G.R. No.

191061

February 9, 2011

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, vs. ROSELLE SANTIAGO y PABALINAS, Appellant. DECISION ABAD, J.: The Fa !" a#$ !he %a"e The public prosecutor of Makati charge the accuse !oselle Santiago " #abalinas alias Tisay $!oselle% &ith violation of Section ' of !epublic Act $!.A.% ()*') before the !egional Trial Court $!TC% of Makati Cit" in Cri+inal Case ,'.(/. !oselle &as also charge &ith violation of Section )' of the sa+e la& in Cri+inal Case ,'-)),)./ Initiall", !oselle plea e not guilt" in Cri+inal Case ,'-)),) $violation of Section )'% but she later change her plea to guilt" 0 an &as so foun b" the court. The latter, ho&ever, eferre her sentencing until the ter+ination of the case for violation of Section '. The parties stipulate at the pre-trial $)% that #O0 1eo 2abang investigate the case3 $/% that, although the latter prepare the investigation report, he ha no personal kno&le ge of &hat happene 3 $0% that the police +a e a re4uest, through #5Supt. Marietto Men o6a, for laborator" e7a+ination3 $8% that #5Insp. !ichar Allan Mangalip, a forensic che+ist of the #hilippine National #olice $#N#% Cri+e 1aborator", e7a+ine the sub+itte speci+en, not kno&ing fro+ &ho+ the sa+e &as taken3 $'% that the #N# Cri+e 1aborator" Office issue #h"sical Science !eport D-,(,-,'S3 an $*% that the forensic che+ist &as 4ualifie . 9ith these stipulations, the prosecution ispense &ith Mangalip:s testi+on".8 #O) ;oltaire Esguerra $Esguerra% testifie that on April 8, /,,', the" receive infor+ation that !oselle &as selling illegal rugs at her house at #ipit E7tension, <aranga" !i6al, Makati Cit". Esguerra con ucte a test bu" an receive fro+ her one heat-seale transparent plastic sachet that presu+abl" containe shabu. 9hen he returne to his office, Esguerra +arke the sachet &ith => Tisay= then sent it to the laborator" for testing.' <efore receiving the results of the test bu", an asset tol the police that !oselle &as going to leave her house, pro+pting Esguerra:s tea+ to con uct a bu"-bust operation. Esguerra +et !oselle again an tol her that it &as he &ho bought shabu fro+ her earlier that a". She thus let hi+ enter the front "ar of her house &here he tol her that he &ante to bu" another pack for #0,,.,,. !oselle took his +arke +one" an entere the house. 9hile &aiting an looking in, Esguerra spotte t&o &o+en* insi e using shabu &ith the asset b" their si e, apparentl" &aiting for

his turn. Subse4uentl", !oselle returne &ith one heat-seale transparent plastic sachet presu+abl" containing shabu. ?pon receipt of the sachet, Esguerra signale his tea+. The" arreste !oselle an appraise her of her rights. Esguerra i++e iatel" +arke the sachet &ith =RPS=. After returning to the station, he turne over !oselle an the sei6e sachet to the investigator. 9hen the contents of the first an secon sachets $&ith => Tisay= an =!#S= +arkings% &ere e7a+ine , these &ere confir+e to be Methylamphetamine Hydrochloride $shabu%. A confir+ator" test also foun !oselle positive for the use of shabu.
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@or her efense, !oselle enies that she sol shabu to Esguerra. She clai+s that the case &as a pro uct of a +istaken i entit", as she &as not kno&n as Tisay in the area but !oselle. She narrate ho& she &as forcibl" taken fro+ her house an into custo ". In its ecision ate Aune )), /,,B, the !TC foun !oselle guilt" of violation of Section ', Article II of !.A. ()*', an sentence her to life i+prison+ent an to pa" a fine of #',,,,,,.,,. The !TC also sentence her to un ergo rehabilitation for not less than si7 +onths at a govern+ent rug rehabilitation center subCect to the provisions of !.A. ()*' for her violation of Section )', Article II of !.A. ()*'. !oselle appeale fro+ both Cu g+ents to the Court of Appeals $CA% in CA-2.!. C!-DC ,08') but the latter court affir+e the t&o convictions. She looks for her ac4uittal fro+ this Court. The I""ue" Pre"e#!e$ !o !he %our! The issues presente to the Court are $)% &hether or not the police con ucte a vali arrest in !oselle:s case3 an $/% &hether or not the CA erre in affir+ing the !TC:s fin ing that the prosecution evi ence establishe her guilt of the offense charge be"on reasonable oubt. The %our!&" Ru'(#) O#e. !oselle clai+s that the police i not +ake a vali arrest in her case since the" arreste her &ithout proper &arrant an i not apprise her of the rights of a person taken into custo " as the Constitution an !.A. .80B provi e. . <ut !oselle raise this issue onl" uring appeal, not before she &as arraigne . @or this reason, she shoul be ee+e to have &aive an" 4uestion as to the legalit" of her arrest.B T*o. Although the prosecution establishe through Esguerra the acts constituting the cri+e( charge in the rug-pushing case $Section '%, it faile to provi e proper i entit" of the allege l" prohibite substance that the police sei6e fro+ !oselle.

