858 Phil. 283
"[F]or the law holds, that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer. "[1]
The CaseBefore the Court is an appeal
[2] under Section 13(c), Rule 124 of the Rules of Court from the Decision
[3] dated May 3, 2016 (CA Decision) of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 01318-MIN. The CA Decision affirmed the Judgment
[4] promulgated on July 24, 2014 rendered by the Regional Trial Court of Misamis Oriental, Cagayan de Oro City, Branch 25 (RTC) in Criminal Case Nos. 2011-904 and 2011-905, which found herein accused-appellant Loren Dy
y Sero (Dy) guilty with accused William Cepeda
y Dultra (Cepeda) (collectively, accused) of violation of Section 5, Article II of Republic Act No. (RA) 9165,
[5] otherwise known as the
Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, as amended.
The FactsDy and Cepeda were jointly charged with violation of Section 5 of RA 9165 (Criminal Case No. 2011-905), while Cepeda alone was charged with violation of Section 11 of the said law (Criminal Case No. 2011-904) before the RTC. The Informations,
[6] which stemmed from the same incident, read in part:
[Criminal Case No. 2011-904]
That on September 15, 2011, at around 9:00 in the evening, more or less, at Barangay 26, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said accused, and without being authorized by law to possess or use any dangerous drug, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, criminally and knowingly have in his possession, custody and control one (1) heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, a dangerous drug, weighing 0.08 gram, accused well-knowing that what was recovered from his possession and/or control is a dangerous drug, that after screening and confirmatory tests conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Crime Laboratory, Office-10, Camp Evangelista, Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, of the recovered item from accused's possession and control, the same was found positive of the presence of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride (shabu), a dangerous drug.
Contrary to and in violation of Section 11, Article 2, of R.A. 9165.[7]
[Criminal Case No. 2011-905]
That on September 15, 2011, at around 9:00 in the evening, more or less, at Barangay 26, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating, and mutually helping each other, without being authorized by law to sell, deliver, and give away to another, any dangerous [drug], did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and criminally sell to a confidential informant of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Region 10, Cagayan de Oro City who acted as a poseur-buyer, one (1) piece heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substance of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, a dangerous drug, with a net weight of 0.04 gram, in consideration of Php 500.00, which after a confirmatory test conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory, was found positive of the presence of methamphetamine hydrochloride, both accused knowing the same to be a dangerous drug.
Contrary to the afore-cited law.[8]
When arraigned, both Dy and Cepeda entered a plea of "not guilty."
[9] Trial on the merits ensued.
The factual antecedents, as gathered from the records, are as follows:
On the evidence of the fact of arrest and elements of the offenses charged, the prosecution presented IO3 Rubietania Aguilar (Aguilar for brevity), IO2 Vincent Cecil Orcales (Orcales for brevity), and IAI Rodolfo dela Cerna (dela Cerna for brevity). Their testimonies showed that on September 5, 2011 at about 6:00 o'clock in the evening[, a] female confidential informant (CI for brevity) "handled" by dela Cerna, came to the PDEA office and gave an information that an "alias Bebeng" (or hereinafter Dy) is engaged in selling illegal drugs. Dela Cerna already learned from other reports about the drug activities of Dy and x x x [Cepeda] from other PDEA agents even before his own asset gave such information to him.
Dela Cerna relayed the information he received to their Regional Director who then instructed dela Cerna to form and lead a team for the conduct of a buy[-]bust operation. Orcales was designated as the poseur[-]buyer and Aguilar as the arresting officer. The necessary documents were then prepared x x x. A camera was also prepared. The buy[-]bust money was given to Orcales before the team composed of about eight (8) members including the CI, left the PDEA office at about 9:00 o'clock in the evening to proceed to the area of the operation using their unmarked Toyota Innova vehicle.
Upon nearing the target area which is somewhere along Osmena[10] Extension and just near Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST), Orcales and the CI alighted and walked their way to the house of their target. The rest of the team stayed in the vehicle to wait for the prearranged signal which is a missed call to be made by Orcales. The house of their target is not visible from the spot where the vehicle was parked.
