Rodriguez y Dela Cruz v. People

SECOND DIVISION

[G.R. No. 256484. July 28, 2021.]

BENJIE RODRIGUEZ y DELA CRUZ, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.

NOTICE

Sirs/Mesdames :

Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 28 July 2021 which reads as follows:

"G.R. No. 256484 (Benjie Rodriguez y Dela Cruz v. People of the Philippines). — After a judicious study of the case, the Court resolves to DENY the instant petition 1 and AFFIRM the Decision 2 dated October 26, 2020 and the Resolution 3 dated March 22, 2021 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No. 41541 for failure of petitioner Benjie Rodriguez y Dela Cruz (Rodriguez) to sufficiently show that the CA committed any reversible error in finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crimes of Illegal Sale of Firearms and Ammunitions and Illegal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, respectively defined and penalized under Section 32, Article V of Republic Act No. (RA) 10591 4 and Section 5, Article II of RA 9165. 5

As correctly ruled by the courts a quo, all the respective elements of the foregoing crimes are present. The prosecution clearly established that during a legitimate buy-bust operation conducted by law enforcement operatives, Rodriguez was caught in flagrante delicto selling a caliber .38 revolver (paltik) without a serial number and loaded with ammunition, 6 making him guilty of Illegal Sale of Firearms and Ammunitions. 7 The warrantless arrest and corresponding search upon his person yielded two (2) heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing a total of 0.105 gram of white crystalline substance. 8 Rodriguez failed to show any documents authorizing him to possess the same. Furthermore, all the links of the chain of custody were likewise established, considering that: (a) the seized drugs and firearm were immediately marked, inventoried, and photographed in the presence of Rodriguez and Barangay Councilors Cresencio Bueno, Sr. and Angel Tamesa; (b) the failure of the apprehending officers to secure the presence of either a representative of the National Prosecution Service or the media 9 to serve as the second witness is excused since the remote nature of the place of arrest, i.e., an uninhabited side of a mountain in Barangay Tampac, Aguilar, Pangasinan, is among the recognized justifiable reasons 10 therefor; (c) the caliber .38 revolver, the live ammunition, and the spent shell were delivered to the Pangasinan Provincial Crime Laboratory Office for requisite examination while the seized drugs were sent to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory for Police Chief Inspector Myrna Todeno's (PCI Todeno) confirmatory examination; (d) after examination, PCI Todeno turned over the seized drugs to PO3 Elmer Manuel (PO3 Elmer), the evidence custodian; and (e) PCI Todeno retrieved the seized items from PO3 Elmer and delivered the same to the court for identification. 11 As the chain of custody over the seized items remained unbroken, preserving the integrity and evidentiary value of the corpus delicti, Rodriguez' conviction for the two (2) crimes must stand. 12

WHEREFORE, the Court ADOPTS the findings of fact and conclusions of law in the Decision dated October 26, 2020 and the Resolution dated March 22, 2021 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 41541 and AFFIRMS said Decision as follows:

(a) in Criminal Case No. L-11691, petitioner Benjie Rodriguez y Dela Cruz is found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of Illegal Sale of Firearms and Ammunitions, as defined and penalized under Section 32, Article V of Republic Act No. 10591, otherwise known as the 'Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.' Accordingly, he is sentenced to suffer the indeterminate sentence of ten (10) years and one (1) day of prision mayor, as minimum, to sixteen (16) years and one (1) day of reclusion temporal, as maximum, with all the accessory penalties provided for under the law; and

(b) in Criminal Case No. L-11692, petitioner Benjie Rodriguez y Dela Cruz is found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of Illegal Possession of Dangerous Drugs, as defined and penalized under Section 11, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165, as amended, otherwise known as the 'Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.' Accordingly, he is sentenced to suffer the indeterminate sentence of twelve (12) years and one (1) day, as minimum, to seventeen (17) years, as maximum, and to pay a fine in the amount of P300,000.00, with all the accessory penalties provided for under the law.

SO ORDERED." (Rosario, J., designated additional member per Special Order No. 2835 dated July 15, 2021).

By authority of the Court:

(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDivision Clerk of Court

 

Footnotes

1. See Petition for Review on Certiorari dated July 8, 2021; rollo, pp. 14-39.

2.Id. at 43-58. Penned by Associate Justice Ronaldo Roberto B. Martin with Associate Justices Manuel M. Barrios and Alfredo D. Ampuan, concurring.

3.Id. at 60-61.

4. Entitled 'AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE LAW ON FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF,' approved on May 29, 2013.

5. Entitled 'AN ACT INSTITUTING THE COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 2002, REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6425, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 1972, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES,' approved on June 7, 2002.

6.Rollo, pp. 44-45.

7. Section 32. Unlawful Manufacture, Importation, Sale or Disposition of Firearms or Ammunition or Parts Thereof, Machinery, Tool or Instrument Used or Intended to be Used in the Manufacture of Firearms, Ammunition or Parts Thereof. — The penalty of reclusion temporal to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who shall unlawfully engage in the manufacture, importation, sale or disposition of a firearm or ammunition, or a major part of a firearm or ammunition, or machinery, tool or instrument used or intended to be used by the same person in the manufacture of a firearm, ammunition, or a major part thereof.

xxx xxx xxx

8.Rollo, p. 45.

9. See Lindongan v. People, UDK-16615, February 15, 2021.

10. See People v. Lim, G.R. No. 231989, September 4, 2018.

11.Rollo, pp. 45-48. See also id. at 93-95.

12. See People v. Esguerra, G.R. No. 243986, January 22, 2020.