GR 92418; (July, 1991) (Digest)
G.R. No. 92418 ; July 23, 1991
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. RITA LABRIAGA and JOEL LABRIAGA, accused-appellants.
FACTS
Based on an informant’s tip, NARCOM agents conducted a test buy operation targeting siblings Rita and Joel Labriaga for drug trafficking in Daraga, Albay. An informant successfully purchased a tea bag of marijuana from Rita, with Joel present. A search warrant was subsequently secured. In a second, orchestrated buy-bust, agent Riza Galvan purchased marijuana from Rita, who emerged from a room with Joel carrying a plastic bag. Upon Galvan’s signal, the NARCOM team moved in. Joel, apprehended while attempting to flee, was found with 3 grams of marijuana and marked money. A search of the house yielded nothing. Rita was later brought to the NARCOM headquarters, where a female nurse, Lt. Ma. Rosa Armovit, conducted a body search. A plastic bag containing 115 grams of marijuana was discovered tucked outside Rita’s pants. Laboratory tests confirmed all seized substances were marijuana. The accused denied the charges, claiming the evidence was planted and that they were forcibly taken from their home without a warrant.
ISSUE
The core issue is whether the guilt of Rita and Joel Labriaga for violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act was proven beyond reasonable doubt.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but corrected the applicable legal provisions. The Court upheld the trial court’s findings, giving weight to the credibility of the prosecution witnesses. The defense of frame-up was rejected for lack of clear and convincing evidence, and the warrantless arrest of Joel was deemed valid as he was caught in flagrante delicto during the buy-bust operation. The body search on Rita at headquarters was justified as a valid search incidental to a lawful arrest, as she was apprehended during the buy-bust. The discovery of the marijuana on her person was therefore admissible.
However, the Court corrected the penal provisions applied by the trial court. Joel, found guilty of illegal possession of 3 grams of marijuana, should be penalized under Section 8, Article II of Republic Act No. 6425 , as amended, not Section 9. Rita, convicted for selling and possessing marijuana, should be penalized under Section 4 of the same Act for the sale, not Section 9. The penalties imposed—life imprisonment and a P20,000 fine for Rita, and an indeterminate sentence of 6 years and 1 day to 8 years with a P6,000 fine for Joel—were affirmed as correct under the proper statutory sections.