Philippine Daily Inquirer
A “glaring blunder” in the handling of evidence has led to the acquittal of two of the so-called “Alabang Boys” arrested in 2008 for the alleged possession and sale of 60 “ecstasy” tablets.
“That (breach) in the chain of custody of evidence became a fatal flaw,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday after a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court judge dismissed the charges against Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Relatives of the two young men gave out a whoops of relief and joy after the court handed down the verdict, ending a two-year, 11-month legal battle marked by charges of bribery and the intervention at one point of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a prisoner’s yellow garb, Brodett, 28, and Joseph, 25, stood silently before Judge Juanita Guerrero as the verdict was read.
“It’s a surprising development,” De Lima said of the decision clearing Joseph and Brodett because of the failure of antinarcotics agents to follow the rules on taking care of the evidence.
De Lima said she had asked Prosecutor General Claro Arellano to furnish her with copies of the documents in the case “to see what exactly were the difficulties and problems.”
“There are so many cases similar to this which were dismissed because of the same technicality,” she said.
“I will tell you straight. We knew about the decision of the court even before it came out. Draw your own conclusions about how we knew,” a dismayed former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) chief Dionisio Santiago told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Santiago would not elaborate on his cryptic remark.
Discrepancies noted
It was Santiago’s men who nabbed Brodett, Joseph and another coaccused, Joseph Tecson, on Sept. 19, 2008, for alleged drug possession.
Tecson’s case is pending in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
De Lima also said she had ordered the Quezon City prosecutor’s office to submit the status of the case against Tecson.
In her 46-page decision, Guerrero questioned the handling by PDEA officials of the assorted illegal drugs they said they seized from the suspects during a buy-bust operation.
The court noted that during the trial, PDEA forensic chemist Rona Mae Aguillon had testified receiving six plastic sachets of ecstasy tablets—each sachet containing 10 tablets—for laboratory analysis around 12:15 p.m. of September 20, or the day after the arrests.
She said it took her about 16 hours to complete the examination of the tablets.
But the court also noted that while the tablets were supposedly being examined by the chemist, Santiago held a press conference on the afternoon of the same day and showed the media the tablets he said were taken from the “Alabang Boys.”
A newspaper photograph of the press conference, published the day after, was shown at the trial.
In a quandary
The court questioned how PDEA could have presented the tablets to the media if they had been in the possession of and being examined by the chemist.
The discrepancy left the court “in a quandary,” the decision said.
The chemist acknowledged the “apparent inconsistency” when confronted with it.
From the newspaper photograph, the court also noted a “difference” between the table on which the ecstasy tablets were laid during Santiago’s press conference and the table holding them during PDEA’s official inventory of the evidence.
The court left open the possibility that the tablets may have left the chemist’s possession during the time she was supposed to have been examining them.
‘Link was broken’
“The link in the custody of the drug evidence has been broken,” it said. “The failure of the prosecution therefore to establish all the links in the chain of custody is fatal to the case at bar.”
“The court cannot merely rely on the presumption of regularity in the performance of official functions in view of the glaring blunder in the handling of the corpus delicti (body of the crime) of these cases.”
The court said that precisely because “of the built-in danger of abuse it carries, a buy-bust operation is governed by specific procedures on the seizure and custody of drugs.”
Thus, it said, “the chain of custody requirement is necessary to remove doubts” on the integrity of the evidence.
The court said “no justification was given why the prosecution failed to present either Director Santiago, Major Marcelino or Sogoc to explain the lapses in the chain of custody of the drug items.”
Cry of relief
Relatives of Brodett and Joseph uttered a cry of relief upon hearing the word “acquitted” after a 30-minute reading of the judgment. Two court employees took turns in reading the decision.
The relatives declined to be interviewed, but they were teary-eyed as they hugged each other.
PDEA agents arrested Brodett and Joseph inside posh Ayala Alabang Village on the evening of September 19 during an entrapment operation.
Bribery charges
A search of Brodett’s car yielded other ecstasy tablets, sachets of cocaine and dried marijuana leaves, according to the PDEA.
The case provoked controversy after the Department of Justice initially dismissed the charges and PDEA officials insinuated the prosecutors had been bribed.
