GR 100985; (September, 1993) (Digest)
G.R. No. 100985 September 17, 1993
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. TERESITA ANDRADA Y DORIA, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Teresita Aranda y Doria was charged with violating Section 15, Article III of the Dangerous Drugs Act ( R.A. No. 6425 as amended) for allegedly selling and delivering two small plastic bags of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) to tricycle driver Benito Villanueva on August 17, 1990, in Kalookan City. The cases against Aranda and Villanueva were tried jointly. Villanueva pleaded guilty and was sentenced. Aranda pleaded not guilty. The prosecution’s version, based on police testimony, was that after receiving a tip, a police team staked out the area, saw Aranda approach Villanueva’s tricycle and hand him two plastic bags, and then arrested them, recovering the bags from Villanueva and another from Aranda. Aranda’s defense was that she was merely a passenger in Villanueva’s tricycle, was arrested without cause, and that police asked her for money at the station. The trial court convicted Aranda and sentenced her to life imprisonment and a fine.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that accused-appellant Teresita Aranda y Doria sold and delivered a dangerous drug, knowing it to be such, to Benito Villanueva.
RULING
The Supreme Court ACQUITTED accused-appellant Teresita Aranda y Doria. The prosecution failed to prove the elements of the crime. The Court found notable inconsistencies in the testimonies of the three apprehending officers regarding who relayed the initial information, who investigated the case, and the condition of the evidence. Crucially, the prosecution’s own witness, Benito Villanueva, testified that Aranda did not deliver anything to him. The prosecution did not successfully discredit Villanueva as a hostile witness. Therefore, the prosecution failed to prove that Aranda sold and delivered a dangerous drug to Villanueva or that she knew it was a dangerous drug. The evidence did not engender moral certainty of her guilt.