The CI led Orcales to a wooden two-storey [house] where the CI then called out "Bebeng" (Dy). Dy appeared at the small terrace on the second floor just right outside the main door, and invited the CI and Orcales to come upstairs. The CI appeared to be a friend of "Bebeng", and Orcales just stayed behind the CI when the two of them went upstairs. Upon reaching Dy, the CI introduced Orcales to Dy as a friend who wanted to buy shabu worth Php500.00. She then called out "Loloy" (or hereinafter Cepeda) who came out from the end room of the house.
When Cepeda reached Dy, he got a sachet of shabu from his left pocket and handed it to Orcales who extended his hand to receive the sachet. The CI and Dy continued their casual talk for a little more time after which the CI and Orcales went down the house. Upon reaching the ground, Orcales made a missed call to Aguilar. When Aguilar received the missed call, she informed the rest of [the] team, and they all rushed to the house of Bebeng taking them about three minutes to reach the area which was about 150 meters away from the place where they parked the vehicle. The way to the house of Dy and Cepeda was a narrow pathway on the side of the big drainage beside MUST, and one has to be careful or be in danger of falling in the canal.
They met Orcales along the way upon nearing the house of Bebeng and Orcales joined the team in going to the house of Bebeng but he (Orcales) instructed his CI to hide herself. The agents with Cardona leading the way, went straight to the second floor where the main entrance door was already slightly open. Upon entering the house, they immediately saw Dy and Cepeda, and the agents then introduced themselves. Orcales himself pointed to the team "Bebeng" (Dy) and "Loloy" (Cepeda). Dy had no reaction, but Cepeda ran inside the room. The agents immediately went after Cepeda and upon entering the room, they saw him throwing something but they could not locate the spot where it landed because it was nighttime and the room was dimly lighted. Dela Cerna and two other agents exerted efforts to find the object which Cepeda may have thrown with the aid of a flashlight attached to the rifle of dela Cerna, but they failed to find anything.
They arrested Cepeda and searched his body and they discovered from his right pocket the buy[-]bust money and in the left pocket another sachet of shabu. They also seized one (1) lighter, improvised needle, some pieces of aluminum foils (sic) which they found on top of a table in the sala. The said items were then gathered in one cellophane which was marked by Aguilar "RLA". Orcales marked the sachet he bought "BB-VCO" and turned over the said sachet to Aguilar. Aguilar also marked with her initials the sachet recovered from the pocket of Cepeda.
Before conducting the inventory, they called for the presence of a barangay kagawad and a mediaman from Bombo Radyo, and upon their arrival, Aguilar conducted an Inventory at the crime scene of x x x the seized items witnessed by a barangay kagawad and media personality while pictures were being taken. x x x[11]
Meanwhile, the defense presented a counterstatement of facts, which was summarized in the following manner:
Accused William Cepeda and Loren Dy, who claimed to be husband and wife, both took the witness stand to deny the charges in these two cases. According to them, on September 5, 2011 at around 8:00 o'clock in the evening, they were in their house at Osmena Extension, Cagayan de Oro City. The house they were living (sic) is a two-storey house, but they are occupying only the second floor. At that time, Cepeda and Dy were already lying down in their bedroom while watching television. Also inside the room was their daughter-in-law Elda Ubanan, and the latter's baby, while their other children already entered their respective rooms.
While watching television, they felt the house shaking and they heard thudding sounds and they sensed that there were many people going upstairs. Cepeda peeped through the window to find out what was going on outside, and he saw somebody (they came to know later as dela Cerna) entering the house through the window of the room of his son Werlan Cepeda and the latter's wife Jenny Sumagang Cepeda, who were already lying down. Cepeda also saw armed persons kicking the door of their house uttering in a loud voice, "PDEA ni, raid ni" (We are PDEA agents, this is a raid). Cepeda followed by Dy went to the bedroom of their son and upon entering the room, Cepeda saw his son already handcuffed and ordered not to move, while the persons who were kicking the main door successfully destroyed the lock of the door and entered the house.
When the armed persons, some in civilian clothes and others in clothes with PDEA print, were already inside, and they appeared to be looking for someone. They asked Cepeda if anyone was occupying the second floor, and Cepeda answered only his family. The man asked Cepeda his name and the latter answered he is "Loloy", but the man poked his gun at Cepeda and ordered him to lie face down on the floor. Cepeda asked what offense he had committed, and also demanded to see a search warrant, but a lady (accused came to know later as Aguilar) in the company of the group berated him saying, "keep quiet or else I will empty the bullets of my gun in your body". Upon hearing the threat, Cepeda stopped complaining, and he was then handcuffed at his back. Cepeda was bodily searched and was made to remove his pants.
