CA affirms 40-year term of drug convict

CEBU, Philippines - The Court of Appeals has dismissed the petition of a man for the appellate court to reverse the ruling of the lower court, which convicted him of drugs charges and sentenced him to 40 years imprisonment.

CA Justice Gabriel Ingles said the petitioner, Manny Regis, failed to present evidence strong enough to reverse the ruling of the Regional Trial Court. He was found guilty of possession of illegal drugs and drugs paraphernalia.

“…it is a well-accepted rule that in cases involving violations of the Dangerous Drugs, credence is given to prosecution witnesses who are law enforcement personnel (in this case National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents) for they are presumed to have performed their duties in a regular manner, unless there is evidence to the contrary,” the decision reads.

RTC Judge Silvestre Maamo sentenced Regis to 40 years in jail and fined him P500,000 for the possession of illegal drugs case and sentenced him separately to four years in jail and fined him P50,000 for the possession of drugs paraphernalia case.

But Regis argued that the RTC erred in its ruling because the prosecution allegedly failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. He said he was not in his house in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City but was in Liloan town when authorities implemented the search warrant.

Ingles, however, said that under the law “possession” does not only include actual possession but also constructive possession.

Regis himself said that despite not having lived in the house in Cebu City raided by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), he still had “access” to the house and still had a key.

He told the court that he used to live in the house in Barangay Tejero, Cebu City but moved to Yati, Liloan in 2002.

He was reportedly in Liloan at the time of the raid and it was his cousin who called him up and informed him that the NBI had raided his house.

NBI agent Gregorio Algoso said he was part of the team who implemented the search warrant on May 25, 2005 at around 6:00 a.m.

They reportedly applied for the warrant after confirming that Regis’ house in Cebu City was being used as a drug den. During the implementation of the warrant, the NBI recovered shabu and drugs paraphernalia, pictures of Regis, and a driver’s license.

His testimonies were corroborated by other NBI agents.

Ingles said the prosecution established the elements of illegal possession of drugs and drugs paraphernalia successfully.

“…the prosecution was able to identify accused-appellant as the person having control or dominion over the house where the search was conducted based on the pictures and the latter’s driver’s license retrieved during the operation and by appellant’s own admission that he still has the key to the premises,” the decision reads.— /JMO (FREEMAN)