Court clears drug suspect
Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Fortunato de Gracia has acquitted a suspected drug user after the prosecution - for a period of over six years - failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The court ruled to clear Jovencio Rabadon since the prosecution “failed to prove the quantum of evidence sufficient to support for the conviction of the accused.”
De Gracia cited a Supreme Court ruling which states that “when the guilt of the accused has not been proven with moral certainty, it is the policy of long standing that the presumption of innocence of the accused must be favored and his exoneration granted as a matter of right.”
Records of the case showed that Rabadon and one Adonis Acarial were arrested by PO3 Francisco Balansag on
Acarial pleaded guilty to the case when he was arraigned in court a few months after their arrest. He admitted that the two packs of shabu were recovered from his pocket and that no contrabands were seized from Rabadon.
Rabadon’s counsel, Sisinio Andales, presented Acarial before the witness stand and successfully convinced the court that his client did not commit any crime when he was arrested by Balansag. — Rene U. Borromeo/MEEV
- Latest
- Trending
