SC acquits 3 drug convicts over mishandled evidence

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has acquitted three more drug pushers due to the failure of arresting police officers to follow procedures on the handling of evidence.

In a 13-page decision promulgated on Jan. 7, the Third Division of the High Court reversed and set aside the October 2015 decision of the Makati City regional trial court that found Emmanuel Oliva, Bernardo Barangot, and Mark Angelo Manalastas guilty of the sale and possession of illegal drugs, which was upheld by the Court of Appeals in May 2017.

The SC cited as ground the failure of authorities to conduct the inventory of the drugs confiscated from them during the operation in 2015 in the presence of a representative from the Department of Justice and the media, as required in Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta. Associate Justices Marvic Leonen, Ramon Paul Hernando and Rosmari Carandang concurred in this ruling.

Section 21 of RA 9165 specifically requires the presence of the suspect, their lawyer, an elected public official, a representative of the National Prosecution Service or the media during the physical inventory of the seized items.

The SC further cited the additional rule promulgated last September that requires arresting officers to state their compliance with the rule and sets courses of action in case of non-compliance.

It explained that the additional rule is meant to weed out “poorly built up” drug cases from court dockets.

“A stricter adherence to Section 21 is required where the quantity of illegal drugs seized is minuscule since it is highly susceptible to planting, tampering, or alteration,” the SC stressed.

In several cases, the SC similarly decided last month to acquit drug convicts due to the failure of authorities to comply with the rules and establish an unbroken chain of custody of the illegal drugs seized from the accused.