Title
People vs. Miranda y Feliciano
Case
G.R. No. 209338
Decision Date
Jun 29, 2015
Appellant convicted for illegal sale and possession of shabu in a buy-bust operation; SC upheld conviction, affirming chain of custody and prosecution's evidence.
illegal sale
possession of drugs
conviction

Case Summary (G.R. No. 209338)

Factual Background

The prosecution presented the operation as initiated by a tip from a confidential informant that a person using the alias Dawie, later identified as appellant, was actively selling shabu in Purok Roxas, Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga. P/CI Chica formed a team with Chairman Cruz and PO2 Richard Lambino to conduct a buy-bust operation on July 11, 2003, with Chica designated as the poseur-buyer.

Chica prepared the buy-bust money consisting of two one hundred-peso bills bearing serial numbers, which he marked by placing a dot on the forehead of the picture of late President Manuel A. Roxas. Around 4:30 p.m. on the same date, the team proceeded to the target area. Chica and the informant approached appellant, and the informant introduced Chica to appellant as the buyer of shabu. Appellant allegedly handed to Chica a plastic sachet containing suspected shabu. In exchange, Chica paid the marked money. When Chica gave the pre-arranged signal, the other team members rushed in. Chica introduced himself as a police officer. Appellant attempted to flee, but Chairman Cruz grabbed him by the left hand and recovered another plastic sachet of suspected shabu.

Police officers then asked appellant to empty his pockets, and they recovered the marked money. Appellant was subsequently brought with the seized drugs to the PDEA office for investigation. At the PDEA office, Chica and Chairman Cruz prepared a Receipt of Property Seized/Confiscations, which appellant refused to sign. Chica marked the sachet bought from appellant with the markings MCC BFM Exhibit A, while the sachet recovered by Chairman Cruz was marked MCC BFM B. Chica also prepared a Request for Laboratory Examination indicating that Exhibit A weighed approximately 0.0363 gram and BFM B weighed approximately 0.0759 gram. PO2 Lambino brought the request and specimens to the PNP Crime Laboratory. The chemistry report, Chemistry Report No. D-324-2003 dated July 12, 2003, yielded a positive result for methylamphetamine hydrochloride.

Chairman Cruz corroborated Chica’s account. He testified that he was deputized by PDEA-Region 3 to assist in anti-drug operations within its area of responsibility.

Appellant denied the offenses. He claimed that on July 11, 2003 at around 4:00 p.m., while walking home from work at Dau Supermart, Marina Arcade, he saw two cars from which the persons who arrested him alighted near the corner of Roxas Street. He recognized one of the arresting officers as Major Chica and asked the reason for his arrest. He asserted that the police officers claimed they had bought shabu from him, but he maintained that it was impossible for him to have sold shabu because he had only recently left work and saw them only at the corner of Roxas Street. Appellant further stated that several people witnessed the incident but did not speak because the police officers allegedly poked their guns at them. He claimed that even Chairman Dominador Doming Paniza saw the incident but was afraid. Appellant added that he was detained at a PDEA safehouse in Barangay San Francisco, Mabalacat, Pampanga, and later charged with violation of Sections 5 and 11 of R.A. No. 9165.

RTC Proceedings and Conviction

Upon arraignment, appellant pleaded not guilty to both charges. During pre-trial, the parties stipulated among others that appellant was the same individual identified as Dawie; that the substance was submitted to the PNP Crime Laboratory upon a request from PDEA, Region III; that the Crime Laboratory issued a chemistry report; and that the examined substance tested positive for shabu.

On May 13, 2010, the RTC found appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt for both offenses. The RTC held that the prosecution witnesses, especially Chica and Cruz, provided a narration proving the elements of the crimes, and that appellant’s denial did not outweigh the prosecution’s direct and positive identification. The RTC also noted that appellant failed to demonstrate any motive on the part of the police officers to falsely testify.

The RTC imposed life imprisonment and a fine of PHP 500,000.00 for the illegal sale charge under Criminal Case No. DC 03-317 (Section 5, R.A. No. 9165). For the possession charge under Criminal Case No. DC 03-316 (Section 11, R.A. No. 9165), the RTC sentenced appellant to imprisonment of twelve (12) years and one (1) day, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years, as maximum, of Reclusion Temporal, and a fine of PHP 300,000.00.

