PEOPLE v MACAPUNDAG

People of the Philippines (Plaintiff-Appellee) vs Puyat Macapundag y Labao (Accused-Appellant)

G.R. No. 225965

March 13, 2017

Facts:

The instant case stemmed from two (2) Information’s filed before the RTC accusing Macapundag of violating Sections 5 and 11, Article II of RA 9165, Criminal Case No. 81014, that on or about the 14th day of March, 2009 in Caloocan City, Metro Manila and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, without authority of law, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell and deliver to P0 [3] GEORGE ARDEDON who posed, as buyer, EPHEDRINE weighing 0.01 gram, a dangerous drug, without the corresponding license or prescription therefore, knowing the same to be such. Contrary to Law. Criminal Case No. 81015, that on or about the 14th day of March, 2009 in Caloocan City, Metro Manila and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, without authority of law, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously have in his possession, custody and control three heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets each containing EPHEDRINE weighing 0.02 gram, 0.01 gram & 0.02 gram, when subjected for laboratory examination gave positive result to the tests of Ephedrine, a dangerous drug.

Contrary to Law.

The prosecution alleged that at around 8:00 to 8:30 in the morning of March 14, 2009, an informant tipped the Caloocan City Police that a certain individual known as alias "Popoy" was selling shabu in Baltazar Street, 1 oth Avenue, Caloocan City. Acting on the tip, Police Chief Inspector (PCI) Christopher Prangan (PCI Prangan) ordered the conduct of a buy-bust operation in coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), with Police Officer 3 (P03) George Ardedon (P03 Ardedon) designated as poseur-buyer, and Senior Police Officer 1 (SPO 1) Amel Victoriano (SPOl Victoriano) and Police Officer 2 (P02) Jeffred Pacis (P02 Pacis), as back-up officers. After the team's final briefing, they proceeded to the target area where they saw Macapundag, who was then identified by the informant as "Popoy." Consequently, P03 Ardedon approached Macapundag and retorted "Brod, pakuha," followed by "Brod, paiskor naman." Macapundag replied "Magkano?," to which P03 Ardedon 6 "P02" in some parts of the records. Decision 3 G.R. No. 225965 responded "Tatlong piso fang," and simultaneously handed the three (3) marked Pl00.00 bills. Macapundag then took four (4) plastic sachets containing white crystalline substance, gave one to P03 Ardedon, and returned the other three (3) back to his pocket. Upon receiving the sachet, P03 Ardedon gave the pre-arranged signal by holding his nape and then held Macapundag, as the back-up officers rushed to the scene. P03 Ardedon marked the plastic sachet he purchased from Macapundag, while SPO 1 Victoriano marked the other three (3) recovered from his pocket. Thereafter, they brought Macapundag to the police station, where the seized items were turned over to P02 Randulfo Hipolito (P02 Hipolito), and the investigator on duty. Later, P02 Hipolito brought the items to the crime laboratory for physical examination. Eventually, Forensic Chemical Officer-PC! Stella Ebuen (PCI Ebuen) examined the specimen, which tested positive for ephedrine, a dangerous drug.

Issue:

Whether or not Macapundag's conviction for illegal sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs, as defined and penalized under Sections 5 and 11, Article II of RA 9165, should be upheld.

Ruling:

At the outset, it must be stressed that an appeal in criminal cases opens the entire case for review, and it is the duty of the reviewing tribunal to correct, cite, and appreciate errors in the appealed judgment whether they are assigned or unassigned. The appeal confers the appellate court full jurisdiction over the case and renders such court competent to examine records, revise the judgment appealed from, increase the penalty, and cite the proper provision of the penal law.

