G.R. No. 273189 , April 21, 2025
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. CESAR OLIMAN, ELIAS RAYPAN @ ELY, RICARDO OLIMAN Y ENRIQUEZ @ KARDING, KENNETH DEITA Y BELARMINO, ANALY DEQUILLO Y LITERAL, GARY GUBATAN Y BALISCOT, MARIFE DE JESUS Y EVANGELISTA, AND GERRY ENRIQUEZ Y SUNGA, ACCUSED; MARIFE DE JESUS Y EVANGELISTA, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.

FACTS

Five separate Informations were filed against Marife De Jesus y Evangelista (De Jesus), Gerry Enriquez y Sunga (Gerry), and others for violations of Republic Act No. 9165 . De Jesus was charged with: maintaining a drug den (Sec. 6); possession of dangerous drugs (Sec. 11); and possession of drug paraphernalia (Sec. 12). Gerry was charged with visiting a drug den (Sec. 7) and illegal drug use (Sec. 15). The charges stemmed from a search conducted on November 8, 2017, at No. 9238 Oliman Compound, Pateros St., Brgy. Olympia, Makati City, pursuant to Search Warrant No. 17-039 issued against Cesar Oliman, Elias Raypan, appellant Marife, and John and Jane Doe/s. During the search, PDEA officers recovered from the second floor, in the presence of De Jesus, a barangay kagawad, and a media representative, a cigarette pack containing 50 plastic sachets and a pink coin purse containing two sachets of white crystalline substance and several strips of aluminum foil. From the ground floor, they found a pink floral pouch containing sachets and rolled aluminum foils. The seized items and urine samples from De Jesus and Gerry tested positive for methamphetamine hydrochloride. De Jesus denied the accusations, claiming she was no longer a resident of the compound and was merely visiting her children when the search occurred. The Regional Trial Court convicted De Jesus and Gerry. The Court of Appeals modified the ruling. De Jesus appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the search warrant was valid, particularly if it described the place to be searched with sufficient particularity as required by the Constitution.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the appeal and acquitted Marife De Jesus y Evangelista. The search warrant was declared void for being a general warrant. It failed to describe the place to be searched with particularity. The warrant authorized a search “within the premises of Cesar, [Raypan], appellant Marife and John and Jane Doe/s… at No. 9238 Oliman Compound, Pateros Street, Barangay Olympia, Makati City.” The Oliman Compound was described as a “two-storey residential building with several rooms occupied by different families.” The warrant did not specify which unit or room within the compound belonging to De Jesus was to be searched. It failed to single out the specific dwelling of the accused from the other units in the compound. A search warrant must describe the place to be searched with particularity to prevent law enforcement from exercising unbridled discretion. The warrant’s defect rendered the search illegal, and all evidence obtained therefrom was inadmissible. Without the illegally seized evidence, De Jesus’s conviction for the crimes charged could not be sustained.