Title
People vs. Orcullo y Susa
Case
G.R. No. 229675
Decision Date
Jul 8, 2019
Appellant acquitted due to broken chain of custody; prosecution failed to comply with Section 21 of RA 9165, compromising drug evidence integrity.
drug charges
chain of custody rule
acquittal
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 229675)

Factual Background

The Information charged that on or about 29 October 2010 in Quezon City appellant, without lawful authority, sold five heat-sealed plastic sachets containing methamphetamine hydrochloride to a poseur-buyer during a police buy-bust operation. The buy-bust was arranged by a confidential informant and executed by personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The poseur-buyer purportedly handed appellant buy-bust money and then signaled arrest. Appellant pleaded not guilty and proceeded to trial.

Prosecution Evidence

The prosecution presented the testimony of investigative officers IO1 Jake Edwin Million and IO1 Joanna Marie Betorin who described the confidential informant, the pre-operation coordination, the buy-bust meeting on Quezon Avenue, the delivery of the sachets to IO1 Betorin, the handing over of buy-bust money, the execution of the pre-arranged signal, and appellant's arrest in flagrante delicto. IO1 Betorin testified that markings were affixed to the sachets at the PDEA office and that a barangay kagawad witnessed the inventory and photographs; no representative from the Department of Justice or the media was present. The prosecution also relied on a stipulated laboratory examination by Forensic Chemist Sheila Esguerra, who reported that the specimens were positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride.

Defense Evidence

Appellant testified that he was at home making a dove cage when three men entered his house, coerced him at gunpoint, and brought him to the PDEA office. He denied selling drugs and alleged coercion, forced admission, and planting of evidence, including that an officer placed a sachet on the table and took photographs. Appellant testified that he was not the subject of any prior dispute with neighbors or law enforcers and that he did not file complaints against arresting personnel.

Ruling of the Regional Trial Court

The RTC convicted appellant of violating Section 5, Article II of R.A. 9165, finding that the prosecution established the elements of illegal sale and the integrity of the corpus delicti and chain of custody. The RTC acknowledged non-compliance with Section 21 of R.A. 9165, but deemed such non-compliance not fatal because the integrity of the seized items was preserved. The RTC sentenced appellant to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Five Hundred Thousand Pesos.

Ruling of the Court of Appeals

The CA affirmed the RTC decision. The CA found identification of buyer, seller, object, and consideration, and held that appellant was arrested in flagrante delicto. The CA ruled that failure to mark and inventory items immediately at the arrest scene did not automatically impair chain of custody where inventory and marking were later conducted in appellant's presence and in the presence of a barangay kagawad, and where photographs were taken. The CA held that absence of DOJ and media representatives was not fatal and that there was substantial compliance with R.A. 9165 and its Implementing Rules.

Issues on Appeal to the Supreme Court

The Public Attorney's Office assigned two errors: that the buy-bust operation was invalid and that the prosecution failed to preserve the chain of custody of the seized dangerous drug, thereby invalidating the evidence and undermining conviction.

Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court granted the appeal, reversed and set aside the CA and RTC decisions, and acquitted appellant on reasonable doubt. The Court ordered appellant's immediate release unless lawfully held for another cause and directed the New Bilibid Prison Superintendent to implement the order and report actions taken. The decision was promulgated on 8 July 2019 in G.R. No. 229675. The opinion as reported begins with the notation "CARPIO, J.:" and records that Justices Perlas-Bernabe, Caguioa, J. Reyes, Jr., and Lazaro-Javier concurred.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court focused on the identity and integrity of the alleged seized shabu and the preservation of the chain of custody. It observed that at the time of the alleged crime the controlling law was Section 21 of R.A. 9165 and its Implementing Rules, which required that the apprehending team immediately inventory and photograph seized items in the presence of three witnesses: the accused or his representative, an elected public official, and a representative from the media and the Department of Justice, and that copies of the inventory be signed and furnished to those witnesses. The Court found non-observance of the three-witness rule and no justification for the omission. The Court noted other breaks in the custodial links: the delay in submitting the Request for Laboratory Examination until the evening despite an alleged seizure in the afternoon; the absence of testimony from the evidence custodian who received the items from the laboratory; the fact that the forensic chemist's examination was stipulated rather than proved through testimony as to handling and preservation; and the failure to immediately mark the seized items at the scene. These deficiencies, the Court held, created serious uncertainty as to whether the specimen examined and presented at trial was the same as that allegedl

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