Lack of proof clears 3 men of drug charges

CEBU, Philippines - Regional Trial Court Judge Samuel Malazarte acquitted three men accused of selling and using illegal drugs for lack of proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Roberto Hegremosa was acquitted for a violation of Section 5 Article II of Republic Act 9165 or illegal selling of drugs and violation of Section 15 Article II of RA 9165 or illegal use of drugs. Moses Reyes and Bimbo Yap were also acquitted for using drugs.

In his decision Malazarte ruled the prosecution failed to prove the alleged buy-bust transaction that took place in Cebu City June 22, 2003.

“The error of the prosecution witness in describing the place of the transaction as the house of accused Hegremosa, when it was actually the house of accused Yap, in spite of the fact that they had conducted prior surveillance and their informant knew well the accused Hegremosa, raises doubt that such transaction actually took place,” the decision read.

Malazarte added the prosecution failed to comply with the necessary requirement of proving the body of the crime after the police admitted that they did not conduct physical inventory or take photographs of the confiscated drugs.

He added after the seizure of the plastic sachet from the accused the police did not mark the confiscated sachet.

“Marking after seizure is the starting point in the custodial link, thus it is vital that the seized contraband is immediately marked because succeeding handlers of the specimen will use the markings as reference,” the decision further read.

Malazarte likewise said as to the issue of using dangerous drugs, the lone witness PO2 Raymundo Supatan of the prosecution did not testify that the accused were subjected to any confirmatory test.

“No sufficient evidence was presented to prove beyond reasonable doubt that herein accused violated Section 15, Article II of RA 9165,” he said.

He ordered the jail warden of the Cebu City Jail to immediately release the three accused.

Hegremosa was accused of selling a heat-sealed plastic pack containing 53.84 grams of suspected shabu to the police and conniving with the other two accused in sniffing shabu. 

The three were also allegedly the subjects pursued by the National Bureau of Investigation who shot up a van containing employees of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Mandaue City last December 2002.

Former NBI-7 director Romulo Manapsal earlier said that the resort van matched the description of the one owned by the drug suspects they were pursuing.  (FREEMAN)