The armed persons then searched all the rooms in the house for about two hours from 9:00 o'clock in the evening to 11:00 o'clock in the evening, by themselves without allowing any of the occupants of the house to witness the search. Cepeda did not know if they recovered any items during the search because they never showed anything to him. When the armed persons came out of the rooms, Cepeda noticed that they were taking pictures but he was not aware what they were photographing because Cepeda was all the time lying face down on the floor handcuffed. They waited for the barangay kagawad who finally arrived at past 11:00 o'clock in the evening, Kagawad Alberto Adecer together with Barangay Tanod Delos Santos. Cepeda overheard the kagawad saying, "so the raid was over", and a piece of paper was handed by Aguilar to [K]agawad Adecer and Tanod delos Santos for them to sign. Kagawad Adecer and x x x Tanod delos Santos were reluctant to sign x x x because according to them they were not present during the incident, but Aguilar prevailed upon them to just sign the piece of paper. After the signing, Cepeda and Dy were brought to the PDEA office. At the office, Cepeda pleaded that he be submitted for a drug test, but his plea was ignored.
When the barangay officials arrived, Werlan Cepeda tried to plead with them as to why he (Werlan) was also being handcuffed, but dela Cerna pulled Werlan away and brought him downstairs. Werlan was being talked out (sic) by Dela Cerna to admit that they were selling shabu so that he would be released, but Werlan was steadfast that they were not selling shabu. Before the PDEA left together with the two accused, Werlan was released but was warned that they will just bring their parents (accused) first and will just come back for him (Werlan), as they (PDEA) are not yet finished.
Cepeda and Dy came to know the names of some of the persons who forcibly entered [their] house to be Aguilar, dela Cerna, and Orcales, when the said persons took the witness stand. They claimed that the testimonies [of] the prosecution witnesses relative (sic) to a woman who is familiar with Dy and to which Dy had a conversation at about 9:00 o'clock in the evening of September 5, 2011 is a lie, as no such woman talked to Dy during the time mentioned. Cepeda saw Orcales for the first time only when Orcales took the witness (sic) to testify in these cases. When the PDEA entered the house, Dy was washing clothes. [Cepeda] was handcuffed and made to lie face down on the floor while Dy was also handcuffed and made to sit on the bed crying. Cepeda was bodily searched for three times, the first was immediately after the PDEA entered the house, the second was when he was lying face down on the floor inside their bedroom, and the third was when they came back to his (Cepeda) room after their search in the other rooms. Dy was also searched but nothing was found from her body.
The only items they discovered was the income of Cepeda from his driving consisting of P1.00, P5.00 and P10.00, and the latter's license, and there was not even a P100.00 bill as his income as motorela driver do (sic) not even reach Php500.00 a day. He was not selling shabu because he had no shabu. His family is being helped financially by his sister-in-law in Australia who is sending them Php3,000.00 to Php3,500.00 a month. The motorela he was driving was given to him, and he had to gather and budget the daily income, and appropriate it only every Sunday. He pays the electric and water bills, and the rest of the motorela earning is sufficient for them to survive a simple living.
The testimony of Aguilar that the P500.00 buy[-]bust money and a sachet of shabu were recovered from his pocket was a lie. The testimony of Orcales that Cepeda is selling shabu is also a lie. As to the reason why the PDEA agents would arrest them, he could recall a previous incident where their neighbor was arrested and the neighbor got mad at them (Cepeda) because they suspected his (Cepeda) son was the one who caused the arrest. The neighbor shouted at them (Cepeda) saying that there will be a time that all of them will also be arrested. Cepeda revealed that the said neighbor had a relative working with the PDEA, which they discovered at the time Cepeda and Dy were already at the PDEA office after their arrest in this case. A woman thereat whom he does not know revealed to them that the Masibas' are her relatives.