Appellate Contentions Before the CA

Appellant, through the Public Attorneys Office (PAO), appealed to the CA. The PAO argued that the prosecution testimonies were contradictory and conflicting. It also contended that the testimony of Chica suggested that the civilian informant determined the propriety of conducting the buy-bust operation. The PAO further asserted that the prosecution failed to present documentary evidence proving that Chairman Cruz was duly designated as a PDEA agent.

On evidentiary integrity and chain of custody, the PAO maintained that the prosecution did not establish beyond reasonable doubt that the sachets allegedly seized from appellant were the same items presented for forensic examination. The PAO cited alleged failures under the procedure required by Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165’s IRR, including the absence of testimony that the seized items were photographed in the presence of the accused, media, a DOJ representative, and an elected public official. The PAO also emphasized that the marking was allegedly done only upon arrival at the PDEA office and not immediately upon seizure. It likewise questioned Chairman Cruz’s ability to identify the specimens during trial. Lastly, it argued that PO2 Lambino, who allegedly delivered specimens to the PNP Crime Laboratory, did not testify as to handling while in custody.

Ruling of the CA

On May 16, 2013, the CA affirmed the RTC. It considered the claimed inconsistencies as minor and not crucial to establish the offenses. The CA found that the RTC properly credited the testimonies of Chica and Cruz, finding their accounts straightforward and consistent, and that these testimonies aligned with the physical and documentary evidence.

Sole Issue on Appeal to the Supreme Court

When the case reached the Supreme Court, the issue remained essentially whether appellant’s guilt was proven beyond reasonable doubt, considering the arguments on identity, delivery, possession, and evidentiary custody.

The Parties’ Positions in the Supreme Court

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) argued that the prosecution met its burden. It maintained that the identity of appellant as the seller, and the identification of the seized sachets, were established through Chica’s positive identification and through marking, inventory and request for examination, with submission to the PNP Crime Laboratory through PO2 Lambino. It also stressed that the chemistry report confirmed shabu and that the seized specimens were presented and identified at trial.

The PAO maintained that doubts remained in the prosecution’s evidence and chain of custody. The thrust of the defense was that the prosecution failed to comply with requirements under the IRR and did not sufficiently link the seized items from the time of arrest to their forensic examination and presentation in court.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Supreme Court held that conviction for illegal sale of dangerous drugs under Section 5 of R.A. No. 9165 is proper when the prosecution proves, in substance, the identity of the buyer and seller, the object and consideration, and the delivery of the thing sold and payment therefor. The Court found these elements present. It held that Chica was the poseur-buyer and appellant was the seller. It treated the object of the sale as the sachet of methylamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu marked MCC BFM Exhibit A weighing approximately 0.0363 gram, and the consideration as the P200 marked money. On delivery and payment, the Court credited Chica’s testimony that he caught appellant in flagrante delicto selling and delivering the shabu during a buy-bust operation and that Chica personally handed the marked money as payment.

The Court also treated the buy-bust operation as a lawful entrapment method, provided constitutional and legal safeguards are observed. It reiterated the settled rule that a buy-bust operation aims to catch the accused in flagrante delicto.

For illegal possession under Section 11 of R.A. No. 9165, the Court applied the elements: possession of an item identified as a prohibited drug; lack of legal authorization; and free and conscious possession. It found these elements supported by the testimony that after the sale, another sachet containing a white crystalline substance was recovered from appellant at the time of arrest. This second sachet was marked MCC BFM B and weighed approximately 0.0759 gram. The Court emphasized that Chica identified in court Exhibit A as the sachet he bought and identified BFM B as the sachet recovered from appellant, and that the seized items, positive for shabu, were presented in court. It upheld the presumption of regularity in the performance of official duty for police officers, noting that the defense had failed to present clear and convincing evidence to overturn that presumption. It also reiterated that denial is inherently weak, especially in drug cases where police testimony is accorded credence absent evidence of improper motive.

On the evidentiary and chain-of-custody criticisms, the Court addressed appellant’s argument that the buy-bust team failed to immediately mark the seized drugs and failed to take photographs in the presence of the required persons under Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165’s IRR. It quoted Section 21(a), including the rule that inventory and photograph must be conducted immediately after seizure and confiscation in specified presences, but also recognized that the rule contains exceptions. The Court explained that non-compliance with the requirements

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