PEOPLE v. JAO

People of the Philippines Vs. Allan Jao y Calonia and Rogelio Catigtig y Cobio 

G.R. No. 225634

June 7, 2017

FACTS:

On June 2, 2008, a police team planned a buy-bust operation at Four Queens Motel located at Barangay Maslog, Sibulan, Negros Oriental, after an informant notified them that accused-appellant Jao was engaged in the sale of shabu. Pursuant to the plan, four police officers checked in at Room 6 of the motel at around 5 :45 in the afternoon. Acting as poseur-buyer, the informant called Jao and ordered shabu worth P800.00 for delivery at Room 6 of the motel. When Jao arrived, the informant asked for the shabu and Jao replied by taking a plastic sachet from his waistband and handing it over to the former. The informant then executed the pre-arranged signal, prompting the policemen to arrest Jao. Six (6) more plastic sachets containing shabu was recovered from Jao. While Special Investigator Marlon Manzanaris (SI Manzanaris) was about to prepare the inventory of the seized items, Jao suddenly and voluntarily informed the policemen that Catigtig was his source of contraband and agreed to cooperate for the latter's arrest. Accused-appellant Jao was then instructed to call Catigtig to order ten (10) more sachets of shabu, to which the latter agreed to deliver at around 8 o'clock that evening. Due to this development, the conduct of the inventory was suspended, and consequently, the policemen checked out of the motel and returned to their headquarters. During this time, SI Manzanaris retained custody of the items seized from Jao.

At around 7:30 in the evening, the policemen went back to the motel after Jao received a text message from Catigtig that he was already outside Room 6. Three (3) policemen then hid inside the bathroom, while Jao acted as an informant and one Senior Police Officer 2 (SP02) as the poseur-buyer. When Catigtig entered the room, Jao introduced the SP02 as the buyer of shabu, thus, prompting Catigtig to hand over a Marlboro cigarette pack containing ten (10) plastic sachets of shabu to the, who in tum, said "Okay na ni," signifying that the transaction had already taken place. The other policemen then rushed into the scene, arrested Catigtig, and frisked him, resulting in the discovery of another sachet of shabu.

The Regional Trial Court of Dumaguete City, Branch 30 (RTC), rendered a decision convicting accused- appellants of the crimes of Illegal Delivery and Illegal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, defined and penalized under Sections 54 and 11,  Article II of Republic Act No. (RA) 9165,6 otherwise known as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 ." Aggrieved, accused-appellants appealed to the CA.

The CA affirmed accused- appellants' respective convictions in toto. However, after accused-appellants filed their Notice of Appeal, the CA received a letter 24 dated February 9, 2016 from the Bureau of Corrections, stating that Catigtig had already died on August 7 , 2015.

Hence, the present petition.

ISSUE:

Whether or not accused-appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violations of Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165.

HELD:

Yes. Accused-appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violations of Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165.

For a successful prosecution of the crime of Illegal Delivery of Dangerous Drugs, it must be proven that the accused passed on possession of a dangerous drug to another, personally or otherwise, and by any means; that such delivery is not authorized by law; and that the accused knowingly made the delivery. Worthy of note is that the delivery may be committed even without consideration. On the other hand, in the crime of Illegal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, the prosecution must prove that the accused is in possession of an item or object, which is identified as a prohibited drug; that such possession is not authorized by law; and that the accused freely and consciously possessed the drug. 28 In the instant case, both the RTC and the CA correctly found that the prosecution had established Jao's criminal liability for the aforesaid crimes considering that: (a) Jao himself delivered a plastic sachet containing O.Ol gram of shabu to the informant during a legitimate buy-bust operation; and (b) upon his arrest, the arresting officers searched Jao and found six (6) more plastic sachets containing shabu with an aggregate weight of 0.06gram. Similarly, both courts a quo found that there was no break in the chain of custody of the sachets seized from Jao as SI Manzanaris had sole possession of such sachets from the time of Jao's arrest until he turned them over to POI Tan, who in tum, handed it over to Forensic Chemist PCI Llena for qualitative examination. It is settled that "[±]actual findings of the RTC, when affirmed by the CA, are entitled to great weight and respect by this Court and are deemed final and conclusive when supported by the evidence on record." Absent any showing that the trial and the appellate courts overlooked certain facts and circumstances that could substantially affect the outcome, their rulings must be upheld, as in this case.

In the case of Catigtig, due to his death pending appeal of his conviction, his criminal liability is extinguished inasmuch as there is no longer a defendant to stand as the accused. As such, the criminal cases against him should be dismissed and declared closed and terminated.