saw the accused talk with the poseur-buyer prior to the poseur-buyer’s pre-approved signal, and that marked money was recovered from Cabellon. The poseur-buyer also allegedly turned over a sachet of shabu to PO3 Bucao after the arrest signal.

However, the Court ruled that proof of the transaction alone was not enough. For conviction, the identity of the corpus delicti had to be clearly established through an exacting chain of custody and safeguards on the seized drug’s custody and marking. The Court emphasized that narcotics are not readily identifiable and are susceptible to alteration, tampering, or contamination, which makes the chain-of-custody requirement an essential method of authentication.

Chain of Custody and Section 21 Non-Compliance as the Basis for Acquittal

The Supreme Court held that the prosecution failed to convincingly prove the identity of the shabu allegedly seized from the accused. It applied the jurisprudential teaching that the corpus delicti in prosecutions under Republic Act No. 9165 is the dangerous drug itself, and that the chain of custody must remove unnecessary doubts regarding the drug’s identity and integrity.

The Court scrutinized the testimony of PO3 Bucao, who claimed the poseur-buyer turned over one sachet and that he kept it until turning it over to PO3 Abellar, who then prepared the request for laboratory examination. Yet the Court found that PO3 Bucao failed to identify who placed the markings on the sachet, stating he was “not sure who made the marking.” Similarly, PO2 Barangan could not confirm who made the markings, though he recognized that the sachet shown in court appeared to be the one he was shown by PO3 Bucao.

The Court also relied on the doctrine articulating the four links of an unbroken chain of custody: seizure and marking, turnover to the investigating officer, turnover to the forensic chemist, and turnover and submission to the court. It found a noticeable gap because the prosecution did not present evidence that any of the three apprehending officers actually marked the sachet.

Further, the Court observed that the prosecution did not show that the seized sachet was inventoried and photographed

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