Page 3 0f 4 utilized in the determination of the guilt or innocence of the accused. The jence of the dangerous drug is a condition sine qua non for conviction for the illegal sale of dangerous drugs. The dangerous drug itself constitutes the very corpus delicti of the crime and the fact of its existence is vital to a judgment of conviction (People vs. Mendiola, G.R. No. 110778, 4 August 1994, 235 SCRA 116, 120]. Thus, it is essential that the identity of the prohibited drug be established beyond doubt. The chain of custody requirement performs the function of ensuring that the imtegrity and evidentiary value of the seized items are preserved, so much so that unnecessary doubts as to the identity of the evidence are removed* Furthermore, in People vs. Mendiola’, it was held that: “Considering that in criminal cases, proof beyond reasonable doubt is required to establish the guilt of the accused, similarity in identifying the corpus delieti is insufficient; unwavering exactitude in identification is necessary. Every fact necessary 10 constitute the crime must be established by proof beyond reasonable doubt, (People vs. Garcia 215 SCRA 349 [1992)). Clearly, PO2 . Who is the most competent person to make the proper identification being the arresting officer who confiscated the item from the accused, never actually identified the same. The failure of the prosecution to have the specimen or alleged plastic sachet recovered from the accused be indentified in open court by its witnesses is very fatal to their case. As a necessary consequence of the failure of the prosecution to prove all the elements of the crime, ACQUITTAL of the accused is an inevitable conclusion, With the testimonies thus presented, the prosecution failed to prove by evidence the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. Hence, there is no need for the accused to present any evidence in his defense and herein accused must be acquitted of the aforementioned offense. It goes without saying that conviction must rest on the strength of the prosecution’s evidence because after all the accused enjoys the constitutional right to be presumed innocent until contrary is proven. “The evidence of the prosecution must stand or fall on its merits, and cannot be allowed to draw strength from the weakness ar absence of the evidence for the defense.” PRAYER “People vs Rivera. GR, No. 182047, October 17,2008 SCR NG. 1O77E Aug «994 Scanned with CamScannerPage sofa WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court to GRANT the instant Demurrer to Evidence for insufficiency of evidence based on the aforestated grounds and consequently, for the failure of the prosceution to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. Other reliefs are likewise prayed for. Caloocan City, May 20 2013. ATTY Address Roll No. IBP Lifetime Member No. MCLE Compliance No. NOTICE OF HEARING ATTY. Branch Clerk of Court RTC Branch Caloocan City Greetings: Please take notice that the foregoing Demurrer to Evidence will be heard for consideration and approval of the Honorable Court at their most available calendar date without further argument. ATTY. Copy furnished: ACP Office of the City Proseewior Caloocan City Scanned with CamScanner