Title
People vs. Nazareno y Caburatan
Case
G.R. No. 174771
Decision Date
Sep 11, 2007
Appellant acquitted due to lapses in chain of custody; prosecution failed to prove identity of seized drugs beyond reasonable doubt.
selling shabu
prosecution failure
proper custody
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 174771)

Information, Arraignment, and Trial

The Information dated 16 September 2003 stated that on or about 15 September 2003, in Iligan City and within the trial court’s jurisdiction, appellant sold and delivered two sachets of shabu for prosecution under Sec. 5, Art. II of R.A. No. 9165. Appellant pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and the case proceeded to trial on the merits.

Prosecution’s Version: The Buy-Bust Operation and Subsequent Laboratory Findings

The prosecution relied principally on the testimony of PO2 Dino Magno, PO3 Rene Enterina, and P/S Inspector Aileen Bernido. According to the prosecution, a pre-operation briefing was held on 15 September 2003, after which a PNP Anti-Illegal Drug-Special Operation Task Team team conducted a buy-bust operation targeting appellant as a suspected drug pusher.

At approximately 2:00 p.m., the team proceeded to appellant’s beauty parlor in Purok 4, Barangay Kiwalan. PO2 Magno, acting as the poseur-buyer, and the informant entered the parlor, while the backup team positioned itself nearby. PO2 Magno purchased two (2) sachets of shabu from appellant for P200.00. After PO2 Magno gave the pre-arranged signal, the backup officers rushed to the scene and arrested appellant. PO2 Magno then allegedly turned over the two sachets to SPO2 Vivencio Lluisma. During the immediate aftermath, PO3 Enterina frisked appellant and recovered the two photocopied P100.00 bills from his person.

Forensic confirmation followed. On 15 September 2003, P/S Insp. Bernido, a forensic chemist assigned to the Misamis Occidental Crime Laboratory, received a request to examine two sachets marked “A-01” and “A-02” containing a white crystalline substance. Laboratory testing yielded a positive result for methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.

Defense’s Version: Denial and Claim of Frame-Up

Appellant denied the accusation and presented himself along with Lolita Pasco. Appellant testified that he was taking a nap in his beauty parlor when SPO2 Lluisma and two other individuals later identified as PO2 Magno and PO3 Enterina roused him. Appellant was told to go to the police station because a complaint had been filed against him. He agreed.

Pasco corroborated appellant’s account of the commotion outside the parlor. She claimed that she saw a police service vehicle and observed appellant being pulled by a police officer and made to board the patrol car. At the station, appellant was allegedly shown a white envelope containing two sachets that appeared to be shabu. Appellant further stated that SPO2 Lluisma told him to secure a good lawyer, and that an argument ensued despite appellant’s disavowals. Appellant testified that his fingerprints were taken and he was made to sign a document, after which he was brought to the Office of the City Prosecutor and then to the City Jail.

RTC Ruling: Conviction and Penalty

After trial, the trial court found appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Article II, Sec. 5 of R.A. No. 9165. It imposed the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000.00, ordered the two (2) sachets confiscated to be disposed pursuant to Sec. 21, Art. II of R.A. No. 9165, and credited appellant with time spent in preventive detention from September 16, 2003.

Appeal to the Court of Appeals and CA Affirmance

Appellant elevated the case to the Court of Appeals, assigning as errors the trial court’s finding of proof beyond reasonable doubt and the alleged improper weighing of prosecution witnesses. The Court of Appeals, in its Decision dated 30 June 2006, dismissed the appeal and affirmed in toto the trial court’s conviction.

The CA held that the elements for sale of prohibited drugs were sufficiently established: it concluded that appellant’s identity as seller was demonstrated by the positive testimonies of PO2 Magno and PO3 Enterina; that a transaction occurred after PO2 Magno paid two P100.00 bills in exchange for two sachets of shabu; that the marked money was recovered following the body search; and that the laboratory test confirmed the shabu content. The CA also found appellant’s “frame-up” claim uncorroborated and insufficient to overcome the presumption of regularity in police performance.

Supreme Court’s Framework and the Determinative Issues

On appeal to the Supreme Court, the Court reiterated that in criminal cases the overriding consideration is not whether the accused is “completely innocent,” but whether the prosecution has met the quantum of evidence required for conviction. The constitutional presumption of innocence prevails unless the prosecution proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Court further emphasized that unless the prosecution discharges this burden, the accused need not present evidence.

The Court then restated the requisites for conviction in prosecutions for illegal sale of dangerous drugs as: (1) that the transaction or sale took place; (2) that the corpus delicti or illicit drug was presented as evidence; and (3) that the buyer and seller were identified. Citing People v. Orteza, the Court underscored that material to conviction is proof that the transaction or sale actually happened, coupled with the presentation in court of the prohibited or regulated drug, and that in buy-bust operations delivery of the contraband to the poseur-buyer and receipt of the marked money consummate the entrapment.

Supreme Court’s Ruling: Failure to Prove Corpus Delicti Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The Supreme Court held that the prosecution failed to establish all elements necessary for conviction with the required moral certainty. Although the Court acknowledged that PO2 Magno and PO3 Enterina identified appellant as the seller, it found a fatal evidentiary gap: the prosecution did not prove the existence of the corpus delicti.

The Court relied on the requirement that the prosecution must establish the integrity of the seized drugs through compliance with proper custody and handling procedures. It cited People v. Lim, where the Court ruled that any apprehending team with initial and control of the drugs must, immediately after seizure and confiscation, physically inventory and photograph the seized items in the presence of the accused (or representative), with the requirement that the inventory is signed and copies provided. The Court explained that failure to comply creates doubt as to whether what was submitted for laboratory examination and presented in court was actually recovered from the accused. It also negated the presumption of regularity in the performance of duties by the apprehending officers.

In the present case, the Court pointed to inconsistencies and omissions in the prosecution’s narration and evidence-handling. PO2 Magno testified that after he received the two sachets, he did not mark them, and he allegedly turned them over directly to SPO2 Lluisma without marking. When questioned about what happened to the sachets after turning them over, PO2 Magno stated that he did not know. The Court observed that the prosecution did not present SPO2 Lluisma, the person to whom the items were allegedly immediately delivered, to fill the critical gap. Despite being subpoenaed multiple times, SPO2 Lluisma was not presented, and the prosecution also did not explain his non-appearance. The Court further noted that no other witness was presented to establish that SPO2 Lluisma actually marked the seized items.

The Court contrasted PO2 Magno’s testimony with P/S Insp. Bernido’s testimony. Bernido stated that the sachets she received for laboratory examination were already marked “A-01” and “A-02” and were placed in a transparent plastic bag with appellant’s name written there. How

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