G.R. No. 144640. June 26, 2006.
RODOLFO TIGOY, Petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS AND PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Rodolfo Tigoy, a truck driver employed by Nestor Ong, was instructed to drive a truck to Larapan, Lanao del Norte, to be loaded with construction materials by a certain Lolong Bertodazo for transport to Dipolog City. On October 4, 1993, while en route, the truck Tigoy was driving, along with another truck driven by a co-employee, failed to stop at a police checkpoint in Ozamis City. The police gave chase, intercepted the vehicles, and upon inspection, discovered sawn lumber concealed beneath bags of cement in both trucks. Tigoy could not produce any permit for the lumber. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed the absence of legal documents for the forest products. Tigoy, along with others, was charged with violating Section 68 of P.D. No. 705 (The Revised Forestry Code), as amended.

ISSUE

Whether petitioner Rodolfo Tigoy is guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal possession of forest products under Section 68 of P.D. No. 705, as amended.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The offense under Section 68 of P.D. No. 705 is malum prohibitum; the act of possessing or transporting forest products without the required legal documents is itself punishable. Good faith or lack of criminal intent is not a defense. The law imposes a positive duty on any person in possession of such lumber to be ready with the requisite permit. The prosecution successfully established the corpus delicti: the fact that Tigoy was driving the truck and that the sawn lumber found therein lacked any permit. His defense—that he was merely a driver following his employer’s orders and was unaware of the concealed lumber—is immaterial and does not exculpate him. Ignorance of the contents of his cargo is not an excuse, as the law does not require proof of criminal intent. The conviction stands as the elements of the offense were proven beyond reasonable doubt.