PEOPLE V.

LO HO WING
193 SCRA 122 January 21, 1991 GANCAYCO
Article III - Section 2 Created by: Inga Dela Cruz
Petitioners Respondents
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
LO HO WING alias PETER LO, LIM CHENG HUAT
alias ANTONIO LIM and REYNALDO TIA y
SANTIAGO, defendants. LO HO WING alias
PETER LO
Recit Ready Summary
The case concerns the conviction of the accused Peter Lo and Lim Cheng Huat alias Antonio Lim and
Reynaldo Tia, were charged with a violation of Section 15, Article III of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972,
for the unlawful transport of methamphetamine. Upon the tip of one of their informers, the Special
Operations Group of the Criinal Investigation Service of the Philippine Constabulary learned of the
activities of a syndicate engaged in the importation of illegal drugs as well as the smuggling of other
contraband items. On this information, they created project, OPLAN SHARON 887, under which, Reynaldo
Tia, one of the co-accused, was recruited to be a deep penetration agent. Tia was introduced to Lim, and
later to Lo, who he accompanied to China. In China, Lo purchased several can of tea and informed Tia that
they contained Chinese drugs.
When they returned to Manila, they met with Lim who was waiting for them at NAIA, little did Lo and
Lim know, the team of OPLAN SHARON along with NARCOM was ready for them. Prior to leaving, Tia
learned of their expected date and time of arrival and informed Captain Palmera, the officer-in-charge of
the operation. When the officers spotted the accused hailing a cab, they pursued them, eventually catching
up with them. In the luggage of the accused, they found the cans of tea, which was found to contain meth.
Lim, Lo, and Tia were brought in for further investigation, and later, were charged for violation of the
Dangerous Drugs Act.
The petitioners argue that the search and seizure was illegal considering it was done without a warrant,
especially since, the officers had knowledge of the time and date of their arrival. However, the Court ruled
that the search and seizure falls withing the recognized exceptions of a warrantless search and seizure,
which is search in a moving vehicle. Furthermore, the Court said that such knowledge about the time and
date of their arrival, but such was insufficient to satisfy the requirements for the issuance of a search
warrant.

Facts of the Case

- The Special Operations Group (a unit of the Criminal Investigation Service of the Philippine
Constabulary), received a tip from one of its informers about an organized group engaged in the
importation of illegal drugs, smuggling of contraband goods, and gunrunning.
o Based on this information, they created project codenamed OPLAN SHARON 887 in order
to bust the syndicate
o The recruitment of confidential men and "deep penetration agents' was carried out to
infiltrate the crime syndicate; one of those recruited was the discharged accused,
Reynaldo Tia
o Tia was introduced to his co-accused Lim Cheng Huat who expressed a desire to hire a
male travelling companion for his business nips abroad. Tia offered his services and was
hired. Later, Tia was introduced to co-accused Peter Lo who would accompany him on the
trip in lieu of Lim.
o During the preparation trip, Tia regularly submitted reports of his undercover activities
on the suspected criminal syndicate.
- On October 4, 1987, Lo and Tia left for Hongkong on board a Philippine Airlines flight. Before they
departed, Tia was able to telephone Captain Palmera to inform him of their expected date of return
to the Philippines as declared in his round-trip plane ticket-October 6, 1987 at two o'clock in the
afternoon.
 - From Hong Kong, they traveled to Guangzhou in the People’s Republic of China.
o They went to a local shop where Lo purchased 6 tin cans of tea which Tia found out,
contained Chinese drugs.
- The next day, October 6,1987, the two returned to Manila, however before departing from
Guangzhou the customs examiners inspected their luggage. The tin cans of tea were brought out
from the traveling bag of appellant, but the contents of the cans were not closely examined, and Lo
was cleared along with Tia.
- When they arrived at NAIA, the pair met with Lim. They hailed a taxicab, and Lo and Tia boarded
the taxicab after putting their luggage inside the back compartment of the vehicle while Lim
followed in another taxi cab.
- Meanwhile, a team composed of six operatives headed by Captain Palmera (the officer-in-charged
of Oplan Sharon) was formed to act on the tip given by Tia.
o the team proceeded to the NAIA. Captain Palmera notified the Narcotics Command
(NARCOM) Detachment at the airport for coordination. Upon seeing Tia and the accused,
they followed them and stopped them. The other cab carrying Lim sped away in an
attempt to escape but was later apprehended
o From the first vehicle, the officers found 3 pieces of luggage. They requested permission
from the suspects to search the luggage. A tin can of tea was take out of Lo’s luggage and
when one of the officers pried the lid open, they found the tea bags which contained some
crystalline white powder
- Tia and Lo were taken to the CIS Headquarters fro questioning
- It was later confirmed by the PC-INP Crime Laboratory that the powder was methamphetamine.
- The trial court found both Lim and Lo guilty of violating Section 15, Article III of the
aforementioned statute otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.
Issues Ruling

1. W/N the warrantless search and seizure conducted on the accused is legal Yes

Rationale/Analysis/Legal Basis
- Search of a moving vehicle
o A warrantless search and seizure with regard to a moving vehicle is a recognize exception
to the rule that searches and seizure without a warrant are illegal.
o The circumstances of the case clearly show that the search in question was made as
regards a moving vehicle. Therefore, a valid warrant was not necessary to effect the
search on appellant and his co-accused.
o The circumstances of the case clearly show that the search in question was made as
regards a moving vehicle. Therefore, a valid warrant was not necessary to effect the
search on appellant and his co-accused.

- Probable cause
o It was firmly established from the factual findings of the trial court that the authorities
had reasonable ground to believe that appellant would attempt to bring in contraband
and transport it within the country.
o The belief was based on intelligence reports gathered from surveillance activities on the
suspected syndicate, of which appellant was touted to be a member. Aside from this, they
were also certain as to the expected date and time of arrival of the accused from China.
o But just because they had such knowledge about the time and date of arrival does not
mean that they could have gotten a warrant. According to the SC, such knowledge was
clearly insufficient to enable them to fulfill the requirements for the issuance of a search
warrant. The important thing is that there was probable cause to conduct the warrantless
 search, which must still be present in such a case.

Disposition
WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby AFFIRMED in toto and the appeal is thereby
DISMISSED. No costs.
Separate Opinions
NA