PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. LORENZO SAYANG-OD, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.

This is a prosecution under section 4, Article II, of the Dangerous
Drug Act, involving the delivery and distribution of six kilos of dried marijuana leaves.

The information alleged as follows:

The undersigned 2nd Assistant Provincial Fiscal accuses LORENZO
SAYANG-OD y LAUNGAN, BEN BULA-OY
y ORIBELLO, BALTAZAR CARANAY y DUCUSIN and JUANITO CARREON y CASUGAY of the
crime of VIOLATION OF SEC. 4, ART. II OF R.A. 6425 AS AMENDED BY P.D. 1675,
committed as follows:

That on or about the 28th day of August, 1982, in the Municipality
of Naguilian, Province of La Union, Philippines and
within the jurisdiction of this Honorable
Court, the above-named accused
conspiring, confederating together and mutually helping one another with
Brando Flores @ Boy Flores who is still at large, did
then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously and without any
justifiable cause and not being authorized by law, sell six (6) kilos, more or
less of dried marijuana leaves, a prohibited drug, to Sgt. Edmund Hufana, PC, a government agent, who pretended as buyer.

CONTRARY to Sec. 4, Art. II of R.A. 6425 as amended by P.D. 1675.^[1]

The arrest of the four accused, except Brando
Flores, was effected as a result
of a “buy-bust” mission conducted by the intelligence division of the
Philippine Constabulary (PC), stationed at Camp Diego Silang,
Carlatan, San Fernando,
La Union.  Flores
has since remained at large.

The prosecution presented six witnesses.  Sgt. Edmund Hufana,
of the San Fernando PC, declared that on August 24, 1982, he was contacted by a civilian informant
that he, the informant, had been told
by the accused Brando Flores “that he knows of
some marijuana pushers at Bagulin,” in San
Fernando, La Union; that he alerted his fellow-soldiers in order to map out a
modus operandi to bring the said dope peddlers to justice; that they agreed
that it was a certain Patrolman Yaranon who would act as buyer-poseur; that they proceeded
to Aguyan, Pugo, of the
same municipality where they met their informer, Brando
Flores, and Ben Bulaoy; that they were allegedly
instructed to proceed to Bacsil (same municipality)
because Flores and Bulaoy were going to Dagup, to contact their sources; they, Hufana
and his backup, however, allegedly told Flores and Bulaoy
that they could not wait and promised to meet the team on the 28th; then on the
said date, they met Flores and Bulaoy who further
instructed them to proceed to Barangay Lower Bimmotubot in Naguilian, La Union
where the alleged transaction would take place; that upon arriving there, Flores and Bulaoy allegedly made them wait in a hut; that five men, one of whom,
the accused Lorenzo Sayang-od, arrived toting a sack
of dried marijuana leaves; that they allegedly haggled over the price with Sayang-od, Baltazar Caranay, and Juanito Carreon; and that at that precise moment he, Sgt. Hufana, signalled at his back-up
who swept down on the foursome to make the arrest; that, however,  Flores allegedly jumped out of the window and
managed to escape; that the quartet of Bulaoy, Sayang-od, Caranay, and Carreon were thereafter taken to the PC headquarters and
the plants turned over to the PC laboratory, which were positively found to be cannabis
sativa.

The prosecution thereafter put Patrolman Emilio Yaranon on the stand, in which he corroborated Hufana.  So did
Patrolman Edwin Benavidez, Sergeant Ricardo Gacunasa,
and Renato Oca, and Captain
Valentino Gaerlan.

The defense presented Baltazar Caranay as its first witness.  His version is that he knew Sayang-od, Carreon, and Bulaoy; that on August 28, 1982, at or about 12:00 noon, he
was called by a certain Eduardo Layugan who had been
allegedly conversing with three male persons (Hufana
and two others whom he claimed he did not know), to assist him, Layugan, because he did not allegedly speak Tagalog; that subsequently, he, Caranay,
cooked food for the three; that thereupon, he saw Carreon
whom he asked to catch fish; that Carreon later
returned with canned fish and other food; that thereafter, Brando
Flores arrived carrying a sack which turned out to contain tetrahydrocannabinol,
or marijuana; that moments later, Hufana trained his
firearm at Flores, who, however, managed to jump out of the window and made
good his escape; that Hufana allegedly took a shot at
Flores but apparently missed; that the latter repaired to the house; that he
allegedly made Carreon and Layugan,
lie spread-eagle on the floor; that at such a precise time, Hufana’s
companions, three in number, clamped upon Sayang-od
who was also made to lie face down to the ground where all three were later
bound; that all three were led to a “Ford Fiera“;
that Linda Carreon, mother of the accused Carreon, inquired: 
“Why are you getting those people;” that Hufana
allegedly riposted, “We will get them only for questioning and they will
come back later;” that the three were transported aboard the Fiera; that while there, a certain Benny produced three
bundles of marijuana and declared, “Pagkakakwartahan
natin ito“; that they
were taken to the PC headquarters at San Fernando, La Union, where they were
detained.

