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FULL TEXT - Veridiano v. People G.R. No. 200370 June 7, 2017
FULL TEXT - Veridiano v. People G.R. No. 200370 June 7, 2017
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* SECOND DIVISION.
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LEONEN, J.:
Through this Petition for Review on Certiorari,1 Mario
Veridiano y Sapi (Veridiano) assails the Decision2 dated
November 18, 2011 and Resolution3 dated January 25,
2012 of the Court of Appeals in C.A.-G.R. CR No. 33588,
which affirmed his conviction for violation of Article II,
Section 11 of Republic Act No. 9165.4
In an Information filed before the Regional Trial Court
of San Pablo City, Laguna,5 Veridiano was charged with
the crime of illegal possession of dangerous drugs. The
Information read:
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On October 9, 2008, Veridiano was arraigned. He
pleaded not guilty to the offense charged. Trial on the
merits ensued.7
During trial, the prosecution presented PO1 Guillermo
Cabello (PO1 Cabello) and PO1 Daniel Solano (PO1 Solano)
to testify.8
According to the prosecution, at about 7:20 a.m. of
January 15, 2008, a concerned citizen called a certain PO3
Esteves, police radio operator of the Nagcarlan Police
Station, informing him that a certain alias “Baho,” who
was later identified as Veridiano, was on the way to San
Pablo City to obtain illegal drugs.9
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6 Id.
7 Id.
8 Id., at p. 10.
9 Id.
10 Id.
11 Id.
12 Id.
391
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13 Id., at p. 11.
14 Id., at p. 34.
15 Id.
16 Id.
17 Id.
18 Id., at p. 66.
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19 Id., at p. 11.
20 Id.
21 Id., at p. 35.
22 Id., at p. 11.
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id.
392
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26 Id.
27 Id.
28 Id.
29 Id.
30 Id., at pp. 11-12.
31 Id., at pp. 64-72. The Decision, docketed as Crim. Case No. 16976-
SP, was penned by Presiding Judge Agripino G. Morga of Branch 32,
Regional Trial Court of San Pablo City.
32 Id., at p. 72.
33 Id., at p. 37.
34 Id.
35 Id., at p. 41.
36 Id., at p. 88, Brief for the Plaintiff-Appellee.
393
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37 Id.
38 Id.
39 Id., at pp. 31-44.
40 Id., at p. 43.
41 Id., at p. 37.
42 Id., at p. 40.
43 Id.
44 Id., at pp. 46-47.
45 Id., at pp. 8-29.
46 Id., at pp. 14-18.
47 Id.
394
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48 Id., at p. 16.
49 Id.
50 Id., at p. 17.
51 CONST., Art. III, Sec. 2 provides:
Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures of
whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no search
warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be
determined personally by the judge after examination under oath or
affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and
particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things
to be seized.
52 CONST., Art. III, Sec. 3(2) provides:
Section 3.
. . . .
(2) Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section
shall be inadmissible for any purpose in any proceeding.
53 Rollo, pp. 17-18.
54 Id., at p. 19.
395
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Phil. 347, 359; 637 SCRA 791, 809 (2010) [Per J. Mendoza, Second
Division]. See Antiquera v. People, 723 Phil. 425, 432; 712 SCRA 339, 346
(2013) [Per J. Abad, Third Division].
397
To underscore the importance of an individual’s right
against unlawful searches and seizures, Article III, Section
3(2) of the Constitution considers any evidence obtained in
violation of this right as inadmissible.64
The Constitutional guarantee does not prohibit all forms
of searches and seizures.65 It is only directed against those
that are unreasonable.66 Conversely, reasonable searches
and seizures fall outside the scope of the prohibition and
are not forbidden.67
In People v. Aruta,68 this Court explained that the
language of the Constitution implies that “searches and
seizures are normally unreasonable unless authorized by a
validly issued
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The first kind of warrantless arrest is known as an in
flagrante delicto arrest. The validity of this warrantless
arrest requires compliance with the overt act test79 as
explained in Cogaed:
Failure to comply with the overt act test renders an in
flagrante delicto arrest constitutionally infirm. In Cogaed,
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92 Malacat v. Court of Appeals, 347 Phil. 462, 479; 283 SCRA 159, 174
(1997) [Per J. Davide, Jr., En Banc].
93 In the Matter of the Petition for Habeas Corpus of Datukan Malang
Salibo v. Warden, Quezon City Jail Annex, BJMP Building, Camp Bagong
Diwa, Taguig City, 757 Phil. 630, 656; 755 SCRA 296, 326 (2015) [Per J.
