G.R. No. 227899. July 10, 2019. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, P/SUPT. DIONICIO BORROMEO y CARBONEL AND SPO1 JOEY ABANG y ARCE, Respondents.
FACTS

Private respondents, police officers P/Supt. Borromeo and SPO1 Abang, were charged as protectors/coddlers under Section 8 of R.A. No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) in relation to Section 26(d) on conspiracy, concerning a clandestine shabu laboratory. A raid on a property in La Union confirmed it was a drug manufacturing site. The prosecution’s key witness, Dante Palaganas, testified that Borromeo instructed him to find a secluded lot, which was later leased and used as a shabu laboratory by Joselito Artuz and Chinese associates. Borromeo monitored the operations and profits, while Abang acted as his liaison, frequently checking on the laboratory’s activities and security.
The Regional Trial Court convicted them as protectors/coddlers, imposing the penalty under Section 8: imprisonment of twelve years and one day to twenty years and a fine. The Court of Appeals affirmed this penalty. The People, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed this petition for certiorari under Rule 65, arguing the CA committed grave abuse of discretion by not imposing life imprisonment and a fine of ₱10,000,000.00, contending the respondents should be penalized as co-conspirators in the manufacture of dangerous drugs, not merely as protectors.

ISSUE

Did the Court of Appeals commit grave abuse of discretion in imposing the penalty for acting as protectors/coddlers under Section 8 of R.A. No. 9165, instead of the penalty for conspiracy to manufacture dangerous drugs?

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court granted the petition, reversing the CA. The legal logic hinges on the proper application of Section 26 in relation to Section 8 of R.A. No. 9165. Section 26 explicitly states that any conspiracy to commit the unlawful acts enumerated, which includes the manufacture of dangerous drugs under Section 8, shall be penalized by the same penalty prescribed for the commission of the crime itself. The respondents were charged specifically for violation of Section 8 in relation to Section 26(d). The evidence established their conspiracy in the manufacturing operation: Borromeo initiated the search for the location and received reports and profits, while Abang provided surveillance and security. Their actions were integral to the conspiracy to manufacture shabu, not merely ancillary protection after the fact. Therefore, they are liable as co-conspirators in the manufacture of dangerous drugs. The prescribed penalty for the manufacture of shabu under Section 8 is life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from ₱500,000 to ₱10,000,000. Applying Section 26, conspirators suffer the same penalty. Consequently, the CA erred in applying the lesser penalty for being mere protectors/coddlers, which is a separate, distinct offense. The Supreme Court imposed the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of ₱10,000,000 on each respondent, with absolute perpetual disqualification from public office.