BY EVANGELINE DE VERA

THE Supreme Court has acquitted an accused drug pusher after policemen who arrested him were found to have violated the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA 9165) in the conduct of buy-bust operations and in the inventory of drugs seized.

The SC’s Second Division reversed and set aside the ruling of the Court of Appeals convicting Ruiz Garcia to life imprisonment for selling 11.02 grams of dried marijuana worth P200.

In a 20-page decision penned by Associate Justice Arturo Brion, the high court said Garcia should be released from detention for failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The SC said the dismissal simply added to the "statistics reflecting (the) dismal police and prosecution records" due to the failure of law enforcers, particularly of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), to follow proper procedures under the anti-drug law.

The law provides that the apprehending officer, after taking custody of the drugs, "shall immediately conduct an inventory of the drugs seized in the presence of the accused, his counsel, a representative from media and the Department of Justice.

Garcia was arrested in Navotas in 2003 by police officer Samuel Garcia in a buy-bust operation. No physical inventory of the seized drugs was conducted in the place where the suspect was arrested.

Instead, Garcia was brought to the hospital for checkup and the seized drugs were given to the investigator for markings.

"Without casting blame, we call the attention of the authorities to exert greater efforts in combating the drug menace using safeguards that our lawmakers have deemed necessary for the greater benefit of our society. We cannot afford to fail either in combating the drug menace or in protecting the individual rights and liberties we have enshrined in our Constitution," the Court said.

The tribunal warned that violations by the police and other law enforcement agents of the procedures laid down under RA 9165 in the handling of seized prohibited drugs in buy-bust operations would definitely result in the acquittal of the suspected drug pushers.

"This court is not unaware that in the five years that RA 9165 has been in place, the rate of cases that resulted in acquittals and dismissals was higher than the rate of conviction. Under PDEA records, the dismissals and acquittals accounted for 56 percent because of the failure of the police authorities to observe proper procedure under the law, among others," the SC said.

It cited an international study conducted in 2008 that showed that out of 13,667 drug cases filed from 2003 to 2007, only 4,790 led to conviction, most of which were cases of simple possession, while the charges against the rest were dismissed or the accused were acquitted.

"To our mind, the procedural lapses in the handling and identification of the seized items, as well as the unexplained discrepancy in their markings, collectively raise doubts on whether the items presented in court were the exact same items that were taken from Ruiz when he was arrested. These constitute major lapses that, standing unexplained, are fatal to the prosecution’s case," the SC said.

Concurring with the ruling were Senior Justice Leonardo Quisumbing and Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales, Minita Chico-Nazario and Diosdado Peralta.

The acquittal comes in the wake of the so-called Alabang Boys case, in which PDEA agents conducted an inventory hours after the arrest of the suspects in September last year.

The drug charges were dismissed by the justice department on the ground of alleged lapsed committed by the PDEA.

The interior department is set to file charges against a barangay chairman in Western Visayas region for his alleged failure to act on illegal drug activities in his area.

Marius Corpus, undersecretary for public safety, declined to name the official pending a case build-up. He said investigators are determining whether the liability would reach up to the level of the mayor.

Failure to combat illegal drug activities is punishable with gross neglect of duty.