The testimonies of both accused were corroborated by Jenny Sumagang Cepeda, Elda Ubanan, and Werlan Cepeda.[12]
Ruling of the RTCIn the Judgment promulgated on July 24, 2014, the RTC found Dy and Cepeda guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Sections 5 and 11, respectively, Article II, RA 9165:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, this Court hereby finds that:
- In Criminal Case No. 2011-904, accused WILLIAM CEPEDA y DULTURA is GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime defined and penalized under Section 11, Article II of R.A. 9165, and hereby imposes the penalty of imprisonment ranging from Twelve [12] years and one [1] day to Thirteen [13] years, and to pay a Fine in the amount of P300,000.00 without subsidiary imprisonment in case of non-payment of Fine;
- In Criminal Case No. 2011-905, accused WILLIAM CEPEDA y DULTURA and LOREN DY y SERO are GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime defined and penalized under Section 5, Article II of R.A. 9165, and hereby imposes the penalty of LIFE imprisonment and for each to pay a Fine in the amount of P500,000.00 without subsidiary imprisonment in case of non-payment of Fine;
The sachets of shabu are hereby confiscated to be destroyed in the manner provided for by law.
SO ORDERED.[13] (Emphasis in the original)
The RTC favored the testimony of the prosecution witnesses as it found no ill motive on their part to impute such crimes against Dy and Cepeda if they were not truly guilty.
[14] As to the non-compliance with Section 21, RA 9165, the RTC found that there was substantial compliance with the requirements of the law and that the buy-bust team was nevertheless able to preserve the integrity and probative value of the seized items.
[15]Insisting on their innocence, Dy and Cepeda jointly appealed to the CA.
Ruling of the CAIn the CA Decision, the CA affirmed the RTC Judgment
in toto, as follows:
FOR THESE REASONS, the consolidated Judgment in Criminal Case Nos. 2011-904 and 2011-905 appealed from is AFFIRMED in toto.
SO ORDERED.[16]
In a Motion
[17] dated May 29, 2016, the counsel of Dy and Cepeda withdrew his representation. On July 4, 2016, the Public Attorney's Office filed an Entry of Appearance with Notice of Appeal,
[18] informing the CA of Dy's intention to pursue an appeal with the Court. Cepeda, however, no longer appealed his conviction.
Hence, this appeal.
IssueWhether Dy is guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime charged.
The Court's Ruling
Significantly, the Inventory of Seized Items/Confiscated Non-Drugs
[32] dated September 5, 2011, forming part of the records, is more corroborative of the defense's version of events.
Firstly, nowhere does it indicate the name of the alleged media representative except for the name "Norman Jabagat."
[33] There is no designation whatsoever of who Norman Jabagat is or what office or organization he represents, and neither was his name mentioned in the testimony of the prosecution witnesses. Secondly, in one of the spaces where the witnesses are required to affix their signature over their printed name, there is written the phrase "REFUSED TO SIGN," which unquestionably corroborates the uniform testimonies of herein accused.
[34]The sequence of events may therefore be summarized as follows: (i) based on the prosecution's evidence, only two (2) people from the buy-bust team were present in the house of Dy and Cepeda during the alleged sale — IO2 Orcales and his purported confidential informant;
[35] (ii) the way to the said house was through a narrow pathway on the side of a big drainage beside a canal;
[36] (iii) the house was not visible from where the rest of the team was positioned, and it takes about three (3) minutes to reach the house by foot;
[37] (iv) after the alleged sale, the rest of the buy-bust team, consisting entirely of police officers, rushed to the house after receiving a "missed call" from IO2 Orcales;
[38] (v) the buy-bust team then conducted a thorough search on the persons of Dy and Cepeda and likewise searched their house, yielding another sachet of
shabu and other paraphernalia;
[39] (vi)
after the search and seizure, the buy-bust team then called for witnesses, allegedly a barangay kagawad and a media representative from
Bombo Radyo, but only Kagawad Alberto Adecer and a certain Norman Jabagat arrived;
[40] (vii) upon their arrival two (2) hours later, the buy-bust team proceeded to conduct an inventory and take photographs at the scene;
[41] (viii) both witnesses never testified before the RTC despite several attempts to secure their attendance.
