SC upholds conviction of man who sold drugs

CEBU, Philippines - The Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of a man who received life imprisonment for selling dangerous drugs.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo, the SC found no ground to reverse the ruling of the Regional Trial Court, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeals, finding Edwin Cabrera, a resident of Tangke, Talisay City, Cebu, guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

“The Court upholds appellant’s conviction for violation of Section 5, Article II of RA 9165 as well as the penalty imposed upon him. It must, however, be added that appellant is not eligible for parole. Wherefore, the appeal is dismissed,” the decision reads.

Likewise, the SC sustained CA’s resolution on the issues raised by Cabrera.

Cabrera was convicted by the RTC in 2007. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined of P500,000. He appealed his conviction, questioning the legality of the alleged buy-bust operation conducted by police officers.

Cabrera pointed in his appeal the absence of surveillance and pre-operation report, and the non-presentation of the confidential informant and the marked money in court.

He added that there was even a break in the chain of custody of the confiscated evidence.

The CA, however, upheld the legality of the buy-bust operation.

“It ratiocinated that prior surveillance is not required in a buy-bust operation especially where the police operatives are accompanied by their informant during the entrapment, as in this case. Neither is the submission of a pre-operation report necessary for a conviction under Section 5, Article II of RA 9165 as long as the elements of the offense are sufficiently established by the prosecution. Further, there is no need to present in court the confidential informant and the marked money,” the resolution reads.

It added that the presentation of the informant and the marked money are only required when there are material inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution witness.

With these facts, the SC found Cabrera’s appeal as having no merit, saying that the issues that he raised have already been tackled before the CA.

Cabrera was arrested on September 30, 2002 at his residence in Sitio Galaxy, Barangay Tangke.

According to Talisay City police, their office received information from the residents of Sitio Galaxy about the illegal drug activities of Cabrera.

To verify such report, the police conducted a buy-bust operation, which led to his arrest.

Cabrera, however, denied the allegation.

He said he was outside his house washing his clothes when three men approached and requested him to buy shabu. He said he allegedly went to his neighbor’s house nearby to buy the shabu.

He denied selling the shabu to Police Officer 1 Leopoldo Palconit because he knew that he was a police officer. —NSA (FREEMAN)