DISPOSITIVE:
ACCORDINGLY, the Petition for Review on Certiorari filed in G.R.
No. 254854 and the Notice of Appeal filed in G.R. No. 256455 are
GRANTED. The Decision, dated May 28, 2020, and the Resolution, dated
October 2, 2020, of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 02075-
MIN, are REVERSED. Sanawiya Apaso Calombang y Manua @ “Soraya
Umpa,” Jamiey Sarif y Balo, Khadafi Aloyodan y Macauco, and Ryan Abdul
Maliky Tarantanto, are ACQUITTED of violation of Section 5, Article II of
Republic Act No. 9165, as amended, for the failure of the prosecution to prove
their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Let a copy of this Decision be furnished to the Director General of the
Bureau of Corrections, Muntinlupa City, for immediate implementation. The
said Director General is DIRECTED: (a) to cause the IMMEDIATE
RELEASE of Sanawiya Apaso Calombang y Manua @ “Soraya Umpa,”
Jamiey Sarif y Balo, Khadafi Aloyodany Macauco, and Ryan Abdul Maliky
Tarantanto from custody, unless they are being held for some other lawful
cause; and (b) to inform the Court of the action taken within five days from
notice.
Copies shall also be furnished to the Chief of the Philippine National
Police and the Director General of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency
for their information.
The Branch 6, Regional Trial Court oflligan City, Lanao Del Norte, is
DIRECTED to tum over the seized sachets of methamphetamine
hydrochloride to the Dangerous Drugs Board for destruction in accordance
with law.
Let entry of judgment be issued immediately.
SO ORDERED.
SUBJECTS/DOCTRINES/DIGEST:
The temporary storage of the seized items in the forensic chemist’s
personal cabinet, followed by their placement in a filing cabinet containing
commingled evidence, undennines the assurance that the items subjected to
examination were the same items seized from the accused and later presented
in court. Such handling defeats the very purpose of the chain of custody rule.
which is to ensure that the evidence is insulated from tampering, substitution,
or contamination at every stage of its movement.
Taken together, these lapses are neither trivial nor technical. They
strike at the very core of the chain of custody rule, whose purpose is to ensure
that the corpus delicti is established with moral certainty. The prosecution
neither offered a satisfactory explanation for these deviations nor
demonstrated that the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized drugs were
preserved despite the lapses.
Thus, the Court is constrained to hold that the prosecution failed to
comply with the requirements of Section 21 of Republic Act No. 9165. These
deficiencies cannot be cured by the presumption of regularity and are fatal to
the prosecution’s case.
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