CRIMINAL LAW II CASE DIGEST/ PEOPLE V. BARBA, G.R. NO. 182420, JULY 23, 2009

PEOPLE V. BARBA,

G.R. NO. 182420, JULY 23, 2009

TOPIC/DOCTRINE

A conviction cannot be sustained if there is a persistent doubt on the identity of the drug.

FACTS

The illegal drugs were seized from Barba, PO2 Rabina marked the plastic sachets with his initials. PO1 Almacen marked the tooter in the same manner. The seized aluminum foil was marked “AA,” presumably after PO2 Arnulfo Aguillon but there is no testimony on this. Once at the police station, the drugs and paraphernalia were then made the subject of a Request for Examination issued by Inspector Bauto. The specimens were then turned over to the PNP Crime Laboratory Office where Forensic Chemist Jabonillo made his conclusion that the sachets and the aluminum foil contained shabu. During trial, he testified that the specimen he examined was the same one he brought to the court. Exhibit “G” or Chemistry Report No. D-086-2003 was also presented as evidence to show that the seized items were positive for dangerous drugs.

ISSUE

Is the chain of custody presented by the prosecution complete?

RULING

No.

The court held that e prohibited drug is an integral part of the corpus delicti of the crime of possession or selling of regulated/prohibited drug; proof of its identity, existence, and presentation in court are crucial. A conviction cannot be sustained if there is a persistent doubt on the identity of the drug. The identity of the prohibited drug must be established with moral certainty. Apart from showing that the elements of possession or sale are present, the fact that the substance illegally possessed and sold in the first place is the same substance offered in court as exhibit must likewise be established with the same degree of certitude as that needed to sustain a guilty verdict.

Here, the court held that the chain of custody presented by the prosecution in this case suffers from incompleteness. Pieced together, the prosecution’s evidence, however, does not supply all the links needed in the chain of custody rule. The records do not tell us what happened after the seized items were brought to the police station and after these were tested at the forensic laboratory. Doubt is now formed as to the integrity of the evidence.

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