Valdez v. People
Valdez v. People
Valdez v. People
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G.R. No. 170180. November 23, 2007.
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* SECOND DIVISION.
612
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exception in Section 5(a), Rule 113 to operate, this Court has ruled
that two (2) elements must be present: (1) the person to be arrested
must execute an overt act indicating that he has just committed, is
actually committing, or is attempting to commit a crime; and (2)
such overt act is done in the presence or within the view of the
arresting officer. Here, petitionerÊs act of looking around after
getting off the bus was but natural as he was finding his way to his
destination. That he purportedly attempted to run away as the
tanod approached him is irrelevant and cannot by itself be
construed as adequate to charge the tanod with personal knowledge
that petitioner had just engaged in, was actually engaging in or
was attempting to engage in criminal activity. More importantly,
petitioner testified that he did not run away but in fact spoke with
the barangay tanod when they approached him.
613
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614
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Same; Same; The law enforcers and public officers who take
possession of the specimen is duty-bound to detail how it was cared
for, safeguarded and preserved while in his or her control to prevent
alteration or replacement while in custody.·The onus of proving
culpability in criminal indictment falls upon the State. In
conjunction with this, law enforcers and public officers alike have
the corollary duty to preserve the chain of custody over the seized
drugs. The chain of evidence is constructed by proper exhibit
handling, storage, labeling and recording, and must exist from the
time the evidence is found until the time it is offered in evidence.
Each person who takes possession of the specimen is duty-bound to
detail how it was cared for, safeguarded and preserved while in his
or her control to prevent alteration or replacement while in custody.
This guarantee of the integrity of the evidence to be used against
an accused goes to the very heart of his fundamental rights.
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tion of innocence and the other compatible with the finding of guilt,
the court must acquit the accused for the reason that the evidence
does not satisfy the test of moral certainty and is inadequate to
support a judgment of conviction.
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the same vein, let this serve as an admonition to police officers and
public officials alike to perform their mandated duties with
commitment to the highest degree of diligence, righteousness and
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TINGA, J.:
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618
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9165 (R.A. No. 9165) and sentencing him to suffer the
penalty of imprisonment ranging from eight (8) years and
one (1) day of prision mayor medium as minimum to fifteen
(15) years of reclusion temporal medium as maximum and
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ordering him to pay a fine of P350,000.00.
I.
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619
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620
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621
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II.
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17 People v. Lapitaje, 445 Phil. 729, 746; 397 SCRA 674, 687 (2003),
citing People v. Mendoza, 327 SCRA 695 (2000). See also People v.
Sevilla, 394 Phil. 125; 339 SCRA 625 (2000).
18 See People v. Lapitaje, 445 Phil. 729, 748; 397 SCRA 674, 690 (2003)
citing People v. Lagarto, 326 SCRA 693 (2000) and People v. Nitcha, 240
SCRA 283 (1995). See also People v. Kimura, G.R. No. 130805, 27 April
2004, 428 SCRA 51.
19 People v. Sarap, 447 Phil. 642; 399 SCRA 503 (2003).
623
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xxx
624
20
ting an offense. The tanod did not have probable cause
either to justify petitionerÊs warrantless arrest.
For the exception in Section 5(a), Rule 113 to operate,
this Court has ruled that two (2) elements must be present:
(1) the person to be arrested must execute an overt act
indicating that he has just committed, is actually
committing, or is attempting to commit a crime; and (2) such
overt act is done in the presence or within the view of the
arresting officer.21 Here, petitionerÊs act of looking around
after getting off the bus was but natural as he was finding
his way to his destination. That he purportedly attempted to
run away as the tanod approached him is irrelevant and
cannot by itself be construed as adequate to charge the
tanod with personal knowledge that petitioner had just
engaged in, was actually engaging in or was attempting to
engage in criminal activity. More importantly, petitioner
testified that he did not run away but in fact spoke with the
barangay tanod when they approached him.
Even taking the prosecutionÊs version generally as the
truth, in line with our assumption from the start, the
conclusion will not be any different. It is not unreasonable
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625
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626
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(3) arrests of escaped prisoners.‰
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627
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628
or a voluntary
34
submission to the warrantless search and
seizure.
