By Jeffrey G. Damicog The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court (RTC) to reinstate the transportation and delivery of illegal drugs complaint against respondents in a P6.4 -billion drug smuggling case in 2017. In their motion for reconsideration, state prosecutors asked RTC Branch 284 to reverse its April 23 resolution which dismissed the case and splitting the charges against the respondents, considering they also face a drug smuggling case before the Manila RTC Branch 46. State prosecutors said the court is practically citing them for forum shopping for filing a separate information for transportation, and used it as the basis to dismiss the case. The prosecutors noted that forum shopping is defined as “the institution of two or more actions or proceedings grounded on the same cause upon the supposition that one or the other court would make a favorable disposition.” They pointed out the Supreme Court had already declared that “a single act may constitute two or more crimes.” Since Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) punishes the crime of importation and transportation of illegal drugs,” the prosecution was justified in filing two separate information  for the separate violations of RA No. 9165,” they argued. “In doing so, no forum shopping has been committed and the prosecution did not violate the rule on multiplicity of suits,” they said. Charged before the Valenzuela court are businessman Chen Julong, customs fixer Mark Ruben Taguba II, Eirene Mae Tatad, Li Guang Feng, Dong Yi Shen Xi, Teejay Marcellana, Chen I-Min, Jhu Ming Jhun and Chen Rong Huan. They are also the respondents named in the case filed before the Manila RTC. State prosecutors said the Valenzuela RTC should not have granted the motion to quash of Tan, Taguba and Marcellana, all of whom sought the dismissal of the case for forum shopping, since their pleadings are prohibited under the Supreme Court’s Revised Guidelines for Continuous Trial of Criminal Cases. “Forum shopping is clearly not among the grounds stated under in Section 3, Rule 117, Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,” the prosecutors said. Under the cases now filed before the Manila and Valenzuela courts, the defendants are accused of conspiring to bring into the country 602.279 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu. The cases were filed after the Bureau of Customs discovered the shabu shipment at Tan’s Hong Fei Logistics warehouse in Valenzuela on May 26, 2017. The shabu slipped through Customs after being declared as kitchenware, footwear, and moldings.