[42]Further, as extensively discussed above, the prosecution dismally failed to discharge its burden of establishing justifiable grounds in light of the lapses in procedure. Hence, there being no justifiable grounds established, there is no more occasion to determine compliance with the second prong of the saving clause,
i.e., the preservation of the integrity and evidentiary value of the
corpus delicti.
Thus, to the mind of the Court, the foregoing confluence of circumstances, when taken in their entirety, inevitably produces reasonable doubt on the integrity of the
corpus delicti. An acquittal must therefore follow.
Acquittal of accused-appellant Dy
beneficial to CepedaThe Court likewise acquits Cepeda, notwithstanding his failure to perfect an appeal herein.
Recently, in
Fuentes v. People[43] (
Fuentes), the Court, following its acquittal of the accused-appellant therein from a charge of violation of RA 9165, likewise acquitted the accused-appellant's co-accused who had failed to appeal from the judgment of conviction rendered by the CA:
As a final note, it must be pointed out that although petitioner's co-accused, Calotes, no longer joined in filing the instant petition, the Court nevertheless deems it proper to likewise acquit him of the crime charged. This is because the criminal case against Calotes arose from the same set of facts as the case against petitioner and that such acquittal is definitely favorable and beneficial to him. Section 11 (a), Rule 122 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure states that:
Section 11. Effect of appeal by any of several accused. —
(a) An appeal taken by one or more of several accused shall not affect those who did not appeal, except insofar as the judgment of the appellate court is favorable and applicable to the latter. (Emphasis supplied)
WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The Decision dated April 15, 2016 and the Resolution dated December 9, 2016 of the Court of Appeals in CA G.R. CR No. 36556 are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE. Accordingly, petitioner Edwin Fuentes y Garcia @ "Kanyod" and Nicky Calotes y Valenzuela @ "Jojo" are ACQUITTED of the crime charged. The Director of the Bureau of Corrections is ordered to cause their immediate release, unless they are being lawfully held in custody for any other reason.[44] (Additional emphasis supplied)
Without question, Dy's conviction rests on the same set of facts and circumstances as the conviction of Cepeda, her co-accused before the CA. Hence, following the instruction of
Fuentes and the higher demand of substantial justice, the supervening acquittal of Dy in the instant appeal must likewise be extended to Cepeda.
ExhortationWith this case as its platform, the Court takes this opportunity to address a point of interest.
The drug menace has been a several decades-old problem — its pervasiveness, indiscriminate, and its complexity, ever-evolving. Its suppression, therefore, must come with equally, if not more, complex and creative methods. On this score, our law, as a preventive measure, imposes incredibly harsh penalties for drug offenses, with life imprisonment as the most extreme.
While it is not for the Court to question the law it interprets, it cannot turn a blind eye to the disparity between whatever damage is sustained by the public and the corresponding duration of imprisonment suffered by the accused — it is astronomical. This case demonstrates such a situation.
Without this appeal of last resort, Dy and Cepeda would have been damned to live the rest of their lives languishing in prison for allegedly selling 0.04 gram of
shabu worth Five Hundred Pesos (P500.00). The potential gain of such measly amount to the accused, even when taken together with the potential damage to the public, undeniably pales in comparison to a lifetime deprived of liberty and separation from society.
The Court is not oblivious to the logistical challenges that anti-drug operations pose, and neither is it unmindful of the wide latitude for abuse in the hands of our law enforcement agents. However, bearing the foregoing in mind, the Court wishes to remind our officers of what is at stake in dangerous drugs cases. More than the protection of the public, it is the life and liberty of the citizenry that hang in the balance. In this case, the impropriety committed by the buy-bust team is almost tangible. The procedure employed was a poor imitation of the mandatory procedure laid down by law.
Too, the Court is dismayed with the prosecution of this case, as represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG). The records show that the Appellee's Brief before the CA was due for filing on December 27, 2014.
[45] However, the OSG went on to file
six (6) motions for extension,
[46] claiming at some point that a draft had already been made, albeit undergoing revision.
[47] And yet, even with a total extension of
one hundred fifty (150) days to file its pleading,
no Appellee's Brief was ever filed.
[48] Meanwhile, Dy and Cepeda were already serving out their sentences. This is aggravated by the fact that they have been confined starting 2011, as the crimes charged are non-bailable. As lawyer for the People, the OSG should have been more forthcoming with the CA, instead of requesting for additional periods only to end up not filing anything at all.
