DOJ to probe prosecutors who bungled major drug case

MANILA, Philippines — Following the Supreme Court (SC)’s acquittal of five Chinese and a Filipino believed to be part of a major drug ring, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said yesterday it would probe the prosecutors who bungled a P1-billion drug case in 2003 and implement measures to achieve higher conviction rates.

DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said the blunder should be a reminder for state prosecutors to comply with the chain of custody rule to prevent acquittals of drug traffickers.

In a 35-page decision penned by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and made public on Friday, the SC exonerated the six accused.

The case stemmed from the arrest of Chinese nationals Jackie Ong, Co Ching Ki, Tan Ty Siao, Go Siak Ping and William Gan as well as their Filipino cohort Robert Uy by the police Anti-Illegal Drug Special Task Force during an entrapment operation in Binondo, Manila in November 2003.

Warned of a possible deportation, police unit head, Capt. Rainero de Chavez, said the Chinese allegedly attempted to bribe officers with 10 kilos of shabu in exchange for their release.

Attempting to catch the big fish, De Chavez said they tailed the suspects’ vehicle set to deliver the drugs.

Uy was nabbed after he drove the car carrying the shabu bribe on Nov. 10, 2003.

Police said they discovered over 230 kilos of shabu in a warehouse in Valenzuela where Uy allegedly picked up the contraband.

The Valenzuela City Regional Trial Court (RTC) sentenced Uy to life in prison for trafficking and possession of drugs. Gan was meted 12 years in prison and fined P300,000.

The charges filed against Ong, Co, Tan and Go Siak were dismissed by the RTC after granting a demurrer and for failure of the prosecution to prove that they participated in the bribe.

Uy sought the ruling’s reversal before the SC, which affirmed the 2014 decision of the Valenzuela RTC.

On appeal, the SC found irregularities in the case.

In exonerating Uy, the high court said the prosecution failed to establish that he possessed the drugs recovered from the warehouse.

“Accused-appellant Uy could not have had actual possession of the evidence seized from the warehouse since he was already in custody of the police officers when the search was conducted on Nov. 11, 2003. It was impossible for Uy to have had actual possession of the drugs,” read the SC decision.

The SC said Uy should be acquitted of both charges filed against him for failure of the prosecutors to establish corpus delicti or body of the crime due to lack of evidence to show that the arresting police officers complied with the statutory requirements of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

The police, according to the high court, also failed to follow the chain of custody rule.

The SC noted that the prosecution did not offer any excuse for the absence of the DOJ representative during the anti-narcotics operation.

Even if Gan did not appeal his sentence, the SC extended Uy’s acquittal to him as the same evidence was used against him.

The blame, the SC said, lies with the law enforcers and prosecutors.

“It is truly regrettable that the court must acquit accused-appellant in the instant case and extend such acquittal to Gan. The law enforcement agents and the prosecution must exercise more prudence in their compliance with the law,” the SC said.

SC justices also ruled that the Valenzuela RTC committed errors in handling the case.

The SC furnished the secretaries of the Departments of Justice and the Interior and Local Government as well as the chiefs of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency with copies of the decision “for their guidance, information and action.”

The PNP declined to comment on the SC decision scolding lawmen, state prosecutors and a Valenzuela court over the 2003 drug case.

PNP public information office chief Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said
they would have to study first the SC ruling.

“I have to read it first so I will know the whole context,” Maranan told Camp Crame reporters. — Emmanuel Tupas, Ralph Edwin Villanueva