G.R. No. 213918 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, V. EVANGELINE ABELLA Y SEDEGO AND MAE ANN SENDIONG, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

WHEREFORE , in the light of the foregoing, the Court hereby renders judgment as follows: 1. In Criminal Case No. 19359, the accused Evangeline Abella y Sedego and Mae Ann Sendiong are hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the offense of illegal sale of 0.01 gram of shabu in violation of Sec. 5, Art. II of R.A. No. 9165 and are hereby sentenced each to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment and each to pay a fine of Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00). The one (1) heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing 0.01 gram of shabu is hereby confiscated and forfeited in favor of the government and to be disposed of in accordance with law. 2. In Criminal Case No. 19381, the accused Mae Ann Sendiong is hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the offense of illegal possession of 0.01 gram of shabu in violation of Sec. 11, Art. II of R.A. No. 9165 and is hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of twelve (12) years and one (1) day as minimum term to fourteen (14) years as maximum term and to pay a fine of Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (P400,000.00). The one (1) heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing 0.01 gram of shabu is hereby confiscated and forfeited in favor of the government and to be disposed of in accordance with law. In the service of sentence, the accused Evangeline Abella y Sedego and Mae Ann Sendiong shall be credited with the full time during which they have undergone preventive imprisonment, provided they agree voluntarily in writing to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed on convicted prisoners. [41] Believing that the RTC erred in its decision, the accused-appellants appealed to the CA. The Ruling of the CA The CA found no merit in the appeal. It held that the elements of the crimes charged had been established beyond moral certainty. On the contention that what took place on 19 January 2009 was instigation, the CA ruled that the arrest of the accused-appellants was the result of a legitimate entrapment which fact can be verified by the credible testimonies of the prosecution witnesses. The CA sustained the RTC's assessment on the credibility of the witnesses and found no indicium of ill motive or of any distorted sense of duty on the part of the buy-bust team. [42] The CA disposed the appeal of the accused-appellants as follows: WHEREFORE , premises considered, the instant Appeal is DENIED . Accordingly, the 28 October 2011 Joint Judgment of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 30, Dumaguete City in Criminal Case Nos. 19359 and 19381 , respectively, finding accused-appellants Evangeline Abella y Sedego and Mae Ann Sendiong guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of illegal selling of 0.01 gram of shabu and accused-appellant Mae Ann Sendiong guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of unlawful possession of 0.01 gram of shabu, is AFFIRMED IN TOTO . [43] ISSUES Abella raised the following issues in her appeal: I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONVICTING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT OF THE CRIME