G.R. No. 73399 February 21, 1997
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RAMON ABEDES Y SALGADO, accused-appellant.

FACTS

Ramon Abedes y Salgado was charged on October 5, 1984, for selling and delivering dried marijuana leaves, seeds, and a marijuana cake to a Narcom poseur-buyer, a violation of Section 4, Article II of Republic Act No. 6425 (The Dangerous Drugs Act), as amended. The Regional Trial Court of Quezon City convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine. This judgment was affirmed by the Supreme Court in a decision dated November 28, 1986.
Subsequently, Abedes filed an “Urgent Motion to Modify Decision,” invoking the case of People vs. Simon. The Simon ruling held that the reduced penalties prescribed under Republic Act No. 7659 , which amended the Dangerous Drugs Act, could be applied retroactively. Abedes sought the benefit of this retroactive application to reduce his sentence.

ISSUE

Whether the reduced penalties under R.A. No. 7659 should be retroactively applied to the benefit of accused-appellant Ramon Abedes, and if so, whether he has already served beyond the newly prescribed penalty warranting his immediate release.

RULING

The Supreme Court GRANTED the motion. The legal logic is anchored on the retroactive application of favorable penal laws, a fundamental principle under Article 22 of the Revised Penal Code. Following the precedent in People vs. Simon, the Court held that the amendments introduced by R.A. No. 7659 , which prescribed lesser penalties for certain drug offenses, are to be given retroactive effect as they are favorable to the accused.
Applying the specific provisions, the offense committed by Abedes, involving 6.5 grams of dried marijuana leaves and seeds and 17.5 grams of marijuana cake, fell under the second paragraph of Section 20 of R.A. No. 6425 as amended by R.A. No. 7659 . The newly prescribed penalty was prision correccional. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the proper indeterminate penalty was from six months of arresto mayor as minimum to six years of prision correccional as maximum.
The Court noted that Abedes had been imprisoned since October 1984, serving at least twelve years and three months, which far exceeded the maximum six-year penalty under the new law. Liberally construing the procedural requirements for invoking this benefit, as the Court did in Angeles vs. Director of New Bilibid Prison, the motion was treated as sufficient. Consequently, the Court ordered the immediate release of Ramon Abedes from custody, unless detained for another lawful cause.