Leonen, Second Division] citing the Dissenting Opinion of J. Teehankee
in Ilagan v. Enrile, 223 Phil. 561; 139 SCRA 349 (1985) [Per J. Melencio-
Herrera, En Banc].
94 Id.
95 292-A Phil. 34; 219 SCRA 756 (1993) [Per J. Griño-Aquino, First
Division].
96 Id., at p. 39; p. 760.
97 Id.
98 Id.
403
The policemen arrested Gerente only some three (3) hours after
Gerente and his companions had killed Blace. They saw Blace
dead in the hospital and when they inspected the scene of the
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The requirement that law enforcers must have personal
knowledge of facts surrounding the commission of an
offense was underscored in In Re Salibo v. Warden.100
In Re Salibo involved a petition for habeas corpus. The
police officers suspected Datukan Salibo (Salibo) as one (1)
of the accused in the Maguindanao Massacre.101 Salibo
presented himself before the authorities to clear his name.
Despite his explanation, Salibo was apprehended and
detained.102 In granting the petition, this Court pointed out
that Salibo was not restrained under a lawful court process
or order.103 Furthermore, he was not arrested pursuant to a
valid warrantless arrest:104
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404
In this case, petitioner’s arrest could not be justified as
an in flagrante delicto arrest under Rule 113, Section 5(a)
of the Rules of Court. He was not committing a crime at the
checkpoint. Petitioner was merely a passenger who did not
exhibit any unusual conduct in the presence of the law
enforcers that would incite suspicion. In effecting the
warrantless arrest, the police officers relied solely on the
tip they received. Reliable information alone is insufficient
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405
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114 345 Phil. 632; 280 SCRA 400 (1997) [Per J. Panganiban, Third
Division].
115 Id., at p. 638; p. 405.
116 Id.
117 Id.
118 Id.
119 Id.
120 Id., at p. 647; pp. 414-415.
121 330 Phil. 811; 262 SCRA 255 (1996) [Per J. Romero, Second
Division].
122 Id., at pp. 814-815; p. 257.
123 Id.
124 Id.
125 Id.
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126 Id.
127 Supra note 62.
128 Id., at p. 221; p. 433.
129 Id.
130 Id.
131 Id., at pp. 221-222; p. 434.
132 Id., at p. 234; pp. 446-447.
133 Id., at pp. 236-237; pp. 451-452.
408
IV
Moreover, petitioner’s silence or lack of resistance can
hardly be considered as consent to the warrantless search.
Although the right against unreasonable searches and
seizures may be surrendered through a valid waiver, the
prosecution must prove that the waiver was executed with
clear and convincing evidence.134 Consent to a warrantless
search and seizure must be “unequivocal, specific,
intelligently given . . . [and unattended] by duress or
coercion.”135
The validity of a consented warrantless search is
determined by the totality of the circumstances.136 This
may involve an inquiry into the environment in which the
consent was given such as “the presence of coercive police
procedures.”137
Mere passive conformity or silence to the warrantless
search is only an implied acquiescence, which amounts to
no consent at all.138 In Cogaed, this Court observed:
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134 Caballes v. Court of Appeals, 424 Phil. 263, 286; 373 SCRA 221,
239 (2002) [Per J. Puno, First Division].
135 Id. See also People v. Nuevas, supra note 76 at p. 373; p. 479.
136 Id.
137 Id.
138 Id., at p. 285; p. 239; People v. Cogaed, supra note 62 at pp. 239-
240; p. 452.
139 Supra note 62.
409
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155 G.R. No. 205823, August 17, 2015, 767 SCRA 40 [Per J. Carpio,
Second Division].
156 Id., at p. 65.
157 Id.
158 Id.
159 Id., at p. 64.
160 635 Phil. 315; 621 SCRA 327 (2010) [Per J. Nachura, Second
Division].
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163 Id.
164 Id., at p. 325; p. 336.
165 Id., at p. 331; pp. 339-340.
166 People v. Ayangao, 471 Phil. 379; 427 SCRA 428 (2004) [Per J.
Corona, Third Division].
167 443 Phil. 506; 395 SCRA 407 (2003) [Per J. Puno, Third Division].
168 Id., at p. 517; p. 415.
169 People v. Ayangao, supra at p. 384; p. 430.
170 266 Phil. 306; 188 SCRA 288 (1990) [Per J. Gancayo, First
Division].
413
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