III.
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34 Id.
35 People v. Hajili, 447 Phil. 283, 295; 399 SCRA 188, 197 (2003).
36 People v. Almeida, 463 Phil. 637, 648; 418 SCRA 254, 263 (2003),
citing People v. Mendiola, 235 SCRA 116 (1994). See also People v.
Kimura, G.R. No. 130805, 27 April 2004, 428 SCRA 51, 61, citing People
v. Mendiola, supra, People v. Macuto, 176 SCRA 762 (1989), People v.
Vocente, 188 SCRA 100 (1990) and People v. Mariano, 191 SCRA 136
(1990).
37 See People v. Mapa, G.R. No. 91014, 31 March 1993, 220 SCRA 670
(1993), People v. Dismuke, G.R. No. 108453, 11 July 1994, 234 SCRA 51,
People v. Casimiro, 383 SCRA 400 (2002), People v. Pedronan, 452 Phil.
226; 404 SCRA 183 (2003), People v. Kimura, G.R. No. 130805, 27 April
2004, 428 SCRA 51, People v. Ong, G.R. No. 137348, 21 June 2004, 432
SCRA 470.
629
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630
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40 Records, p. 2.
41 Id., at p. 5.
42 Rollo, p. 87.
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631
43
his bag, without taking the statement in full context.
Contrary to the Court of AppealsÊ findings, although
petitioner testified that the marijuana was taken from his 44
bag, he consistently denied ownership thereof.
Furthermore, it defies logic to require a denial of ownership
of the seized drugs before the principle of chain of custody
comes into play.
The onus of proving culpability in criminal indictment
falls upon the State. In conjunction with this, law enforcers
and public officers alike have the corollary duty to preserve
the chain of custody over the seized drugs. The chain of
evidence is constructed by proper exhibit handling, storage,
labeling and recording, and must exist from the time the
evidence is found until the time it is offered in evidence.
Each person who takes possession of the specimen is duty-
bound to detail how it was cared for, safeguarded and
preserved while in his or her control to prevent alteration or
replacement while in custody. This guarantee of the
integrity of the evidence to be used against an accused goes
to the very heart of his fundamental rights.
The presumption of regularity in the performance of
official duty invoked by the prosecution and relied upon by
the courts a quo cannot by itself overcome the presumption
of innocence
45
nor constitute proof of guilt beyond reasonable
doubt. Among the constitutional rights enjoyed by an
accused, the most primordial yet often disregarded is the
presumption of innocence. This elementary principle
accords every accused the right to be presumed innocent
until the contrary is proven beyond reasonable doubt. Thus,
the burden of proving the guilt of the accused rests upon the
prosecution.
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43 Id.
44 TSN, 17 March 2004, pp. 11-13.
45 People v. Sevilla, 394 Phil. 125, 158; 339 SCRA 625, 652 (2000),
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632
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46 People v. Santos, Jr., G.R. No. 175593, 17 October 2007, 536 SCRA
489, citing People v. Samson, 421 Phil. 104; 369 SCRA 229 (2001).
47 People v. Sapal, 385 Phil. 109, 126; 328 SCRA 417, 432 (2000), citing
People v. Delos Santos, G.R. No. 126998, 14 September 1999, 314 SCRA
303 and People v. Fider, 223 SCRA 117 (1993).
48 Office of the Court Administrator v. Librado, 329 Phil. 432, 435;
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260 SCRA 624, 628 (1996), citing People v. Nario, 224 SCRA 647 (1993).
49 Id., citing People v. Policarpio, 158 SCRA 85 (1988).
50 Id., at p. 436, citing People v. Bati, 189 SCRA 95 (1990), citing
People v. Lamug, 172 SCRA 349 (1989).
51 Id., citing People v. Policarpio, supra.
633
IV.
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52 People v. Sevilla, 394 Phil. 125, 159; 339 SCRA 625, 653 (2000),
citing People v. Pagaura, supra. See also People v. Sapal, supra.
634
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