Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83100:57095&catid=1584&Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:45:43+00:00

Document:
G.R. No. 209785, June 04, 2014 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MARLON ABETONG Y ENDRADO, Accused-Appellant.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MARLON ABETONG Y ENDRADO, Accused-Appellant.
That on or about the 22nd day of August 2003, in the City of Bacolod, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the herein accused, not being authorized by law to sell, trade, dispense, deliver, give away to another, distribute, dispatch in transit or transport any dangerous drugs, did, then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell, deliver, give away to a police poseur buyer in a buy-bust operation one (1) heat-sealed transparent plastic packet containing methylamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu weighing 0.02 gram(s) more or less, in exchange for a price of P100.00 in mark money, consisting of two (2) P50.00 bill with Serial Nos. BZ323461 and CN467805, in violation of the aforementioned law.
During trial, prosecution witness Police Officer 3 Wilfredo Perez (PO3 Perez) of the Police Station 1, Bacolod City Police Office, testified that, in the morning of August 22, 2003, their office received information that a certain alias “Cano,” later identified as accused-appellant, was selling drugs in his house at Purok Sigay, Barangay 2, Bacolod City. Police Senior Inspector Jonathan Lorilla (Inspector Lorilla) then called for a briefing for the conduct of a buy-bust operation against “Cano” and designated PO3 Perez as the poseur-buyer. In preparation for the operation, PO3 Perez initialled two (2) PhP 50 bills bearing Serial Nos. CN467805 and BZ323461, which were going to be used as marked money. After recording the details of the preparation in the police blotter, PO3 Perez and the informant proceeded to the address while Inspector Lorilla and some of his personnel tailed in a car.
Upon arrival at the target area, PO3 Perez and the asset knocked on the door and were greeted by accused-appellant, who asked the purpose of the visit. PO3 Perez answered that he wanted to buy PhP 100 worth of shabu. The two were ushered in by accused-appellant and once inside, PO3 Perez saw three persons sitting around a table, passing to one another a tooter and allegedly engaged in a pot session. The three were identified as Ricky Bayotas, Reynaldo Relos and Archie Berturan. PO3 Perez then drew two PhP 50 bills marked “WCP” and handed them over to accused-appellant who in turn gave him a plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance from his right pocket.
After receiving the plastic sachet, PO3 Perez introduced himself as a police officer and signalled his back-up to effect the arrest of the four individuals. The suspects attempted to flee but their plans were foiled by the timely arrival of the other policemen. They were then brought to the police station where their arrest and the list of the items confiscated from them were entered in the police blotter. From their arrest until the items seized were transmitted to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory, the pieces of evidence were allegedly under PO3 Perez’s custody. In his testimony, PO3 Perez stated that he kept the items inside the evidence locker in the Drug Enforcement Unit Office, to which only Inspector Lorilla has a key.
On August 25, 2013, PO3 Perez brought the sachet containing crystalline substance and the tooter to the PNP Crime Laboratory for testing. The items were received by Inspector Augustina Ompoy (Inspector Ompoy), the Forensic Chemical Officer of the Regional PNP Crime Laboratory 6, Camp Delgado, Iloilo City, who then performed the necessary examinations on the items recovered.
Inspector Ompoy testified for the prosecution on the receipt in the PNP Crime Laboratory of the letter-request for laboratory examination of the specimens. According to her, she conducted quantitative and qualitative tests and found that the white crystalline substance in the plastic sachet tested positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride, a dangerous drug, weighing 0.04 gram while the tooter tested negative for any prohibited drug.
Testifying in his defense, accused Marlon Abetong declared being at home in Purok Sigay, Brgy. 2, Bacolod City at 11:50 AM of August 22, 2003, sweeping the floor, alone. Suddenly, a male person entered the open door and held him by his pants. When Marlon asked what his fault was, the man answered to just go with him. The person was in civvies, fair-skinned and tall; he did not introduce himself. Marlon was handcuffed while they were at the foot-walk heading to 26th Aguinaldo Street, and searched, but nothing was recovered from him except his money – P9.00. Accused was made to board a vehicle at Aguinaldo; three handcuffed persons were inside. All four were brought to BAC-Up 2 and placed in a cell. Abetong was not informed of the cause of his arrest; no drugs were presented to him. He knew of the charge – Violation of Section 5, R.A. 9165 – only during arraignment in court.
