G.R. No. 225503 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. JERRY DAGDAG A.K.A. "TISOY", ACCUSED-.DECISION - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, accused Jerry Dagdag alias "Tisoy" is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the offenses of illegal sale of 7 centigrams (0.07 gram) of methylamphetamine hydrochloride and possession of 14 decigrams (0.14 gram), thereof and sentences him as follows: For Criminal Case No. 16032-D [violation of Section 5, Article II of R.A. No. 9165] - life imprisonment and to pay a fine of five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00); and For Criminal Case No. 16033-D [violation of Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165] - imprisonment ranging from twelve years and one day to fifteen years (applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law) and to pay a fine of thirty ( sic ) thousand pesos (P300,000.00). The Branch Clerk of this Court is directed to forward the sachets of shabu (Exhibits "M", "N", & "O") to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency for destruction. SO ORDERED . [7] Aggrieved, Dagdag filed an appeal before the CA. The Ruling of the CA In the assailed Decision, the CA affirmed the RTC's conviction of Dagdag. The dispositive portion of the assailed Decision reads: WHEREFORE , the foregoing considered, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED and the assailed Judgment is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION in that in Criminal Case No. 16033-D, accused-appellant is ordered to pay a fine in the amount of THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS (P300,000.00) and not Thirty Thousand Pesos. SO ORDERED . [8] Hence, the instant appeal. Issue Stripped to its core, for the Court's resolution is the issue of whether the RTC and CA erred in convicting Dagdag for violating Sections 5 and 11, Article II of RA 9165. The Court's Ruling The appeal is meritorious. The Court acquits Dagdag for failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Dagdag was charged with the crime of illegal sale and possession of dangerous drugs, defined and penalized under Sections 5 and 11, respectively, of Article II of RA 9165. In order to convict a person charged with the crime of illegal sale of dangerous drugs under Section 5, Article II of RA 9165, the prosecution is required to prove the following elements: (1) the identity of the buyer and the seller, the object and the consideration; and (2) the delivery of the thing sold and the payment therefor. [9] On the other hand, illegal possession of dangerous drugs under Section 11, Article II of RA 9165 has the following elements: (1) the accused is in possession of an item or object, which is identified to be a prohibited or regulated drug; (2) such possession is not authorized by law; and (3) the accused freely and consciously possessed the drug. [10] In cases involving dangerous drugs, the State bears not only the burden of proving these elements, but also of proving the corpus delicti or the body of the crime. In drug cases, the dangerous drug itself is the very corpus delicti of the violation of the law. [11] While it is true that a buy-bust operation is a legally effective and proven procedure, sanctioned by la