Then President Arroyo stepped in and ordered a review of the case. Charges were eventually filed in court.
‘On their conscience’
Santiago said he respected the decision and acknowledged “there’s nothing we can do about it anymore.”
“We’re convinced they were doing something [illegal], so now it’s on their conscience,” Santiago said in a phone interview. He said PDEA’s legal team and the prosecutors had built a strong case against the defendants.
But he said he would rather look at the positive aspect case.
“Now they are to be let out. They’re intelligent, so perhaps they can become productive members of society. On the other hand, they may return to their old ways,” he said.
“They know what they did. We know what we did. Now it’s all on their conscience,” Santiago said.
In the Tecson case, the prosecution is still in the process of presenting evidence. Tecson is detained at the Quezon City jail. With reports from DJ Yap and Julie Aurelio
Baka naki alam si Houdini at nagka hokos-pokos or abra ca dabra like the one in Harry Potter movie. Huling-huli at ito ang tunay na noted na noted tapos ngayon na technical Wowwww Haaaaaaa,,,,,,,
Palpakn na naman!Nakakabwisit na matalo ang kaso vs. Alabang Boys due to technicality, grrrr! Baka naman hindi talagang technicality yan kundi may nabulsahan!
Free na ulit ang Alabang Boys na mambiktima… shiiiiittt!!!
May isyu na namang mainit. Lagi na lang na pag naiipit yong mag-asawang Arroyo may mga ganyan …. gaya nung kay Webb na alam natin na gawa ng mga aso ni Glorya sa SC. Yong kaso ni Lacson … pinag-initan ni DeLima tapos eto na naman … nakisawsaw agad si DeLima.
Bakit itong si DeLima ay hindi nakikisawsaw pag itong mga Arroyo ang isyu. Sabagay sumawsaw din at nagbigay order na ilagay si Efgi sa watchlist …. na alam naman niyang hindi uubra.
Ay naku … napagbibisto na talaga na itong si DeLima ang lihim na tagapagtanggol ng mga Arroyo.
Parang dumadami na tong mga nakawalang kaso kay De Lima?
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Remember Gerry Ortega? He was the broadcaster, environmentalist, and corruption whistleblower, not to mention veterinarian (the source of his bread and butter so he could engage in his advocacies), who was killed in broad daylight in Puerto Princesa, shot at the back of his head while he was buying clothes from an ukay-ukay store (which shows that he was not an envelopmental journalist).
In case the reader has forgotten, some reminders: By a stroke of luck, Ortega’s assassin, Marlon Recamata, was apprehended minutes after the slaying, and readily confessed to the crime. He named his accomplices: Dennis Aranas (the lookout), Armando Noel (who recruited the killer and the lookout), and Rodolfo “Bumar” Edrad Jr., a former Marine and the acknowledged team leader. The lookout was captured, the other two surrendered, almost immediately.
They all admitted participation. Edrad, in his confession, pointed to former Palawan Gov. Joel T. Reyes as the mastermind, and as co-conspirators former Marinduque Gov. Antonio Carrion and Coron Mayor Marjo Reyes (Joel’s brother).
Further investigation implicated: lawyer Romeo Seratubias, Joel Reyes’ legal officer and provincial administrator, who owned the gun used to kill Ortega; Percival Lesias, a photographer in the office of Vice Gov. Fems Reyes (Joel’s wife) who bought the gun from Seratubias; Arturo Regalado, a close-in security of Joel Reyes, who gave Lesias the money to buy the gun from Seratubias, then got the purchased gun, and gave it to the group of Recamata.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/10729/a-farcical-probe
Galing naman ng mga abogado ng Alabang boys, ang bilis, dati nga madidismiss pa? Walang sinabi abogado nila Webb, inabot pa ng 15 years(?) bago na technical.
PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago, save yourself from the shame of being branded as “tatanga-tanga”, or an idiot. RESIGN !!!Holding on to that position longer than needed, sino pa ang maniniwala sa iyo sa susunod na magkaroon ulit ng similar na pangyayari ? Otherwise, iisa lang ang iisipin namin. Titiisin mong manatili sa posisiyon mo kahit ka TANGA kasi nalagyan ka rin tulad ng iba.
