The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the conviction of a Dumaguete City resident who was arrested in 2014 during a police buy-bust operation which was found to have followed strictly the procedural rules in the custody of the seized illegal drugs.

Affirmed was the guilty verdict imposed on Reme Yray Gregorio by both the regional trial court (RTC) and the Court of Appeals (CA) in a resolution released by the SC last March 15.

Gregorio was convicted of violations of Section 5 (selling) and Section 11 (possession) of Republic Act No. 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. He was arrested during a buy-bust operation conducted by the provincial office of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Negros Oriental.

For selling .06 gram of shabu to an informant who was accompanied by an undercover policeman, Gregorio was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of P500,000. For possession of 1.19 grams of shabu, he was meted out a prison term ranging from 12 to 14 years with a fine of P400,000.

The April 21, 2016 decision handed down by the Dumaguete City RTC was upheld in a ruling handed down by the CA on Dec. 4, 2017. The CA decision was appealed before the SC.

Section 21 of RA 9165 imposes a strict compliance with the chain of custody of the seized illegal drugs.

The law requires that the seized dangerous drugs must be inventoried and photographed immediately after seizure or confiscation; the physical inventory and photographing must be done in the presence of the accused or his/her representative or counsel, an elected public official, a representative from the media, and a representative from the Department of Justice (DOJ), all of whom shall be required to sign the copies of the inventory and be given a copy of the same; and the seized drugs must be turned over to a forensic laboratory within 24 hours from confiscation for examination.”

In its numerous decisions, the SC had ruled that “strict compliance with the requirements is necessary in protecting the integrity and identity of the corpus delicti (body of the crime or the seized illegal drugs), without which the crime of the illegal sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt.”

Immediately after his arrest a few meters from his residence in Barangay Looc, Dumaguete City, the police officers immediately conduct an inventory of the seized illegal drugs.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that the photographic documentation performed by the police was witnessed by Gregorio himself, by the chairperson of Barangay Looc, and representatives of both the DOJ and the media.

After the documentation and inventory, the seized items were turned over to the Negros Oriental Provincial Crime Laboratory Office which found that the substance in the plastic sachets contained shabu.

The seized shabu was kept in a vault until it was submitted to the trial court during the hearing of the criminal cases against Gregorio.

In denying Gregorio’s appeal, the SC said:

“It is fundamental in the prosecution of drugs cases that the existence and identity of the seized contraband be established beyond reasonable doubt. In this aspect of the case does the chain of custody rule come to the fore. Inasmuch as the contraband itself constitutes the very corpus delicti of the offenses and the existence thereof is vital to a judgment of conviction, it is essential to ensure that the substance recovered from the accused is the same substance offered in court.

“The unbroken chain of custody of the seized shabu in this case has been established by the prosecution.

“This Court agrees with the trial court and the CA that the evidentiary value and integrity of the corpus delicti have been preserved in the instant case. There is neither allegation nor evidence that (the police officer) has lost possession of the subject contraband from the time of seizure, to the inventory, and to the time he surrendered its custody to forensic chemist for examination.

“There is likewise no showing of a breach in custody while the specimens were in the possession of chemist... until they were submitted in court as evidence on the charges against accused-appellant (Gregorio).

“To our mind, based on the records and testimonies of the key prosecution witnesses, the six sachets of shabu seized from accused-appellant, subjected to inventory and documentation at the police station and submitted to qualitative and quantitative examination, are the same items that were submitted to the trial court as physical object evidence.

“Considering the entirety of the prosecution evidence, accused-appellant's bare and self-serving denial must fail. This Court is convinced beyond reasonable doubt that accused-appellant is guilty of violation of Sections 5, Article II of R.A. No. 9165 for selling of shabu, an illegal drug, and for the illegal possession of the same substance in violation of Section 11, Article II of the same law.

“WHEREFORE, the instant appeal is DISMISSED. The December 4, 2017 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 02303, finding accused-appellant Reme Gregorio y Yray guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Sections 5 and 11, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165, is AFFIRMED.

“The dangerous drugs seized and recovered from accused-appellant in this case are hereby forfeited in favor of the government to be disposed of in accordance with the law. SO ORDERED.”