Milligrams of shabu: Sale gets life, possession 14 years

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City judge has noted the difference between the sale and possession of less than a gram of illegal drugs after she separately convicted two men on charges of violating the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

In an eight-page decision dated Dec. 11 and released to the media Friday, Regional Trial Court Branch 79 Judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama sentenced Eduardo Manaois to life imprisonment for selling 0.02 gram of shabu to an undercover police officer in an operation in 2008.

The judge also ordered him to pay a P500,000 fine.

Meanwhile, Fama sentenced Jonathan Sy to 12 years for possessing 0.01 recovered from him by police officers during an operation at a gym in Quezon City in 2004.

The judge, in her 12-page decision also dated Dec. 11 and released Friday, also ordered him to pay a P300,000 fine.

The decision on the case against Sy noted that the court took into consideration the quantity of shabu.

Fama said the prosecution panels in both cases were able to establish all elements of the offense – sale of illegal drugs for Manaois and possession for Sy.

In deciding the case against Manaois, the judge said “courts generally view the defense of denial with disfavor due to the facility with which an accused can concoct it to suit his or her defense.”

During the trial, Manaois denied selling illegal drugs and claimed that he was dragged from his house and brought by three men in civilian clothes to the police station without being frisked.

He said that the incident happened during his birthday while they were preparing for his party with his children and other relatives, but failed to provide a birth certificate during cross-examination. No other witnesses were presented by the defense.

But according to Police Officer 1 Armand Regato, Manaois was arrested after he gave the illegal drugs to him as he was the one who acted as the buyer.

He said the arrest happened before Manaois was able enter his house after running from police officers who tried to arrest him for selling illegal drugs.

In Sy’s case, Fama said the defense failed to present corroborative evidence that would prove his claim that the police framed him because they wanted to extort money from him.

Sy denied the allegations that the illegal drugs and the paraphernalia were recovered from him. He said the police talked to his father and asked for P50,000 in exchange for his liberty.

However, the judge cited an earlier Supreme Court ruling, which noted that “if charges against the accused were simply trumped up, it remains a question why no administrative cases were brought against the police officers.”