WHEREFORE, finding accused Marlon Abetong y Endrardo guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Violation of Section 5, Article II of R.A. 9165 (Sale, Delivery, etc. of Dangerous Drugs), as charged, judgment is hereby rendered sentencing him to suffer Life Imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500,000.00. He is also to bear the accessory penalty prescribed by law. Costs against accused.
The subject one (1) sachet of methamphetamine hydrochloride/shabu (Exh. “B-3-A”) recovered/bought from him being a dangerous drug, the same is hereby ordered confiscated and/or forfeited in favor of the government, and to be forthwith delivered/turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) provincial office for immediate destruction or disposition in accordance with law.
The immediate commitment of accused to the national penitentiary for service of sentence is likewise further ordered.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is DENIED. The decision dated May 25, 2011 of the Regional Trial Court Branch 47 in Bacolod City, convicting the accused-appellant of the offense charged and sentencing him to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P500,000.00, is AFFIRMED.
Since the “perfect chain” is almost always impossible to obtain, non-compliance with Sec. 21 of RA 9165, as stated in the Implementing Rules and Regulations, does not, without more, automatically render the seizure of the dangerous drug void, and evidence is admissible as long as the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officer/team.
We, however, find these observations insignificant since a review of the evidence on record shows that the chain of custody rule has been sufficiently observed by the apprehending officers.
Jurisprudence indeed instructs that failure to observe strictly the above-quoted provision can be excused as long as (1) the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officers and (2) non-compliance was attended by justifiable grounds.6 However, the prosecution in this case was unsuccessful in showing that there was no opportunity for tampering, contamination, substitution, nor alteration of the specimens submitted. On the contrary, there is a dearth of evidence to show that the evidence presented was well-preserved. The prosecution likewise failed to offer any justification on why the afore-quoted provision was not complied with.
From the time that the items were confiscated on August 22, 2003 at around 11:50 in the morning up to the time it was delivered to the PNP Crime Laboratory on August 25, 2003 at 10:40 in the morning, where were the items kept?
It was placed in the evidence locker of the Drug Enforcement Unit together with other exhibits.
Who placed the confiscated items inside the locker in the office of the Drug Enforcement Unit?
Who keeps the key to that locker?
Aside from Police Inspector Jonathan Lorilla, is there any other person who has access to that locker?
It is evident from this sequence of events that during the interim, Inspector Lorilla constructively acquired custody over the seized items. As the lone key holder and consequentially a link in the chain, Inspector Lorilla’s testimony became indispensable in proving the guilt of accused-appellant beyond reasonable doubt. Only he could have testified that from August 22 to 25, 2003 no one else obtained the key from him for purposes of removing the items from their receptacle. Only he could have enlightened the courts on what safety mechanisms have been installed in order to preserve the integrity of the evidence acquired while inside the locker. Absent his testimony, therefore, it cannot be plausibly claimed that the chain of custody has sufficiently been established. To be sure, PO3 Perez did not even testify that he was assigned to safeguard the evidence locker for the said duration; only that he was the one who put it in and three days later took them out of the locker room before bringing them to the crime laboratory.
Requiring the key holder’s testimony is especially significant in this case in view of the law enforcers’ failure to deliver the confiscated items to the crime laboratory within 24 hours, as required under Sec. 21 of RA 9165. While the delay in itself is not fatal to the prosecution’s case as it may be excused based on a justifiable ground, it exposes the items seized to a higher probability of being handled by even more personnel and, consequently, to a higher risk of tampering or alteration. Thus, the testimony of the key holder becomes necessary to attest to the fact that the integrity and evidentiary value of the confiscated evidence have been preserved.
The CA erred in applying the doctrine that the testimony of a lone prosecution witness, as long as it is credible and positive, can prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.11 Such doctrine is unavailing in drugs cases wherein all who acquired custody over the confiscated items would necessarily have to testify in order to establish an unbroken chain. Additionally, worth noting is that PO3 Perez’s testimony is not “virtually free from any form of inconsistency and contradictions as to besmirch it with doubt and question” contrary to the CA’s findings.12 In fact, it can be gleaned from the records that one of his key statements has been refuted by forensic chemist Ompoy herself.
Based on the affidavit13 executed by PO3 Perez on August 25, 2003, three persons were engaged in a pot session in the house of accused-appellant. However, when the tooter allegedly confiscated from the three was tested for dangerous drugs, the test yielded a negative result.14 While the guilt of the three others is not an issue in this case, this is illustrative of a disparity in the prosecution’s version of facts and militates against PO3 Perez’s credibility.