It has been eight (8) years since Dy and Cepeda have been in confinement. Surely, this acquittal will be welcomed by the accused. However, there remains no recompense for the time spent in prison under an erroneous conviction, regardless of its duration. It is in this light that the Court restores the liberty of the accused.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the appeal is
GRANTED and the Decision dated May 3, 2016 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 01318-MIN is hereby
REVERSED and
SET ASIDE. Accordingly, accused-appellant Loren Dy y Sero and accused William Cepeda y Dultra are hereby
ACQUITTED of the crimes charged. They are ordered immediately
RELEASED from detention, unless they are confined for any other lawful cause.
Let a copy of this Decision be sent to the Superintendent of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm, Davao del Norte, for immediate implementation. The said Superintendent is
ORDERED to
REPORT to the Court within five (5) days from receipt of this Decision the action he has taken.
SO ORDERED.Carpio, (Chairperson), Perlas-Bernabe, J. Reyes, Jr., and
Lazaro-Javier, JJ., concur.
* Also spelled as "Dultura" and "Dultara" in some parts of the records.
[1] Sir William Blackstone, COMMENTARIES ON THE LAWS OF ENGLAND, 9th ed., book 4, chapter 27, p. 358 (1783. reprinted 1978).
[2] Rollo, pp. 14-16.
[3] Id. at 4-13. Penned by Associate Justice Edgardo A. Camello, with Associate Justices Maria Filomena D. Singh and Perpetua T. Atal-Paño concurring.
[4] CA
rollo, pp. 32-43. Penned by Presiding Judge Arthur L. Abundiente.
[5] AN ACT INSTITUTING THE COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002, REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6425, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 1972, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES (2002).
[6] Records (Crim. Case No. 2011-904), p. 4; records (Crim. Case No. 2011-905), p. 3.
[7] Id.
[8] Records (Crim. Case No. 2011-905), p. 3.
[9] CA
rollo, p. 33.
[10] Also appears as "Osmeña" in some parts of the records.
[11] CA
rollo, pp. 34-36.
[12] Id. at 36-38.
[13] Id. at 42-43.
[14] See id. at 41-42.
[15] Id. at 42.
[16] Rollo, p. 12.
[17] CA
rollo, pp. 83-84. Denominated as "Motion to Withdraw as Counsel."
[18] Id. at 86-88.
[19] See
People v. Umipang, 686 Phil. 1024, 1038-1039 (2012).
[20] See
People v. Alagarme, 754 Phil. 449, 461 (2015); see also
People v. Sumili, 753 Phil. 342, 350 & 352 (2015).
[21] Section 21 of RA 9165 was amended by RA 10640, entitled "AN ACT TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN OF THE GOVERNMENT, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 21 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9165, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 'COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002'." R.A. 10640, which imposed less stringent requirements in the procedure under Section 21, was approved only on July 15, 2014.
[22] People v. Musor, G.R. No. 231843, November 7, 2018, pp. 7, 10.
[23] Id. at 10.
[24] Id.
[25] People v. Cayas, 789 Phil. 70 (2016);
People v. Havana, 776 Phil. 462 (2016).
[26] RA 9165, Sec. 21(1).
[27] See
People v. Luna, G.R. No. 219164, March 21, 2018, p. 10.
[28] TSN, May 21, 2012, pp. 9-10.
[29] TSN, June 4, 2012, p. 29.
[30] TSN, May 28, 2013, pp. 9-10.
[31] TSN, June 4, 2013, pp. 6-8.
[32] Records (Crim. Case No. 2011-905), p. 22.
[33] Id. "Jabagat" also appears as ''Habagat" in some parts of the records.
[34] Id.
[35] See CA
rollo, p. 35.
[36] Id.
[37] Id.
[38] Id.
[39] Id. at 36.
[40] Id. at 36, 41.
[41] Id.
[42] Id. at 41.
[43] G.R. No. 228718, January 7, 2019.
[44] Id. at 8.
[45] CA
rollo, p. 44.
[46] Id. at 44-47, 48-51, 52-55, 56-59, 60-63 and 64-67.
[47] Id. at 56, 64.
[48] Id. at 68.