The version, on the other hand, of Sayang-od
is to the effect that on August 28, 1982, he went to a certain Ruben Mendoza’s
house where he agreed to meet a certain Remigio Caluza who was selling cattle; that upon arriving at the
Mendoza residence, he saw only Ruben; that while he waited he heard two
gunshots coming from the house of Layugan; that he
proceeded to Layugan’s residence in order to verify
matters; and that thereupon, Hufana called him while
Edwin Benavidez, also a police operative, pushed him; that Benavidez poked his
gun at him; that he also saw Caranay and Carreon lying face down; he corroborated Caranay’s testimony as to the inquiries of Carreon’s mother and the fact that “Benny” had
taken interest in the substance.

He added, however, that while at the PC headquarters at San
Fernando, La Union, they were made to impress their thumbprints on a piece of
paper on police pretenses that “they could go home” thereafter; that
he protested because he did not know the contents of the paper; that they were
incarcerated until September 5, 1982, after which they were transported to Naguilian, where they were held for a month, and then
returned to San Fernando.

Bulaoy’s story is as follows:  that he had been at San Fernando because his
aunt summoned him to help till their land; that on August 28, 1982, he was at
Barrio Pias; that he saw a man pushing a “Ford Fiera” along the road; that another man was behind the
wheel; that they asked him help to push the vehicle; that after the car
started, he hopped in; that when he later asked them to let him off, one of
them said “not yet,” that instead he was brought to the PC
headquarters in San Fernando; that he was later taken to Barangay
Bimmotubot, where he was left in the company of two
soldiers; that meanwhile, the two men who had accosted him picked up Brando Flores; that when they returned, they were with Carreon, Sayang-od, and Caranay, all bound at the
hands; that they proceeded toward Bauang, La Union;
that later, “Benny” brought out paper bags containing “grass” and uttered:  “Pagkakakwartahan,
Pare”; that they were taken to San Fernando PC headquarters where they
were allegedly mauled and forced to admit ownership of the sackful
of tetrahydrocannabinol.

Carreon testified that on August 28,
1982, Layugan called him to ask him to trap fish for
certain visitors’ request; that after
catching fish, he returned where he,
together with Caranay,
prepared the meal; that three persons later arrived, one of whom (Flores) toted a sack;
that Hufana, one of the visitors, opened it up; that
he, Hufana, held Flores by the arm; that notwithstanding,
the latter managed to jump out of the window and was able to escape; that
moments later, he heard five gunshots; that they, Caranay,
Sayang-od, and Carreon,
were all made to drop on the floor, where they were hogtied.

On January 30, 1987,
the lower court rendered a 40-page judgment, the dispositive
portion of which reads:

WHEREFORE, and in view of the foregoing premises, judgment is
hereby rendered as follows:

1. The accused Ben Bula-oy, Juanito Carreon and Baltazar Caranay are hereby
acquitted of the crime charged in the Information, on the ground that their
guilt are (sic) not proven beyond reasonable doubt, and, accordingly, the
Provincial Warden of La Union is hereby ordered to release them immediately,
unless they are detained for another offense;

2.  Finding the accused
Lorenzo Sayang-od guilty beyond reasonable doubt of
the offense charged in the Information, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment, and
to pay a fine of twenty thousand (P20,000.00) pesos;
and

3.  Ordering the confiscation
and forfeiture of the marijuana leaves in favor of the Government, and the
Clerk of Court is hereby ordered to immediately turn over the said marijuana
leaves to the Dangerous Drugs Board for proper disposal without delay.

With costs against the accused Lorenzo Sayang-od.

SO ORDERED.^[2]

The trial court acquitted, but one, all of the accused for
failure of the prosecution to establish conspiracy beyond reasonable
doubt.  It rejected the defense’s version
that it was Brando Flores who owned the sack of
Indian hemp, but rather Sayang-od himself. 
Hence, Sayang-od alone was held culpable.

The Court feels that the trial judge should have convicted all
four, for conspiracy to distribute marijuana.  It is clear, from their testimonies, that all
four were bent on pinning solitary blame on Brando
Flores and were determined to cover up for the others’ part in committing the
offense.  This is evidence of conspiracy
and collective guilt.

In addition, the prosecution witnesses were straightforward and
spontaneous in their recital.  The
defense has not successfully shown any
motive on the part of the prosecution, as a matter of grudge, to persecute them.

For all its errors, however, the lower court must be
sustained.  There is no doubt that Sayang-od is guilty, having been positively identified as
the carrier of a marijuana sack.  His
effort, as we said, to point sole fault to Brando
Flores can not negative the clear and convincing evidence presented by the
prosecution that he is guilty.  With
respect to his co-accused, double jeopardy is a bar in reexamining the cases
against them.  But, in letting them go
scot-free, he, Sayang-od, winds up being the fall
guy.  And while he can not be acquitted,
judicial sympathy is on his side.

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered AFFIRMING the
decision appealed from.  We, however,
strongly recommend executive clemency. 
Let the Department of Justice be furnished
a copy of this Decision.

SO ORDERED.

Melencio-Herrera, (Chairman), Paras, Padilla, and Regalado, JJ., concur.

^[1] Criminal Case Records, Regional Trial Court,
First Judicial Region, Branch 33, Bauang, La Union, Crim. Case No.
556-BG, 15.

^[2] Rendered by Judge Avelino
S. Quintos, rollo,
86-125.