Q: Tell us what kind of tests did you conduct on the specimen?
A: This consists of the physical, chemical and confirmatory tests. In the physical this includes the weighing of the specimen out of its container. Specimen “A” weighs 0.04 gram of white crystalline substance. Then I proceeded to my chemical test in which Marqui and Simons tests were employed. In the Marqui test, a drop of Marqui reagent was added to the representative sample and it [yielded] orange-to-brown color which is indicative of the presence of methamphetamine hydrochloride. In the Simons test, Simons reagents 1, 2 and 3 were added to another representative sample and it produced a deep-blue color reaction, also indicative of the presence of methamphetamine hydrochloride.
A: One heat-sealed transparent plastic packet with markings containing 0.04 gram of white crystalline substance, placed inside a staple-sealed transparent plastic bag with markings.
From the foregoing transcript, the incongruence between the weight of the drug accused-appellant is being charged of selling and the weight of the drug tested by the forensic chemist becomes patent. For sure, this discrepancy in the weight of the substance is fatal to the case of the prosecution.18 It automatically casts doubt as to the identity of the item seized and of the one tested as it erases any assurance that the evidence being offered is indeed the same as the one recovered during the buy-bust operation.
Well-settled is that “the dangerous drug itself, the shabu in this case, constitutes the very corpus delicti of the offense, and in sustaining a conviction under RA 9165, the identity and integrity of the corpus delicti must definitely be shown to have been preserved. x x x Thus, to remove any doubt or uncertainty on the identity and integrity of the seized drug, evidence must definitely show that the illegal drug presented in court is the very same illegal drug actually recovered from the accused; otherwise, the prosecution for possession under RA 9165 fails.”19 Applying this precept in the case at bar, any guarantee of the drug item’s preservation was effectively removed by the failure of the prosecution to describe consistently the very corpus delicti of the criminal offense.
It is beyond dispute that the date and time of confiscation do not appear on the markings of the seized items. It cannot also be denied that no photograph was taken of the recovered items for documentation purposes. It is admitted that no representative from the media, from the Department of Justice, or any elective official was present to serve as witness in recording the arrest. The prosecution’s testimonial evidence is likewise bereft of any allegation of efforts undertaken by the law enforcers to contact these representatives. Nevertheless, an accused can still be convicted in spite of these circumstances provided that a justifiable ground for excusing non-compliance with the requirements under Sec. 21 of RA 9165 has satisfactorily been established by the prosecution as required by jurisprudence and the law’s implementing rules.
WHEREFORE, the appeal is GRANTED. The June 28, 2013 Decision of the Court of Appeals is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accused-appellant Marlon Abetong y Endrano is hereby ACQUITTED based on reasonable doubt.
The Director of the Bureau of Prisons is ordered to immediately RELEASE accused-appellant from custody, unless he is being held for some other lawful cause, and to INFORM this Court, within five (5) days from receipt of this Decision, of the date accused-appellant was actually released from confinement.
1 Penned by Executive Justice Pampio A. Abarintos and concurred in by Associate Justices Gabriel T. Ingles and Marilyn B. Lagura-Yap.
5 G.R. No. 199735, October 24, 2012, 684 SCRA 622.
6People v. De Guzman, G.R. No. 186498, March 26, 2010, 616 SCRA 652, 662.
7Catuiran v. People, G.R. No. 175647, May 8, 2009, 587 SCRA 567, 578-579.
8People v. Arriola, G.R. No. 187736, February 8, 2012, 665 SCRA 581, 597; citing Mallillin v. People, G.R. No. 172953, April 30, 2008, 553 SCRA 619, 632.
9 TSN, May 6, 2009, p. 24.
11People v. Abelita, G.R. No. 96318, June 26, 1992, 210 SCRA 497.
14 TSN, October 12, 2004, p. 6.
15Cariño v. People, G.R. No. 178757, March 13, 2009, 581 SCRA 388, 406.
16People v. Capuno, GR No. 185795, January 19, 2011, 640 SCRA 233, 251.
17 TSN, October 12, 2004, pp. 3-4.
18People v. Suan, G.R. No. 184546, February 22, 2010, 613 SCRA 366.
19People v. Climaco, G.R. No. 199403, June 13, 2012, 672 SCRA 631, 641.

References: v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v. 
 v.