Esguerra testifie that he sei6e a heat-seale sachet of &hite substance fro+ !oselle an +arke the sachet &ith =!#S= right in her presence. De clai+e that he then i++e iatel" sub+itte the speci+en to the police cri+e laborator" for e7a+ination. <ut the re4uest for laborator" e7a+ reveals that it &as not Esguerra &ho elivere the speci+en to the cri+e laborator". ), It appears that Esguerra gave it to a certain S#O0 #uno &ho in turn for&ar e it to a certain #O/ Santos. No testi+on" covers the +ove+ent of the speci+en a+ong these other persons. Conse4uentl", the prosecution &as unable to establish the chain of custo " of the sei6e ite+ an its preservation fro+ possible ta+pering. Since the sei6e substance &as heat-seale in plastic sachet an properl" +arke b" the officer &ho sei6e the sa+e, it &oul have also been sufficient, espite intervening changes in its custo " an possession, if the prosecution ha presente the forensic che+ist to attest to the fact a% that the sachet of substance &as han e to hi+ for e7a+ination in the sa+e con ition that Esguerra last hel itE still heat-seale , +arke , an not ta+pere &ith3 b% that he $the che+ist% opene the sachet an e7a+ine its content3 c% that he after&ar s reseale the sachet an &hat is left of its content an place his o&n +arking on the cover3 an % that the speci+en re+aine in the sa+e con ition &hen it is being presente in court. In this &a", the court &oul have been assure of the integrit" of the speci+en as presente before it. If the fin ing of the che+ist is challenge , there +a" be opportunit" for the court to re4uire a retest so long as sufficient re+nants of the sa+e are left. 9hat is +ore, the prosecution faile to account for the &hereabouts of the sei6e speci+en after the cri+e laborator" con ucte its tests. This o+ission is fatal since the chain of custo " shoul be establishe fro+ the ti+e the sei6e rugs &ere confiscate an eventuall" +arke until the sa+e is presente uring trial. )) Taking into account the above reasons, the Court fin s it ifficult to sustain the conviction of !oselle for violation of Section '. The presu+ption of her innocence of the charge +ust prevail. As for the other offense, her an = to account the &hereabouts of both speci+ens $those +arke &ith >f those i entifie as +e+bers of the bu" bust tea+. laboviolation of Section )' $?se of Illegal Drugs%, it is curious that the CA still entertaine her appeal fro+ it espite the fact that she plea e guilt" to the charge an i not ask the trial court to allo& her to change her plea. At an" rate, since she ha been un er etention at the Correctional Institute for 9o+en since /,,' an presu+abl" eprive of the use of illegal substance uring her entire sta" there, she shoul be ee+e to have serve the +an ator" rehabilitation perio that the !TC i+pose on her. +HEREFORE, for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt be"on reasonable oubt of the allege violation of Section ' of !.A. ()*', the Court !E;E!SES the ecision of the Court of Appeals in CA-2.!. C!-DC ,08') ate October 0,, /,,( an A%,-ITS the accuse !oselle Santiago " #abalinas of the charge against her for that cri+e.

The Court DI!ECTS the &ar en of the Correctional Institute for 9o+en to release the accuse fro+ custo " i++e iatel" upon receipt of this ecision unless she is vali l" etaine for so+e other reason. SO ORDERED.