ARELLANO, SHAINE AIRA E.

JD-1

G.R. No. 231383 March 7, 2018

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee
vs.
JOEY L. SANCHEZ, Accused-Appellant

FACTS:

Accused Sanchez was charged with the crimes of illegal sale

and illegal possession of dangerous drugs. He was allegedly caught
in flagrante delicto through a buy-bust operation conducted by IO1
Tabuyo as the poseur-buyer and his company. IO1 Tabuyo
proceeded to the target area and executed the plan, when there
was an exchange of the marked money, IO1 Tabuyo had signaled for
the arrest. The marking, inventory and photography of the seized
items were done immediately at the area and preceded to their
office. In their office, the representatives from the DOJ and media
signed the Certificate of Inventory. The seized items were then
brought to the PNP Crime Laboratory for examination and were
confirmed to be shabu.

The RTC found accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the

crimes charged wherein the CA confirmed such decision.

Hence, this appeal.

ISSUE:

Whether or not, the CA correctly upheld Sanchez’s conviction

for the crimes charged.

RULING OF THE COURT:

The appeal was meritorious.

Section 21, Article II of R.A. 9165 outlines the procedure

which the apprehending officers must follow when handling the
seized drugs in order to preserve their integrity and evidentiary
rule. Under the said section, the apprehending team shall, among
others, immediately after seizure and confiscation conduct a
physical inventory and photograph the seized items in the presence
of the accused or his representatives or counsel, a representative
from the media and the DOJ and any elected public official.

As in this case, the representatives from the DOJ and media

are the only signatories of the Certificate of Inventory and they
ARELLANO, SHAINE AIRA E. JD-1

were not present during the actual inventory of the seized items.
Moreover, an elected public official was neither present nor a
signatory of the Certificate of Inventory. The signing was also done
in the office of the apprehending officers after the said seizure.

The court found that the arresting officers committed

unjustified deviations from the prescribed chain of custody rule,
thereby putting into question the integrity and evidentiary value of
the dangerous drugs allegedly seized from the accused.

It is settled that in a prosecution for the sale and possession

of dangerous drugs under R.A. 9165, the State carries the heavy
burden of proving not only the elements of the offense but also to
prove the integrity of the corpus delicti, failing in which, renders
the case for the State insufficient to prove the guilt of the accused
beyond reasonable doubt.

Wherefore, the appeal was granted and the decision of CA was

reversed and set aside. Accordingly, accused-appellant Sanchez was
acquitted of the crimes charged.