4-7-2023 (MANILA) The Supreme Court in the Philippines has acquitted two defendants in a P1-billion shabu case and reprimanded law enforcers and the prosecution for failing to handle evidence and trial against five Chinese nationals and one Filipino who had been tagged as members of an alleged drug syndicate. The high court found that the law enforcers and the prosecution disregarded the strict requirements of Section 21 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, which holds that three insulating witnesses are required in the inventory of drug cases, and laid down guidelines on the custody of drugs seized. The court’s decision was penned by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, with several other justices writing their respective concurring opinions.
The Supreme Court acquitted Filipino Robert Uy and Willie Gan, a Chinese national, on drug charges due to the prosecution’s failure to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court found that there was a failure to strictly comply with the requisites of Sec. 21 of RA 9165 in both operations, and that no DOJ representative was listed among witnesses. The prosecution also failed to present photographs of the seized items, and photographs taken hardly constituted the required inventory under Section 21.
The case stemmed from the arrest of the four Chinese nationals in Valenzuela on November 10, 2003. They were accused of conspiring to deliver 9,384.7 grams of shabu, with a street value pegged at P1 billion at that time, based on media reports then. When they were warned of deportation, two of them offered ten kilos of shabu in exchange for freedom. A police officer played along, and he was later told that the drugs were ready for pickup. The drugs came from a warehouse in Valenzuela that was raided the following day. Uy was the driver of the car with the shabu bribe.
The Supreme Court called out the “more reprehensible” error by the lower court when it sentenced Gan to just 12 years and one day up to 14 years and eight months and fined him P300,000 when he was convicted. It pointed out that the law was clear that the penalty should be life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P500,000 to ten million in cases where the illegal drugs are 50 grams or more.
The Supreme Court also called on all actors in the administration of criminal justice in the Philippines to effectively carry out their respective duties and responsibilities, keeping in mind that any failure on their part will likely result in acquittal.
