G.R. No. 175939 ; April 3, 2013
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. CHAD MANANSALA y LAGMAN, Accused-Appellant.

FACTS

An information was filed on October 20, 1994, charging Chad Manansala y Lagman with violating Section 4 of Republic Act No. 6425 (Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972) for allegedly selling, delivering, giving away, and distributing approximately 750 grams of marijuana dried leaves found in his possession and control on October 19, 1994, in Olongapo City. The charge stemmed from a search conducted pursuant to a warrant, which yielded the marijuana from a wooden box inside a cabinet in his residence. The seized items were inventoried, with Manansala, his father, and a barangay official signing the certification. The items were later confirmed by the PNP Crime Laboratory to be marijuana. Manansala pleaded not guilty. The prosecution failed to sufficiently prove the illegal sale, as the poseur-buyer was not presented. However, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted Manansala of the lesser offense of illegal possession of marijuana under Section 8 of R.A. No. 6425 , sentencing him to “reclusion perpetua maximum” and a fine. The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to reclusion perpetua. Manansala appealed, arguing, among other things, that illegal possession is not a lesser included offense of illegal sale.

ISSUE

Whether the accused-appellant could be validly convicted of illegal possession of marijuana under Section 8 of R.A. No. 6425 , which was charged as illegal sale under Section 4 of the same law.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the appeal and affirmed the CA’s decision. The Court held that the constitutional right of an accused to be informed of the nature of the accusation is not transgressed if the information alleges facts constituting an offense that includes the offense ultimately proven. The information alleged that the accused “willfully, unlawfully and knowingly engage in selling, delivering, giving away to another and distributing more or less 750 grams… of marijuana dried leaves placed in a small wooden box inside the cabinet, which are prohibited drugs, found in his possession and control.” The Court ruled that illegal possession of marijuana is necessarily included in the crime of illegal sale of marijuana. The act of selling marijuana inherently includes the element of possession. Since the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the marijuana was found in Manansala’s possession and control during a valid search, but did not sufficiently prove the act of sale, conviction for the lesser included offense of illegal possession was proper. The penalty imposed by the CA—reclusion perpetua and a fine—was affirmed.