Case Summary (G.R. No. 164815)
Key Dates
• July 10, 1996 – Petitioner arrested and searched; .38 charter-arms revolver and five live rounds seized.
• July 15, 1996 – Information for illegal possession of firearm filed.
• October 9, 1996 – Petitioner arraigned and pleaded not guilty.
• May 6, 1998 – RTC conviction; sentence imposed.
• May 4, 2004 – CA affirms with modification.
• February 22, 2008 – Supreme Court decision.
Applicable Law
• 1987 Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 2 (protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; due process).
• P.D. No. 1866 (1983), as amended by R.A. No. 8294 (1997) – unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
• Rules of Court: Rule 130, Sec. 44 (entries in official records as prima facie evidence); Rule 132, Sec. 34 (offer of evidence).
• Revised Penal Code, Art. 22 – retroactivity of penal laws favorable to the accused.
• Indeterminate Sentence Law.
• Revised Penal Code, Art. 45 – confiscation and forfeiture of crime instruments.
Facts
Upon serving a warrant for kidnapping with ransom, SPO2 Disuanco’s team arrested petitioner at the INP station, informed him of his rights, and conducted a search incident to arrest. They found a Charter Arms .38 revolver (Serial No. 52315) and five live rounds. PNP Firearms and Explosives Division certified that the weapon was registered to another individual. Petitioner contended the search was unlawful, that the gun was duly licensed (Memorandum Receipt dated July 1, 1993), and that he was denied counsel and family access while in custody.
Procedural History
• RTC (Quezon City): Found petitioner guilty under P.D. No. 1866, as amended by R.A. 8294. Imposed prision correccional (max) of 4 years, 2 months 1 day to 6 years and a P15,000 fine; ordered confiscation of the firearm.
• CA: Affirmed with penalty modification to 4 years, 2 months to 6 years of prision correccional; denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration.
• Supreme Court: Petition for review under Rule 45.
Issues for Consideration
- Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the elements of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
- Whether the search and seizure were lawful and the evidence admissible.
- Whether the Memorandum Receipt conferred lawful possession.
Ruling on Proof of Illegal Possession
The Court confirmed that the prosecution established:
– Existence of the firearm and ammunition through direct testimony of SPO2 Disuanco and eyewitness identification by Adrian Yuson.
– Lack of license via PNP certification and testimony of Epifanio Deriquito, attesting that the weapon was registered to another person.
The certification was admissible under Rule 130, Sec. 44; its presumption went unrebutted.
Ruling on Legality of Search and Seizure
The search attendant to lawful arrest complied with Article III, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution. The trial court’s factual finding that the search was valid was upheld, as assessments of witness credibility are entitled to the highest respect.
Ruling on Memorandum Receipt
The presumption of regularity in public officers’ acts was rebutted. SPO3 Timbol admitted issuing the receipt on mere verbal instruction without proper authority or inventory controls. The receipt did not establish lawful possession.
Admissibility of the Firearm without Formal Offer
Even if the gun and ammunition had not been formally offered, the Supreme Court reiterated that testimony alone suffices to
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Facts
- On July 10, 1996 at about 9:30 a.m., SPO2 Antonio M. Disuanco received a dispatch order directing him and three other policemen to serve a warrant of arrest against Sr. Insp. Jerry C. Valeroso for kidnapping with ransom.
- After surveillance in Cavite, Caloocan, and Bulacan, the team spotted petitioner at the INP Central Station in Culiat, Quezon City as he was about to board a tricycle.
- Officers arrested petitioner, informed him of his rights, and conducted a body search, discovering a Charter Arms .38 revolver (Serial No. 52315) and five live ammunition in his waist area.
- A Firearms and Explosives Division verification at Camp Crame showed the revolver was registered to Raul Palencia Salvatierra of Sampaloc, Manila, as certified by Chief Records Officer Edwin C. Roque.
- Petitioner was charged under the first paragraph of Section 1, P.D. No. 1866, as amended by R.A. No. 8294, for illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Defense Version and Witnesses
- Petitioner testified he was asleep in his children’s boarding house in Quezon City when four armed men in civilian clothes burst in without a search warrant, tied him up, threatened him with a “shoot-to-kill” order, and ransacked the room.
- He claimed the revolver was duly licensed, its documents were confiscated by the police, and he was denied access to counsel and family.
- Petitioner alleged a frame-up stemming from his refusal to white-wash a narcotics investigation involving Col. Romulo Sales.
- SPO3 Agustin R. Timbol, Jr. testified he issued petitioner a Memorandum Receipt dated July 1, 1993 for the same revolver upon verbal instruction of Col. Angelito Moreno.
- Roommate Adrian Yuson corroborated the forcible, warrantless entry, the pointing of guns at petitioner, and the seizure of the firearm during the search.
Procedural History
- The Regional Trial Court