GR 115581; (August, 1997) (Digest)
G.R. No. 115581 August 29, 1997
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. VACITA LATURA JONES, accused-appellant.
FACTS
The accused-appellant, Vacita Latura Jones, an American national, was charged with violating Section 4, Article II of R.A. 6425 (The Dangerous Drugs Act) for transporting 1.6 kilograms of heroin. The prosecution evidence established that on December 11, 1991, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, a routine security frisk by civilian frisker Rubilinda Rosal on outgoing passengers detected an unusual object on Jones’s breast. A subsequent bodily search yielded two packs of heroin concealed in her bra and one pack in her panty. A further search of her leather jacket revealed two additional packs.
The NARCOM personnel on duty were informed, and a field test on the substances yielded a positive result for heroin. Jones was immediately arrested. The seized items were forwarded to the PNP Crime Laboratory, where a forensic chemist confirmed through Chemistry Report No. D-1441-91 that all five packs contained heroin. Jones denied the charges, claiming the evidence was fabricated, but the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City found her guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced her to life imprisonment and a fine.
ISSUE
The core issue is whether the trial court erred in convicting Jones of illegal transportation of a prohibited drug based on the prosecution’s evidence.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court found the prosecution’s evidence, provided by the arresting NARCOM team and the forensic chemist, to be credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of denial and frame-up was rejected for being unsupported by clear and convincing evidence. The act of transporting a prohibited drug is malum prohibitum; the law punishes the very act of conveyance regardless of criminal intent or the final reaching of a destination. The fact that Jones was caught at the airport’s final security check, in possession of heroin and as an outgoing passenger, conclusively proves the act of transportation.
Regarding the penalty, the Court applied the retroactive effect of favorable penal laws. The offense was committed before the effectivity of R.A. 7659, which amended the penalty for illegal transportation under R.A. 6425 from “life imprisonment to death” to “reclusion perpetua to death.” Since reclusion perpetua is a lighter penalty than life imprisonment, and penal laws with a favorable effect have retroactive application, the penalty was modified. The Court affirmed the conviction but modified the sentence to reclusion perpetua, in addition to the fine imposed by the trial court.