Macapundag was charged with illegal sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs under Sections 5 and 11, Article II of RA 9165. In order to secure the conviction of an accused charged with illegal sale of dangerous drugs, the prosecution must prove the: (a) identity of the buyer and the seller, the object, and the consideration; and (b) delivery of the thing sold and the payment. On the other hand, the prosecution must establish the following elements to convict an accused charged with illegal possession of dangerous drugs: (a) the accused was in possession of an item or object identified as a dangerous drug; (b) such possession was not authorized by law; and (c) the accused freely and consciously possessed the said drug. Notably, it is essential that the identity of the prohibited drug be established beyond reasonable doubt. In order to obviate any unnecessary doubts on the identity of the dangerous drugs, the prosecution has to show an unbroken chain of custody over the same. It must be able to account for each link in the chain of custody over the dangerous drug from the moment of seizure up to its presentation in court as evidence of the corpus delicti. In the Appellant's Brief, Macapundag prayed for his acquittal in view of the police officers' non-compliance with Section 21 of RA 9165 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). Particularly, he claims that they did not make any inventory and failed to take pictures of the confiscated drugs along with him at the scene of his arrest. There was also no justification given as to why they failed to comply with these requirements of law. The appeal is meritorious. Section 21, Article II of RA 9165 provides the chain of custody rule, outlining the procedure police officers must follow in handling the seized drugs, in order to preserve their integrity and evidentiary value. Under the said section, the apprehending team shall, immediately after seizure and confiscation conduct a physical inventory and photograph the seized items in the presence of the accused or the person from whom the items were seized, his representative or counsel, a representative from the media and the Department of Justice, and any elected public official who shall be required to sign the copies of the inventory and be given a copy of the same, and the seized drugs must be turned over to the PNP Crime Laboratory within twenty-four (24) hours from confiscation for examma ton.

In this case, the prosecution was able to establish that P03 Ardedon (with respect to the sachet handed over by Macapundag to him) and SPOl Victoriano (with respect to the three sachets recovered from Macapundag upon his arrest) marked the seized items immediately at the place of arrest. However, the prosecution's witnesses failed to state whether or not the police officers inventoried and photographed the seized sachets in the presence of Macapundag or his representative. Likewise, they were silent as to the presence of the other required witnesses, i.e., a representative from the Department of Justice (DOJ), any elected public official, and a member of the press. In fact, the prosecution did not even offer any inventory of the seized items or photographs thereof as evidence. In this relation, it is observed that the Evidence Acknowledgement Receipt and the Affidavit of Attestation, which form part of the evidence of the prosecution, likewise failed to disclose that the seized items were actually inventoried or photographed in accordance with the parameters provided by Section 21 of RA 9165 and its IRR; thus, their submission cannot constitute compliance with the law.

In People v. Sanchez, the Court recognized that under varied field conditions, strict compliance with the requirements of Section 21 of 9165 may not always be possible, and ruled that under the implementing guidelines of the said Section, "non-compliance with these requirements under justifiable grounds, as long as the integrity and the evidentiary value of the seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officer/team, shall not render void and invalid such seizures of and custody over said items." However, the Court added that the prosecution bears the burden of proving justifiable cause. Thus, in People v. Almorfe, the Court stressed that for the above saving clause to apply, the prosecution must explain the reasons behind the procedural lapses, and that the integrity and value of the seized evidence had nonetheless been preserved. Also, in People v. De Guzman, it was emphasized that the justifiable ground for noncompliance must be proven as a fact, because the Court cannot presume what these grounds are or that they even exist.

In the present case, the prosecution did not even bother to explain why the inventory and photograph of the seized evidence were not made either in the place of seizure and arrest or at the police station, as required by the IRR in case of warrantless arrests, or why the marking of the seized item was not made at the place of seizure in the presence of Macapundag. It was also silent on the absence of a representative from the DOJ, the media and an elected public official to witness the inventory and receive copies of the same. Similarly unexplained was the lack of inventory and photographs of the seized items. Accordingly, the plurality of the breaches of procedure committed by the police officers, unacknowledged and unexplained by the State, militate against a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt against the accused, as the integrity and evidentiary value of the corpus delicti had been compromised. It has been repeated in jurisprudence that the procedure in Section 21 of RA 9165 is a matter of substantive law, and cannot be brushed aside as a simple procedural technicality; or worse, ignored as an impediment to the conviction of illegal drug suspects. With the foregoing pronouncement, the Court finds petitioner's acquittal in order. As such, it is unnecessary to delve into the other issues raised in this case.

The appeal is GRANTED. The Decision dated April 22, 2015 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 06224 is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accordingly, petitioner Puyat Macapundag y Labao is ACQUITTED of the crimes charged. The Director of the Bureau of Corrections is ordered to cause his immediate release, unless he is being lawfully held in custody for any other reason.