People vs Agojo

G.R. No. 181318

Facts:
Agojo was charged with illegal sale of shabu in the RTC of Batangas. The alleged sale was taken
place in front of Mercado Hospital in Tanauan, Batangas in a buy-bust operation. Alonzo
(Government officer) handed to the accused the marked money, then Agojo in turned handed the
VHS Tapes containing Shabu. When Alonzo and Agojo departed; Agojo entered in the Hospital. After
a while Agojo exited from the hospital via the emergency room door; thereby Salazar introduced
himself as a policeman; Agojo resisted, but the other team members handcuffed Agojo. Appellant
presented a different version of the facts, in support of the defenses of denial and frame up. Agojo
presented an evidence that the marked money were bogus and requested a new trial.
RTC rendered decision finding the accused guilty of the crime charge. CA affirmed RTC decision.

Issue:
Whether or not Agojo's guilt was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Held:
Yes.

Ratio:
The testimony of Alonzo on the sale of illegal drugs and the identification of appellant as the
seller is clear and straightforward. The testimony of Alonzo was corroborated by members of the buy-
bust team, particularly Calapati and Salazar, who both testified that they saw appellant hand Alonzo
the VHS tape containing the shabu despite only partial payment for the shabu.
The arrest was validly executed pursuant to Section 5, paragraph (b) of Rule 113 of the Rules of Court.
The second instance of lawful warrantless arrest covered by paragraph (b) cited above necessitates
two stringent requirements before a warrantless arrest can be effected: (1) an offense has just been
committed; and (2) the person making the arrest has personal knowledge of facts indicating that the
person to be arrested has committed it. A review of the records shows that both requirements were
met in this case.