368 Phil. 326
KAPUNAN, J.:
That on or about the 15th day of May, 1993, in Quezon City, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, acting in confabulation and confederating with one another, with unity of purpose and design, did, then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell, deliver, transport and distribute METAMPHETAMINE (sic) HYDROCHLORIDE otherwise known as "SHABU," a regulated drug, without lawful authority, to a posseur-buyer (sic), approximately weighing a total of eleven (11) kilograms of said substance packed and contained in several plastic transparent bags, and with a street valued of (sic) of P11 million more or less.Upon arraignment, both accused, with the assistance of their respective counsel, pleaded "not guilty." Hence, the trial on the merits.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[1]
WHEREFORE, the accused ARMANDO PULONGBARIT Y PASTRANA [a.k.a. Mike] guilty beyond reasonable doubt (sic) for unlawful selling/delivering/transporting methamphetamine hydrochloride otherwise known as "shabu," a regulated drug without lawful authority in violation of Section 15, Article III of the Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, and sentences him to serve an indeterminate penalty of six (6) months of arresto mayor as minimum to six (6) years of prision correcional as the maximum thereof, and to pay a fine of P20,000.00 and to pay the costs.Only accused Sy Bing Yok alias "Arturo Marcelo Sy" appealed his conviction. Accused Armando Pulongbarit y Pastrana alias "Mike" applied for probation.
2.) Finding the accused SY BING YOK [a.k.a. Arturo Marcelo Sy, Arturo Marcelo Lim or "Willie"] guilty beyond reasonable doubt for unlawfully selling/delivering/transporting methamphetamine hydrochloride otherwise known as "shabu," a regulated drug without lawful authority in violation of Section 15, Article III of Republic Act No. 6425, as amended, and sentences him to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and to pay a fine of P20,000.00 and to pay the costs.
Further, all the methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) taken and seized from both accused during the aforesaid buy-bust operation are forfeited and confiscated in favor of the government and shall be turned over to the Dangerous Drugs Board pursuant to law for proper disposal without delay.
SO ORDERED.[2]
The NARCOM team then waited for the arrival of "Willie Sy" inside the house of Pulongbarit. At around 5:30 p.m., a red Toyota car parked in front of Pulongbarit's house. A man in t-shirt, who turned out to be "Willie Sy," alighted carrying a carton box. As he entered Pulongbarit's house, he was immediately accosted by the NARCOM agents who seized the carbon box he was carrying. When the box was opened, it yielded five (5) kilos of crystalline substance. Said substance was inventoried and turned over to Col. Angelito Moreno, Chief of the Legal and Investigation Service, NARCOM, who forwarded it to the PNP Crime Laboratory for examination.[9]
xxx.Q. Now, how far were you when Mr. Pulongbarit was talking on the cellular phone with a certain Willie Sy? A. I am very near almost, my hear (ear), my head was also were (where) Pulongbarit was using (sic). Q. What were the words that you heard if you can still recall as far as the call? A. What I heard?
Q. What did Pulongbarit first say? A. "Willie, ubos na yung dinala mo rito, magdala ka uli ng limang kilo." Q. What else did you hear?
A. And on the other line I heard was, also answered (sic); "oo, pare, ako hatid diyan," then he asked, "ubos na ba dala diyan? Oo, dito na pera." Q. Who said this "dito na pera," Was it Pulongbarit or the answering line? xxx.A. It was Pulongbarit, sir.[8]
Qualitative examination conducted on the above specimen gave POSITIVE result to the tests for Methamphetamine Hydrochloride (Shabu), a regulated drug. xxx.[10]On May 18, 1993, an Information was filed wherein Armando Pulongbarit y Pastrana a.k.a. "Mike," Arturo Marcelo Sy a.k.a. "Arturo Marcelo Lim" or "Willie," and Samson Sio were charged with violation of Section 15, Article III, Republic Act No. 6425, as amended.[11]
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONVICTING ACCUSED-APPELLANT OF THE CRIME CHARGED ON THE BASIS OF THE INCREDIBLE, DUBIOUS, UNBELIEVABLE, AND CONTRADICTING TESTIMONIES OF THE PRINCIPAL WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION AS AGAINST THE STRAIGHTFORWARD, UNSHAKEN, AND UNCONTRADICTED TESTIMONY OF ACCUSED-APPELLANT.At the outset, appellant assails the decision for having been rendered by a judge who did not personally hear the case but merely a small portion thereof, i.e., only the testimony of appellant. He states that "it came rather as a surprise why the Presiding Judge of Branch 96 was inhibited from continuing to take over the case (sic), and the case re-ruffled (sic) to Branch 84 which merely heard the testimony of accused-appellant x x x."[16]II
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONVICTING ACCUSED-APPELLANT OF THE CRIME CHARGED DESPITE A SERIOUS DOUBT AS TO HIS IDENTITY AS THE OWNER OF THE DRUGS ALLEGEDLY FOUND IN HIS POSSESSION.III