Iyan ang na-mana niyo kay Gloria ! Puro kayo “lapse in judgement”.
Imagine, kung talagang “nagkamali” nga itong si Santiago sa kasong possession of prohibited drugs lamang, papano na lang ang mas malalaking mga kaso tulad ng sa mga Arroyo ? Kung kasing tanga ni Santiago ang mga hahawak ng ebidensiya o isang TROJAN, gaya ni de Lima (gaya nga ng hinala ni SNV), ni sa panaginip, hindi natin makikitang makulong ang mga ito.
Of the 2 possibilities that explains the existence of the evidence in 2 different places at the same time, ONLY ONE can be true.
1 – The chemist already has possession over the drugs and those shown at the presscon were from a different source.
2 – The chemist has officially acknowledged receipt without exclusive physical possession of the drugs which were then shown by PDEA to the media.
Sa kasong ito, mukhang mas madaling “trinabaho” yung chemist kesa kay Santiago.
tsk tsk tsk.
It was a “buy bust operation” meaning caught red handed yung mga Alabang boys. Ano bang sinasabi nilang chain of custody na yan, bakit, vitamins lang at tawas ang hawak ng mga ito? Na wow mali ba ang PDEA na ang hinuli hila vitamins at tawas lang pala ang binibenta? Ang laking kalokohan nito, nakakawalang gana talaga.
Kidnapin na lang natin tong mga to at dalhin sa Davao kaya? joke lang…
again, eto na naman tayo uli!
palibhasa’y mga anak ng makuwarta ‘yung alamang boys, nakatira sa eksklusib na bileyds kaya madaling nagawan ng paraang masilipan ng inconsistencies ang chemist na siyang umeksamin sa mga isinumiteng gamot, katulong pa ang media na hindi natin malaman kung ‘yun ay kinontrata ng depensa para magkabalebalentong ang kaso.
bakit ‘yung mga pobreng “nahuhulihan” ng bawal na gamot dahil “tinataniman” ng ebidensiya ng mga operatiba ay hindi mabigyan ng pansin ng mga kagawad ng media kahit pa ipinagisisigawang wala silang sala?
mas malakas talaga ang bulong ng salapi kaysa paghiyaw ng hustisya!
wala ng pag-asa ang bayan kong lugmok sa kahihiyan at paghihikahos sapagkat ang namamayani sa paligid ay ‘yung mga baluktot at gahaman sa kuwarta.
A costly lesson for the PDEA. Do a better job next time. There are bigger fish to catch out there like the manufacturers of shabu.
parang duda ako kay general sa pag-amin niya naging kahinaan ng kaso at mabilis na acquittal ng dalawang nahuli nila. tsk. tsk. tsk.
may pabaon pang pangungunsensiya!
magkano, este, ano ba ‘yan general?
Salamat Tongue #8,9. Nandyan din ang hinala ko.
Yan ang mali pag walang training sa crime scene investigation and handling of evidence ang mga unang rumesponde sa crime scene. Good intentions are not enough kung pagbabatayan mo ang decision ng korte. Eagle-eyed lawyers of the accused will always take advantage of that fact to have the cas dismissed by technicality. Sad to say, yan ang reality sa law enforcement sa Pilipinas. This is not to disparage the good intentions of Santiago, Marcelino, et al who carried out the operations. But these guys were trained in military operations, not police work. In their haste to present a very notable accomplishment to the media, fatal mistakes were committed, i.e., link of custody in the chain of evidence, that was exploited by the defense lawyers during the trial. The judge was left with no choice. Lesson learned. Do not disturb the crime scene. Let the professionals do their jobs thoroughly. Wag magmadali na magpapogi agad sa media. Yan ang hinihintay ng mga abogado. Ang magkamali kayo sa mga pronouncements nyo. Recorded yan. Ipapasubpoena lang nila later on yan sa korte. Walang kahirap hirap. Tapos agad ang boksing!
sino kaya ang nagpapresyo sa kasong ito?
bakit walang pagdadalawang isip ang judge sa pag-acquit sa mga akusado at mas binigyang halaga ang pinalutang na inconsistencies at blunder sa paghawak ng mga ebidensiya?
ang kasong ito na nangyari noong panahon ng nakaraang administrasyon ay batbat ng dungis dahil sa panunuhol, pakikialam ng mga aso ng duwendeng nasa malakanyang noon, bakit ngayong humihirit ng tuwid na daan ang bagong pamunuan ay saka naman biglang nawalan ng halaga ang mga ebidensiya at nakalaya ang dapat makulong?
bakit, de lima?
