Court acquits man from drug charges
The court yesterday acquitted a 34-year-old man from drug charges after it found out that the manner of the police in confiscating the evidence was illegal.
Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles has ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt of Jaime Bendolo, a resident of barangay Bulacao,
One of the arresting officers narrated that Bendolo ran away when the police arrived in the area during a saturation drive, and quickly dropped the pack of shabu to the ground.
But another policeman claimed that Bendolo did not follow those persons who scampered to different directions when the police arrived.
Bendolo was reportedly just sitting on his trisikad when the policemen approached him and instructed him to empty his pocket of anything to prove that he was not in possession of shabu.
One of the policemen claimed that while Bendolo emptied his pocket, a pack of shabu fell to the ground that prompted them to place him under arrest.
But in his decision, Ingles ruled that Bendolo did not commit a crime by just sitting on his trisikad when the policemen ordered him to empty his pocket.
“Such reason is indicative of the fact that the arresting officers were merely suspicious that the accused committed a violation,” Ingles said.
Ingles said the two conflicting testimonies of the arresting officers about how they recovered the shabu from the possession of the accused created doubt as to the credibility of their testimonies.
“In short, this court cannot with moral certainty declare the accused guilty as charged on the basis of the testimonies of the arresting officers. Accordingly, for insufficiency of evidence, Bendolo is hereby acquitted,” Ingles ruled. — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM
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