PEOPLE v. CABILES

People of the Philippines Vs. Stephan Cabiles y Suarez a.k.a. "Kano"

G.R. No. 220758

June 7, 2017

FACTS:

At around four o'clock in the afternoon of October 31, 2005, SP04 Ernesto Gonzales and PO 1 Ian Piano along with an informant conducted a buy-bust operation against the accused. PO 1 Piano acted as the poseur-buyer. Informant met them at the lagoon of the Provincial Capitol Building on Lacson Street in Bacolod City. SPO 4 Gonzales instructed the confidential informant to send a text message to the accused regarding the place• where the sale of illicit drugs would take place. Thereafter, PO 1 Piano, together with the confidential informant, proceeded to the agreed place. PO 1 Piano and the informant approached the accused upon after they saw the latter. PO 1 Piano handed the buy-bust money to the accused-appellant, which he placed in his pocket. Accused in turn handed to PO 1 Piano a plastic sachet. Immediately after the exchange, PO 1 Piano called SP04 Gonzales, as the pre-arranged signal that the sale was consummated. Thereafter, PO 1 'Piano placed the accused-appellant under arrest. While being frisked, police officers recovered the buy-bust money from his pocket.

Accused denies the charges against him and contends that he was at a sari-sari store when he was arrested. That three people approached him and asked for the house of one Pablo Bautista and when he pointed where the house was, he was frisked and placed in handcuffs. He was then brought to the Police Station where the officers produced one sachet of shabu and two one hundred peso bills which was used as evidence against him.

ISSUE:

Whether or not accused is guilty of illegal sale of shabu.

HELD:

Yes, accused is guilty of illegal sale of shabu.

In a prosecution for the illegal sale of dangerous drugs, such as shabu, the following elements must be duly established: (1) the identity of the buyer and seller, the object and the consideration; and, (2) the delivery of the thing• sold and the payment therefor. The delivery of the illicit drug to the poseur-buyer and the receipt by the seller of the marked money successfully consummate the buy-bust transaction.

In the present case, the prosecution submitted evidence that duly established the elements of illegal sale of shabu. It was positively identified that the accused-appellant was the seller of the seized illegal substance which turned out to be positive for shabu, a dangerous drug. Accused-appellant sold and delivered the drug for PhP 200.00 to PO1 Piano. The act of accused-appellant of handing over the shabu after receiving the PhP200.00 buy-bust money handed by PO1 Piano, is sufficient to consummate the sale of illegal drugs. All the elements of the sale of illegal drugs were established to warrant the accused conviction.