Si Judge ang trinabaho.
Hawak daw ng chemist ng hours, hanggang 4 am. So subtracting those 16 hours, hawak na niya noong 12 pm the day after, two hours bago ang press con ni Santiago.
Minor detail naman yang either 16 hours or 14 hours na hawak ng chemist. The chain of custody rule requires that the same drugs taken are the ones analyzed. There is no evidence that another set was analyzed by the chemist.
Ang tanong lang, ang in-analyze mo ba ay galing kay Santiago? Ang galing ba kay Santiago ay galing sa apprehending officer?
As long as the chain of custody is unbroken, from the apprehending officers to the chemist, the evidence becomes admissible (People v. Manlangit G.R. No. 189806).
Additionally, exclusion of evidence requires a motion and hearing, before it is excluded. It cannot be excluded without giving the prosecution the chance to prove that the chain was unbroken. In this case, the observation was sprung upon the prosecution in the decision itself.
Dito sa Tate, may motion and hearing on the exclusion. Kapag excluded, kahit masakit sa pride, prosecution mismo ang nag-mo-move to dismiss.
May due process violation yan, exclusion of evidence without a hearing.
Sorry. The quote is from People v. Nene Quiamanlon G.R. No. 191198 January 26, 2011.
I agree with sax, the whole thing looked so rushed. The sharks saw an opening and they went for it, and the judge threw the whole thing out so fast like so much hot potatoes.
What bothers me is that for a country that has a justice system known to travel at the speed of a snail that is taking its time, this is short of a miracle! Alleluya! The wheels of justice are suddenly running lightning speed, ramdam na ramdam na ang pagbabago!
Sa mga larawan ng mga nangyayari sa bansa, mula noon hanggan ngayon,..ang sistema na HUSTISYA, at kalakaran ng gobyerno, natuon tuloy ang pananaw sa mga nangyayari sa “arab nations”, lalo na itong Libya, Syria..baka ang hangin doon ay dumapo sa Pilipinas. Sana, makita ang larawang iyan ng mga pamunuan ng bansa, at tunay, sa puso nilang ituwid ang landas na bako-bakong, ipinangako ni Pangulong PNoy. Baka,isang araw, magkaroon uli ng “magdalo-2”, na katulad ng Edsa-1, na naging Edsa-2..Kailan kaya sila
gigising sa katutuhanan, itong mga pamunuan ng bansa, lalo na ang tinatawag na Batas, na nasa kamay ng DOJ. Huwag na antayin ang hangin sa middle east, na dumako sa bansa, minsan lang ang mabuhay sa daigdig na ito, at minsan ding dapat gumawa sila ng mabubuting pagkakataon, para sa bayan. Ang kayamanan ay di nadadala sa ikalawang buhay, ngunit ang mabuting gawain-kabayanihan ay di nalilimot, mag-laho man ang panahon. Ang gawaing masama, ay di nag-bubunga ng kabutihan, at maikling nag-lalaho, madalian.Its better to aim PaTRIOTISM-O-Kabayanihan, kaysa kalukuhan !..my comment for the future.
Modus operandi ba yan? Is that how drug lords get away scot free? Turo ba yan ng prosecutor?
Modus operandi ba yan? Is that how drug lords get away scot free? Turo ba yan ng prosecutor?
– sax
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Hindi ba pwedeng mag senate inquiry in aide of legislation sila dito? Obvious naman na may butas butas na palaging nilulusutan ng mga kumag na to. Pinatulan nga nila si Hayden Kho, para na mang mas mabigat tong mga issue na to? Nakita nga ni sax na wala siya dito sa Pilipinas imposible namang hundi napapansin to ng mga legal luminaries kuno natin dito?
