251 People V, Dansico

People v.
Dansico y Monay
G.R. No. 178060, February 23, 2011
Facts
We review in this Rule 45 petition the decision of the Court of Appeals finding
appellants Romeo Dansico y Monay a.k.a. "Lamyak" and Augusto Cuadra y Enriquez
guilty beyond reasonable doubt of illegal sale of marijuana under Section 4, Article II of
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6425, as amended.
The prosecution established its case by presenting the testimonies of three (3)
witnesses and the supporting documentary evidence. The prosecution's account showed
that the appellants were caught and arrested for selling marijuana during a buy-bust
operation.
The defense denied the charges and countered that the appellants were victims of
frame-up and police extortion. The defense presented six (6) witnesses (including the two
appellants) and the documentary evidence.
Issue(s)
Whether the evidence failed to establish the existence of the buy-bust operation
Ruling
We find no reversible error committed by the RTC and the CA in appreciating the
presented evidence and, therefore, deny the petition for lack of merit.
First, to convict an accused of illegal sale of marijuana, the prosecution must
establish these essential elements: (1) the identity of the buyer and the seller, the object of
the sale, and the consideration; and (2) the delivery of the thing sold and the payment.
All these elements were duly proven during the trial. The fact that an actual buy-bust
operation took place involving the appellants is supported not only by the testimonies of
Paz (as the poseur-buyer) and P/Insp. Vargas, but also by the presented documentary
evidence consisting of (a) the photocopy of the serial numbers of the marked money used
in the buy-bust operation, (b) the Tigaon Police Station police blotter showing the arrest
of the appellants on September 7, 1998 and the cause of their arrest by the group of
P/Insp. Vargas, (c) the booking sheet and arrest report against the appellants prepared by
P/Insp. Vargas, and (d) the Joint Affidavit of Arrest executed by P/Insp. Vargas and
Eduardo Buenavente, another civilian volunteer.
Second, the testimonies of Paz and P/Insp. Vargas on the buy-bust operation and the
identities of the appellants as the sellers of the marijuana were positive and
straightforward; they were consistent with one another with respect to the events that
transpired before, during, and after the buy-bust operation that led to the appellants'
arrest. We consider, too, the testimonies of Paz and P/Insp. Vargas to be in accord with
the physical evidence showing in detail the process undertaken by P/Insp. Vargas and the
police officers immediately after the appellants' arrest and the confiscation of
the marijuana. We also take into account that no improper motive was ever successfully
established showing why the buy-bust team would falsely accuse the appellants.
Third, the defenses of denial, frame-up, and police extortion only become weighty
when inconsistencies and improbabilities cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecution
evidence. We do not see these inconsistencies and improbabilities in the presented
evidence. Besides, the failure of the appellants to file appropriate criminal and
administrative cases against the concerned police officers in light of their allegations
highly indicates that the appellants' claims are mere concocted afterthoughts.
Fourth, the records show that the defenses of denial, frame-up, and police extortion
were even contradicted by the appellants' own conduct during the appeal to the CA. By
raising instigation as a defense, the appellants effectively admitted that they
sold marijuana; they only now question the circumstances of the sale, with the claim that
they were led into it by the police.
Fifth, the evidence on record belies that the appellants were instigated to
sell marijuana. Instigation means luring the accused into a crime that he, otherwise, had
no intention to commit, in order to prosecute him. On the other hand, entrapment is the
employment of ways and means in order to trap or capture a lawbreaker. Instigation
presupposes that the criminal intent to commit an offense originated from the inducer and
not the accused who had no intention to commit the crime and would not have committed
it were it not for the initiatives by the inducer. In entrapment, the criminal intent or design
to commit the offense charged originates in the mind of the accused; the law enforcement
officials merely facilitate the apprehension of the criminal by employing ruses and
schemes. In instigation, the law enforcers act as active co-principals. Instigation leads to
the acquittal of the accused, while entrapment does not bar prosecution and conviction.
To determine whether there is instigation or entrapment, we held in People v.
Doria that the conduct of the apprehending officers and the predisposition of the accused
to commit the crime must be examined: ADEacC
[I]n buy-bust operations demands that the details of the purported transaction
must be clearly and adequately shown. This must start from the initial contact
between the poseur-buyer and the pusher, the offer to purchase, the promise or
payment of the consideration until the consummation of the sale by the delivery
of the illegal drug subject of the sale. The manner by which the initial contact
was made, whether or not through an informant, the offer to purchase the drug,
the payment of the "buy-bust" money, and the delivery of the illegal drug,
whether to the informant alone or the police officer, must be the subject of strict
scrutiny by courts to insure that law-abiding citizens are not unlawfully induced
to commit an offense. Criminals must be caught but not at all cost. At the same
time, however, examining the conduct of the police should not disable courts
into ignoring the accused's predisposition to commit the crime. If there is
overwhelming evidence of habitual delinquency, recidivism or plain criminal
proclivity, then this must also be considered. Courts should look at all factors to
determine the predisposition of an accused to commit an offense in so far as
they are relevant to determine the validity of the defense of inducement.
In the present case, Paz testified to his initial contact with the confidential informant,
on one hand, and with the appellants, on the other. Acting as the poseur-buyer, Paz asked
the appellants if they had P5,000.00 worth of marijuana which the appellants told him
was equivalent to one (1) kilo. Paz and the appellants initially haggled over the price
before the appellants left to get the marijuana after receiving payment. The appellants
were immediately arrested by the group of P/Insp. Vargas after the marijuana was handed
to Paz.
The appellants' conversation with Paz best illustrates that they were not at all
instigated to sell marijuana, but were, in fact, engaged in the business of
selling marijuana.
In addition to this testimony, appellant Dansico admitted that his brother-in-law
sells marijuana in Naga City. All these circumstances, collectively considered, fully
support the conclusion that the appellants, by their own volition, sold marijuana to Paz.

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