Title
People vs. Enumerable y De Villa
Case
G.R. No. 207993
Decision Date
Jan 21, 2015
Accused acquitted as prosecution failed to prove unbroken chain of custody of seized drugs, compromising their integrity and identity, creating reasonable doubt.
drug charges
unbroken chain of custody
confiscated illegal drug

Case Summary (G.R. No. 207993)

Information and Material Allegations

The Information dated 27 August 2004 alleged that on or about 27 May 2004, appellant, without authority of law, willfully and unlawfully sold, delivered, disposed of, or gave away to a police officer-poseur buyer 9.88 grams of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, contained in three (3) plastic sachets, at the specified location in Lipa City. Appellant pleaded not guilty, and the trial proceeded.

Trial Evidence and the Buy-Bust Operation

The prosecution presented two witnesses: PO3 Edwalberto Villas and Police Inspector Danilo Balmes. Appellant waived the presentation of any defense evidence. Based on the trial court’s narration of the evidence, a buy-bust operation was conducted by police elements from the Batangas City Police Station, with assistance from Police Inspector Danilo Balmes, upon information involving a deal in shabu between PO3 Villas’s asset and a certain alias “Gerry.” The buy-bust took place at the Petron Gasoline Station at the time alleged in the Information. Police used two (2) pieces of marked P500.00 bills and boodle money to give the transaction appearance of about P24,000.00. The asset, posing as buyer, transacted with alias “Gerry,” and after the exchange of marked money and three (3) plastic sachets of shabu placed in a black plastic box, alias “Gerry” was arrested and later identified as Gerardo Enumerable y De Villa.

The trial court found that the marked money was recovered from appellant’s possession by PO3 Villas. The same officer took custody of the specimen shabu and marked them as EMV 1 to EMV 3. The sachets were turned over to the Batangas Provincial Crime Laboratory pursuant to the request for laboratory examination made on 27 May 2004 by P/Supt. Fausto Manzanilla, Jr., then Chief of Police, Batangas City PNP. The record showed that the Crime Laboratory indorsed the request and specimens on 4 June 2004 at 2:30 p.m. to the Regional Crime Laboratory in Calamba City. Police Inspector and Forensic Chemist Donna Villa P. Huelgas later found the specimens positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride, as reflected in Chemistry Report No. D-566-04, the authenticity and genuineness of which appellant admitted during pre-trial.

Trial Court Ruling

Appellant attempted to file a Comment with Motion for Leave to File Demurrer, but the trial court denied the motion due to appellant’s failure to adduce any reason for the proposed demurrer. After trial, the trial court convicted appellant. It ruled that appellant was guilty beyond reasonable doubt as principal by direct participation of drug pushing under Section 5, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165. It imposed the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000.00. The court ordered destruction of the 9.88 grams of shabu pursuant to Section 21(4) and (7) of RA 9165 and directed that the period of detention be credited toward the sentence. A commitment order was also ordered for the transfer of custody.

Appellate Proceedings and the Court of Appeals’ View

Appellant appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction. The appellate court held that the testimony of PO3 Villas identifying the three plastic sachets as the same ones seized from appellant rendered insignificant appellant’s claim that PO3 Villas did not immediately place markings at the place of arrest. It further ruled that failure to conduct a physical inventory and failure to take photographs were not fatal, provided the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items were preserved. The Court of Appeals found that the prosecution established an unbroken chain of custody from the time PO3 Villas confiscated and marked the sachets at the place of arrest, through their turn-over to investigators and submission to the Regional Crime Laboratory for laboratory examination.

The Core Issue on Appeal

On appeal, the dispute centered on whether the prosecution established the identity and integrity of the confiscated illegal drug, which constituted the corpus delicti of the offense charged. Although appellant waived defense evidence, he challenged the sufficiency of proof on the drug’s identity and chain of custody.

Governing Legal Standards on Corpus Delicti and Chain of Custody

The Court reiterated that in prosecutions for illegal sale of dangerous drugs, the essential elements must be proven beyond reasonable doubt and, additionally, the identity of the prohibited drug must be established. The dangerous drug itself forms the corpus delicti, and its existence is vital to conviction. Consequently, the prosecution must prove that the substance seized from the accused was the same substance offered in court as exhibit. The Court emphasized that the prosecution must sufficiently prove the unbroken chain of custody of the seized drug.

The Court relied on People v. Watamama, which held that the chain of custody rule requires testimony about every link from seizure to presentation in evidence, and that while substantial adherence to the requirements of RA 9165 and its implementing rules is recognized, police must still present a justifiable reason for imperfect conduct and must show preservation of the seized items’ integrity and evidentiary value. The Court also cited People v. Climaco, which explained that when the dangerous drug recovered from the accused is not shown to be the same drug presented to the forensic chemist and subsequently to the court due to a broken chain of custody, the identity of the dangerous drug fails. In such event, an essential element is not proven, and the accused must be acquitted for reasonable doubt.

The Court’s Finding: A Glaring Gap in the Chain of Custody

The Court granted appellant’s appeal. It found a glaring gap in the custody of the illegal drug because the prosecution failed to sufficiently establish who had custody of the shabu from the alleged transmission to the Batangas Provincial Crime Laboratory on 27 May 2004 until delivery to the Regional Crime Laboratory on 4 June 2004. The Court found that there was no evidence on how the sachets were stored, preserved, or labeled, nor on who had custody prior to their delivery and subsequent presentation. This deficiency was tied to PO3 Villas’s testimony, which the Court found showed a lack of personal knowledge regarding who handled the specimen during the critical period.

The Court underscored that PO3 Villas admitted that he did not know who brought the specimen to the crime laboratory and that between May 27 and June 4, he had no knowledge of who was in custody of the specimen. He testified that he turned over the specimen to the duty investigator, and that the duty investigator marked it. When questioned about the delay in submission for laboratory examination and who was responsible for submission, PO3 Villas’s answers reflected that he was not the one “concerned with the submission,” and that he only came to know of the timing when questioned in court. The Court found this testimony insufficient to close the gap.

The Attempt to Fill the Gap Was Deemed Ineffective

The Court stated that the prosecution attempted to fill the gap in the chain of custody, but its effort proved futile. On re-direct examination, PO3 Villas merely restated the contents of a memorandum from the Chief of the Batangas Police addressed to the Regional Chief, corresponding to questions asked during examination. The Court characterized this testimony as concerning a document he had no personal participation in preparing or executing. In the Court’s assessment, PO3 Villas did not establish: (1) how the illegal drugs were delivered and who delivered them from the Batangas Provincial Crime Laboratory to the Regional Crime Laboratory; (2) who received the drugs at the Regional Crime Laboratory; and (3) who had custody from 27 May 2004 to 3 June 2004 until presentation in court.

Admissions Regarding Chemistry Report Did Not Re

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