FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 232887. November 22, 2017.]
RANDY BACALSO y ESER, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedNovember 22, 2017, which reads as follows: HTcADC
"G.R. No. 232887 (Randy Bacalso y Eser v. People of the Philippines). — The motion for extension of time to file the petition for review on certiorari is GRANTED.
This notwithstanding, we DENY the petition and AFFIRM the Court of Appeals Decision dated February 17, 2017 and Resolution dated July 14, 2017 in CA-G.R. CR HC No. 08273 for failure to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in upholding the conviction of petitioner Randy Bacalso y Eser for illegal sale and possession of dangerous drugs.
As correctly held by the CA, the testimony of PO2 Christian Louie Barrido (PO2 Barrido) was positive and sufficiently clear to show that petitioner committed the offenses charged. Further, the fact that the plastic sachets containing shabu were immediately marked by PO2 Barrido, with his markings remaining until the said plastic sachets were presented in court, proves not only the identity of the shabu as seized from petitioner. It also proves that they were the very same items seized during the buy-bust operation.
Regarding petitioner's contention that non-coordination with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for the conduct of the buy-bust operation is fatal to his conviction, well-settled is the rule that coordination with the PDEA is not an indispensable requirement before police authorities may carry out a buy-bust operation. After all, a buy-bust is just a form of an in flagrante arrest sanctioned by Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of the Court, which police authorities may rightfully resort to in apprehending violators of Republic Act No. 9165 in support of the PDEA. A buy-bust operation is not invalidated by mere non-coordination with the PDEA. 1
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The Decision dated February 17, 2017 and Resolution dated July 14, 2017 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR HC No. 08273 is AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) EDGAR O. ARICHETADivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.People v. Balaquit, G.R. No. 206366, August 13, 2014, 733 SCRA 144, 153-154.