THIRD DIVISION
[G.R. No. 247604. September 29, 2021.]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,vs. ESPERANZA NARITO-GERNALE alias "ESPHIE",accused-appellant.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution datedSeptember 29, 2021, which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 247604 (People of the Philippines, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Esperanza Narito-Gernale alias "Esphie," Accused-Appellant). — In this appeal, accused-appellant seeks to reverse and set aside the Decision dated 29 November 2018 1 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 09568, affirming her conviction for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of Republic Act (RA) 9165.
The appeal is denied.
A conviction for illegal sale of dangerous drugs under Section 5 of RA 9165 necessitates proof of the following elements: (1) the identity of the buyer and the seller, the object and consideration of the sale; and (2) the delivery of the thing sold and the payment therefor. On the other hand, the elements of illegal possession of dangerous drugs under Section 11 of RA 9165 are as follows: (1) the accused was in possession of an item or an object identified to be a prohibited or regulated drug, (2) such possession is not authorized by law, and (3) the accused was freely and consciously aware of being in possession of the drug. 2 In both crimes, the identity of the prohibited drug must be established with moral certainty. The fact that the substance illegally sold and possessed in the first place is the same substance offered in court as exhibit must likewise be established with the same degree of certitude as that needed to sustain a guilty verdict. 3
In this case, accused-appellant failed to prove any reversible error when the CA ruled that the prosecution had established, with moral certainty, the existence of the elements for violation of Sections 5 and 11 of RA 9165. As for the illegal sale of dangerous drugs, PO1 Santos clearly recounted how he bought a sachet of shabu from accused-appellant in exchange for Php300.00 which he marked prior to the transaction. His testimony establishes all the necessary elements such as the identities of the buyer and seller, the object and consideration of the sale as well as the delivery of the sachet of shabu and corresponding payment for it. Moreover, apart from the sachet sold to him, PO1 Santos also testified to the discovery and confiscation of four (4) more sachets of shabu in the Hello Kitty toy held by accused-appellant, who had no authority to possess the same. CAIHTE
Likewise, the prosecution has sufficiently demonstrated the identity and preservation of the corpus delicti or the drugs themselves, which were immediately marked at the place of arrest. All the insulating witnesses required by law were also present during the inventory and photograph-taking of the seized drugs in accordance with Section 21 of RA 9165, to wit:
SECTION 21. Custody and Disposition of Confiscated, Seized, and/or Surrendered Dangerous Drugs, Plant Sources of Dangerous Drugs, Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals, Instruments/Paraphernalia and/or Laboratory Equipment. — The PDEA shall take charge and have custody of all dangerous drugs, plant sources of dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals, as well as instruments/paraphernalia and/or laboratory equipment so confiscated, seized and/or surrendered, for proper disposition in the following manner:
(1) The apprehending team having initial custody and control of the drugs shall, immediately after seizure and confiscation, physically inventory and photograph the same in the presence of the accused or the person/s from whom such items were confiscated and/or seized, or his/her representative or counsel, a representative from the media and the Department of Justice (DOJ), and any elected public official who shall be required to sign the copies of the inventory and be given a copy thereof; 4 (Emphasis supplied)
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Indeed, the inventory and photograph-taking in this case was done in the presence of: accused-appellant; Christina Agosila, a DOJ representative; Zen Trinidad, a media representative; and Larry Cuevas, a barangay councilor. PO1 Santos then personally brought the seized drugs to the Regional Crime Laboratory Office 4A, where the items were examined and revealed to be positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride. The laboratory chemist also made sure to preserve the identity and integrity of the seized drugs after examination. Hence, the prosecution was able to demonstrate an unbroken chain of custody of the seized evidence.
All told, the prosecution has established beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of accused-appellant for the crimes charged. There was no error in her conviction for violation of Section 5 of RA 9165 for which she was sentenced to suffer life imprisonment and ordered to pay a fine of Php500,000.00. Likewise, there was no error in her conviction for violation of Section 11 of RA 9165 for which she was sentenced to suffer 12 years and 1 day, as minimum, to 14 years and 8 months, as maximum, and was ordered to pay a fine of Php300,000.00.
WHEREFORE, the appeal is DENIED. The Decision dated 29 November 2018 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 09568 is hereby AFFIRMED.
SO ORDERED." Leonen, J., on official leave.
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) MISAEL DOMINGO C. BATTUNG IIIDivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 3-12; penned by Associate Justice Danton Q. Bueser and concurred in by Associate Justices Mariflor P. Punzalan Castillo and Pablito A. Perez.
2.People v. Castillo, G.R. No. 238339, 07 August 2019 [Per J. Leonen].
3.People v. Guarin, G.R. No. 252857, 18 March 2021 [Per C.J. Peralta].
4. Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, Republic Act No. 9165, 07 June 2002.