'Double hearsay' causes dismissal of drug charge

The Regional Trial Court tagged the testimonies of two arresting officers as "double hearsay" after they admitted one after the other that they did not actually found and seized the illegal items from the suspects, but a fellow officer.

RTC branch 14 Judge Rafael Yrastorza Sr., found their testimonies deficient in proving beyond reasonable doubt the accusations so he acquitted Raymundo Familiar and Jack Pabella from drug possession charges.

Familiar and Pabella were arrested at a checkpoint in barangay Tunghaan, Minglanilla on February 22, 2001, for alleged possession of illegal drugs and a gun.

Arresting policeman, SPO1 Ronilo Nabua, said they first flagged down a cab, driven by Candido Mantos, who was subsequently found with a caliber-.38 "paltik" revolver.

Nabua said his fellow officer Andres Arche also seized, allegedly from Familiar, one of three taxi passengers, three sticks of marijuana, and cash amounting to P10,700.

Pabella, the second passenger, was also caught allegedly with a packet of shabu, two improvised tooters, two strips of tin foil, and P4,400 cash.

The policeman also testified that the third passenger, Jerwin Ochea, allegedly had two sticks of marijuana and one cal-.38 bullet.

During cross-examination, however, Nabua admitted it was not he who searched Pabella but his fellow policemen. But when Arche was put on the witness stand, he too admitted he was not the one who found the illegal items but PO3 Frederick Larrobis.

Based on the testimonies, the judge ruled that Nabua's testimonies were "hazy" and "double hearsay" because he was not the one who actually seized the illegal items from the two defendants.

"The prosecution has failed to adduce evidence sufficient to convict both accused with proofs beyond reasonable doubt," the 4-page decision read.