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT ACQUITTING ACCUSED-APPELLANT ON THE GROUND THAT THE PROSECUTION FAILED TO ESTABLISH HIS GUILT BY PROOF BEYOND PERADVENTURE OF DOUBT.[15]
As held in People v. De Paz[19] -Appellant points out that the testimonies of the witnesses for the prosecution, namely, Chief Inspector Jerry Valeroso and SPO3 Agustin Timbol are fraught with inconsistencies and contradictions so much so that the identity of appellant as the possessor/owner of the "shabu" allegedly seized from him has become highly questionable. According to appellant, Chief Inspector Valeroso testified that appellant was "wearing a sando,"[20] contrary to the declaration of SPO3 Timbol who described appellant as "wearing a tee-shirt."[21] Appellant further claims that while witness Valeroso testified that when the car appellant was riding arrived at Pulongbarit's house, the latter came out to meet the passengers at the gate, SPO3 Timbol, on the other hand declared that appellant immediately entered the house of Pulongbarit.[22]
x x x. While it is true that the trial judge who conducted the hearing would be in a better position to ascertain the truth or falsity of the testimonies of the witnesses, it does not necessarily follow that a judge who was not present during the trial cannot render a valid and just decision since the latter can also rely on the transcribed stenographic notes taken during the trial as the basis of his decision.
Chief Inspector Jerry Valeroso, team leader of the NARCOM team, fully corroborated SPO3 Timbol's testimony. It may be noted that there is nothing on record to indicate that the above-named witnesses harbored ill motives against appellant. In several drug cases, this Court has consistently held that in the absence of proof to the contrary, law enforcers are presumed to have regularly performed their duty.[30]
xxxQ. What is the full name of Mike?
A Armando Pulongbarit, sir. Q. What was the result of this interrogation? A. He admitted, he gave his source. Q. Who was that source? A. It was, according to Armando Pulongbarit, it was Willie Sy. Q. Upon knowing that the source of shabu was one Willie Sy, what did you do or your team do or plan? A. We, after he mentioned Willie Sy as his source, we composed a team for possible arrest of the suspect Willie Sy. Q. Then what steps did you do to effect that plan? A. A team was formed and we returned back to the residence of Pulongbarit because their way of ordering shabu is by calling by cellular phone. Q. What time was that when you returned to his residence? A. More or less 3:00 p.m. of May 15. Q. What did he do after you reached his residence? A. At about 3:30 he was able to contact Willie Sy and ordered five kilos of shabu. xxxQ. After this conversation through the phone what did you and your team do? A. Because Willie Sy said to Pulongbarit, "oo, pare, hintay, ako dating diyan," we waited and after Pulongbarit (sic) we waited until the suspect arrived. Q. Where did you wait? A. Inside the residence of Pulongbarit. Q. How about your companions? A. Also inside the residence of Pulongbarit. Q. Who were your companions? A. Chief Inspector Valeroso, SPO1 Antonio, PO3 Bulan and an agent and myself, we were all five. Q. All of you were inside the residence? A. Yes, sir. Q. No other, none police officer (sic) was present aside from Pulongbarit?
Atty. Habitan: We will object, leading and assuming a fact. Court: Reform. Q. In what part of the house were you specifically located while waiting? A. Downstairs. Q. Where was Mr. Pulongbarit while you were waiting? A. He is with us. Q. About past 5:00 what transpired about 5:30 in the afternoon of May 15, 1993? A. A red toyota car parked in front of the residence of Armando Pulongbarit. Q. What happened after the car was parked? A. One man wearing a tee-shirt alighted from the car carrying a carton bag and proceeded to the residence of Pulongbarit. Q. What happened after that? A. When he entered we accosted him, introduced ourselves as police officers and we asked what is the contents of the carton, we inspected it and we noticed that it was methamphetamine hydrochloride and at that time we effected the arrest after also apprising his constitutional rights.Q. If that person from whom you confiscated the five bags of so called shabu is in the courtroom, will you please point at him or go near? A. (Witness tapping accused Arturo Marcelo Sy on the shoulder)
Q. What happened after that? A. When we effected the arrest of Marcelo Sy, we also asked him whose companions inside the car he answered, it was Samson Siu who was able to elude arrest after noticing the arrest of Willie Sy and at that time we searched the car and we recovered the car registration and insurance of the car in the name of Samson Siu.Q. What did your team do in respect of the five bags of shabu taken from Mr. Sy?
A. We brought the confiscated evidence together with the suspect at our headquarters, Narcom, Camp Crame, Q.C.[29]