Nakakapanghinayang ang pagkakataong ito na binigay ng tadhana kay ginoong Aquino, sa laki ng tiwala sa kanya ng mga tao kaya niyang gumawa ng sweeping reforms, yung mga pagbabago talaga na mararamdaman natin, yung tipong hindi na kailangan sabihin pa niya kung ano ano yun, makikita na lang natin.
Si Cory dati may ganung oportunidada din, yung revolutionary government niya sana pwedeng ginamit sa malawakang pagbabago, para siyang isang pintor na nasa kamay na niya dapat kung anong gusto niyang ipinta, sa laki ng tiwala sa kanya ng mga tao parang binigyan na siya na blank canvass para baguhin ang lahat pero hindi niya nakayanan.
Now the younger Aquino has this opportunity, sana magkaroon na siya ng ambition ngayon, kung hindi para sa kanya para man lang sa bayan. Kahit sa maikling panahon na anim na taon gumawa siya ng hindi niya nakasanayang ginagawa, ibuhos niya ang lahat ng passion niya, lahat ng lakas niya, lahat ng galit, lahat ng sama ng loob, sa sistema na nagkulong, nagpahirap at nagpapatay sa tatay niya. He must use whatever grief and frustrations he has of being deprived of a father and a family to fuel his desire for change. He is the president of a whole nation, he is not like us mere mortals who can contend with small changes ala 12 things we can do for the country. No more baby steps, stride!
Don’t be afraid to step up Mr. Aquino, your people are behind you, be bold Mr. President be bold.
Re #7, Jawo, Matagal nang napalitan si Santiago. January 2011 pa.
The PDEA chief now is retired Chief Superintendent Jose “Sonny” Gutierrez, a former chief of the Southern Police District.
“……Si Judge ang trinabaho….” – sax
atitiway, ‘yan na nga ang hindi nagpatulog sa akin kagabi sapagkat napakabilis naman ‘ata ‘yung desisyon niyang i-acquit ang dalawa batay lamang sa technicalities base sa report ng media. wala man lang nagawa ang prosecutors upang gawing matimbang ang circustances na umiinog sa kaso tulad ng kung paano sila nahuli at nakunan ng nagdudumilat na mga ebidensiya.
kung hahalukayin marahil, kade-kadena na sila diyan. si general, ‘yung chemist, si judge at ang masaklap, baka nga ang nagsilbi pang tulay ay ‘yung “palabang paatras” na DOJ secretary’ng wala palang alam gawin kundi ang magpakyut sa press.
Re #24, I stand corrected. Thanks, Ellen.
From what I know, it seems the PDEA erred in implementing the buy bust ops.
1. It was not the poseur who “bought” the drugs from suspect Brodett. They let suspect Joseph to do the deal. It should always be the poseur with the marked money who should transact the business with the suspect and not the suspect.
2. The “deal” took place in a heavily tinted car. So in effect no one from PDEA really saw what really took place inside the car.
3. PDEA officers did not coordinate with local authorities during the alleged buy bust ops. So no witness aside from PDEA officers could collaborate thier testimonies.
4. It took several hours (some say as long as 12 hrs) before PDEA officers brought in the suspects and the evidences. The defense alleged that their clients were taken for a “joy” ride for several hours before they were brought in for inquest. They should have taken pictures or have some witnesses on the crime scene.
If those mentioned above are true, then I think the judge did the right thing to acquit based on technicality. It’s really sad these drug users/ pushers go scott-free because police officers didn’t follow operational procedures.
Santiago is a good cop but not his boys. Kailangan sana turuan at ipa-seminar ulit ang mga tauhan ng pulisya para di na maulit ang nangyari sa kaso ng Alabang boys. Sayang.
By the way, PDEA said that it was Joseph who squealed on Brodett and he was the one who brought the PDEA team to Brodett’s residence in Alabang.
Obvious ba?nagtaka ka pa.pag may pera lusot talaga,gangyang talaga sa pinas.Obvious pa ba,tingan mo iyon lady judge may hawak ng kaso.akala ko litson ang pagka tingin ko sa kanya mukha,he he he he ang korte dalawa isa sa mayaman at isa para sa mahirap.
Technicality? Bollocks … inareglo during the arrest para may technicality issue during the trial