Case Summary (G.R. No. 228890)
Petitioner and Respondent
Petitioner: People of the Philippines, represented by the prosecuting fiscal and the Solicitor General’s Office.
Respondent: Accused‐appellant Basher Tomawis y Ali, convicted of violating Section 5, Article II of RA 9165.
Key Dates
• Arrest and seizure: August 21, 2008
• RTC decision: January 29, 2014
• CA decision: June 6, 2016
• SC resolution: April 18, 2018
Applicable Law
Republic Act No. 9165 (“Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002”), particularly Section 5 (illegal sale of dangerous drugs) and Section 21, Article II (custody and disposition of seized items). The 1987 Constitution governs presumption of innocence and due process.
Facts
A confidential informant led PDEA agents to “Salim” (Tomawis) at Alabang. Poseur buyer IO1 Mabel Alejandro, using marked buy‐bust money, exchanged P1,000 for a plastic sachet allegedly containing shabu. Upon receipt, she signaled arrest; a commotion prevented on‐site inventory.
Prosecution’s Case
Agents Alejandro and Beltran Lacap Jr. testified on operation planning, marking, arrest, and subsequent inventory at Barangay Pinyahan before elected officials Burce and Gaffud. A chemist confirmed the seized substance as 12.7402 g of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
Defense’s Case
Tomawis and his mother claimed he was forcibly seized by armed men who planted evidence, deprived him of property, and coerced him into identifying money and drugs. He denied the alleged transaction; a urine test was negative.
RTC Ruling
The RTC convicted Tomawis, crediting PDEA testimony under the presumption of regularity and holding that integrity of evidence was preserved despite inventory at a barangay hall. Sentence: life imprisonment and P500,000 fine.
CA Ruling
The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding all elements of illegal sale proven, witness narrations credible, and chain of custody sufficiently established absent any showing of bad faith.
Issue
Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt Tomawis’s guilt by complying with the mandatory inventory, marking, photographing, and chain of custody requirements under Section 21 of RA 9165.
SC Ruling
The Supreme Court reversed and acquitted Tomawis, holding that procedural lapses and unestablished chain of custody created reasonable doubt as to the identity and integrity of the seized drugs.
Requirements of Section 21, RA 9165
Under the pre-amendment Section 21, warrantless seizures require immediate inventory and photography of seized drugs in the presence of:
- the accused (or representative),
- a DOJ representative,
- media, and
- an elected public official,
conducted at the place of arrest or the nearest police/PDEA office. Deviations are permissible only for justifiable grounds with preservation of evidentiary value.
Three-Witness Rule Breach
No DOJ or media representative was present at the seizure or inventory. Barangay officials were summoned after the fact at an unauthorized venue (Pinyahan Barangay Hall), defeating the rule’s purpose of preventing evidence tampering.
Chain of Custody Deficiencies
Contradictory testimonies (IO1 Alejandro vs. IO1 Lacap vs. IO1 Alfonso) left unexplained gaps in custody from arrest site to barangay hall to PDEA office to laboratory. No record identified who transferred, received, or stored the evidence at each stage.
Other Procedural Irregularities
• Absence of photographs of the seized drugs
• Failure to mark or d
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 228890)
Facts
- On August 21, 2008 at around 6:30 P.M., a PDEA-coordinated buy–bust operation took place at Metropolis (Starmall) Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
- A confidential informant reported that “alias Salim” was selling shabu in Alabang; PDEA agents organized a sting operation.
- Intelligence Officer 1 (IO1) Mabel Alejandro acted as poseur buyer, marked two genuine ₱500 bills with her initials “MCA,” placed them on boodle money, and enclosed the folded bills in a white envelope.
- “Alias Salim,” later identified as Basher Tomawis y Ali, inspected the money, left to fetch shabu, and returned ten to fifteen minutes later. He and Alejandro simultaneously exchanged the marked money for a knottied plastic sachet of shabu.
- Alejandro gave the prearranged signal by removing her jacket; backup agents arrested Tomawis after a commotion in the food court.
- Due to bystanders’ intervention, the PDEA team vacated the mall without marking or photographing the drugs on site.
- Tomawis was read his rights, handcuffed, and brought, together with the seized evidence, first to Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City, for inventory, then to the PDEA office.
Pre-Trial Stipulations
- Identity of the accused and RTC’s jurisdiction affirmed.
- Qualification of the forensic chemist confirmed.
- Chemistry report showed 12.7402 grams of methylamphetamine hydrochloride.
- IO1 Alejandro delivered the sample to the crime laboratory.
Version of the Prosecution
- IO1 Alejandro, IO1 Beltran Lacap Jr., and two barangay kagawads (Jonathan Burce and Melinda Gaffud) testified.
- Alejandro narrated the confidential informant’s tip, the briefing, marking of money, buy–bust transaction, signal, arrest, and subsequent inventory at the barangay hall.
- Lacap corroborated Alejandro’s account of the operation, seizure, and barangay inventory.
- Barangay officials Burce and Gaffud confirmed they witnessed the inventory at the Pinyahan hall, saw the accused assent that the items were recovered from him, and signed the inventory.
Version of the Defense
- Tomawis claimed he and his mother were accosted by armed men, beaten, robbed of his wallet containing ₱