G.R. No. 189272, January 21, 2015.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Appellee, vs. CHI CHAN LIU a.k.a. CHAN QUE and HUI LAO CHUNG a.k.a. LEOFE SENGLAO, Appellants.

FACTS

On December 3, 1998, police officers in Looc, Occidental Mindoro, responded to a report of a suspicious boat near Ambil Island. They found two boats anchored side by side, one resembling a fishing boat and the other a speed boat. Persons were seen transferring cargo from the fishing boat to the speed boat. The fishing boat sped away, and the officers approached the speed boat, which had engine trouble. On board, they found appellants Chi Chan Liu and Hui Lao Chung with 45 transparent plastic bags containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu. The appellants failed to show identification. The officers towed the speed boat to shore, where an inventory was conducted. The substance was later confirmed by a forensic chemist to be methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) weighing 46.60 kilograms. The appellants were charged with violating Section 14, Article III, in relation to Section 21(a), Article IV of R.A. No. 6425 (Dangerous Drugs Act), as amended by R.A. No. 7659, for illegal importation. The Regional Trial Court found them guilty and sentenced them to reclusion perpetua and a fine. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.

ISSUE

Whether the appellants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of illegal importation of regulated drugs.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court acquitted the appellants of the crime of illegal importation. The Court found that the prosecution failed to prove an essential element of the crime: that the regulated drugs were imported or brought into the Philippines from a foreign country. The evidence did not establish the origin of the speed boat or that it came from outside the Philippines. The information alleged importation “through the use of sea vessel,” but the prosecution’s evidence only showed apprehension within Philippine waters without proof of entry from a foreign point. However, the Court found the appellants guilty of the lesser crime of illegal possession of regulated drugs under Section 16 of R.A. No. 6425. The elements of possession—that the accused possessed the drug, such possession was not authorized by law, and the accused freely and consciously possessed it—were established. The appellants were found in possession of a large quantity of shabu, which they failed to justify. The Court modified the lower courts’ decision, sentencing each appellant to an indeterminate penalty of six months of arresto mayor as minimum to four years and two months of prision correccional as maximum, and a fine of P4,000.00. The period of their preventive imprisonment was credited in their favor.