PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. MODESTO LAMOG Y CUTAY, COLASA ALIGA Y CABBEY, FLORENCE SACUCHANG Y KIOWA, ACCUSED-APPELLANT.

Appellants seek a reversal of the decision dated September 9, 1987 of the Regional
Trial Court of
Baguio City,
Branch V, finding them guilty of violation of the Dangerous Drugs Act.  The dispositive
portion of the decision reads:

WHEREFORE, the Court finds and declares the accused MODESTO
LAMOG y CUTAY guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of attempted
illegal sale of marijuana, pursuant to Section 4 in relation to Section 21
(b) of R.A. No. 6425, otherwise known as the Dangerous Drugs Act, as amended,
hereby sentences him to suffer LIFE IMPRISONMENT; to pay a fine of P20,000.00, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of
insolvency; and to pay his proportionate share in the costs.  In the service of his sentence, the said
accused shall be credited with his preventive imprisonment under the terms and
conditions prescribed in Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended.

“On the other hand, the accused COLASA ALIGA y CABBEY and
FLORENCE SACUCHANG y KIOWA are hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of
the lesser offense of illegal
possession of marijuana and hereby sentences EACH of them to suffer an
indeterminate Imprisonment ranging from SIX (6) YEARS and ONE(1) DAY, as minimum, to EIGHT (8) YEARS, as
maximum; to pay a fine of
P6,000.00, without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency; and to pay their proportionate shares in
the costs.  In the service of their sentence, these
accused shall also be credited with their preventive imprisonment, under the
terms and conditions prescribed in Article 29 of the Revised.  Penal Code, as amended.

“The confiscated marijuana (Exhibits ‘B-1’ to ‘B-13’), together with their
container (Exhibit ‘B’), are
hereby declared forfeited in favor of the Government, and upon the finality of
this decision, the Branch Clerk of Court is directed to turn over the same to
the Dangerous Drugs Custodian (NBI), through the Chief, PC Crime Laboratory, Regional Unit No. 1, Camp Dangwa, La Trinidad, Benguet, for
disposition in accordance with law.” (Emphasis supplied.) (pp. 6-7, Decision,
pp. 15-21, Rollo.)

The information charged
all the accused as co-conspirators in selling marijuana in violation of Section
4, Article II of Republic Act 6425, as amended, committed as follows:

“That on or about the 21st day of January, 1986, in the City of Baguio, Philippines, and within the Jurisdiction of this
Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring, confederating and
mutually helping, one another, without any authority and/or license, did then
and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell
and distribute about thirteen (13) kilos
of dried marijuana leaves/flowering
tops to one CIC Oscar Parajas, PC
Poseur-buyer, knowing fully well that said marijuana leaves/flowering tops are
prohibited drugs, in violation of
the above-mentioned provision of law.

“Contrary to law.” (p. 12, Rollo.)

All the accused pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The facts, as established by the evidence and summarized by the
trial court in its decision, are:

“From the testimonies of CIC Oscar Parajas, Sgt. Godofredo Fider and Pat. Maximiniano
Peralta, all members of the First Narcotics Regional Unit of the Narcotics
Command stationed in Baguio City (See Exhibit ‘D’),
it appears that on January 21, 1986, they, together with A2C Freddie Cartel,
were constituted into a team by their Deputy Commanding Officer, Lt. Efren Yebra, to conduct an
entrapment operation against the accused Modesto Lamog
who had been denounced earlier in the morning of that day by a confidential
informer as a marijuana pusher.  CIC Parajas was to pose as a buyer of the stuff while the
others would be his back-up.

“At about 8:00 o’clock
that same morning, Parajas and the informer proceeded
to the Baguio Slaughterhouse
Compound, where Lamog could be found at the
time.  True enough, they came upon Lamog in front of the Rosario
Restaurant.  The informer introduced Parajas
as an interested marijuana buyer to Lamog.  (In his direct examination, Parajas stated
that he was alone in meeting Lamog at the
Slaughterhouse Compound but he corrected himself on cross-examination by saying
that the informer was with him). In any event, Lamog
asked Parajas how much marijuana he needed, and the
latter answered ten (10) kilos.  Lamog then invited Parajas to go
with him to Holy Ghost Hill Extension to get the stuff.  They rode in a taxicab with the informer
tagging along.  On the way, Lamog quoted the price of P600.00 per kilo.  Parajas tried to
bargain but Lamog did not relent.

“While still at the
Slaughterhouse Compound, the members of Parajas‘
back-up team deployed themselves around the vicinity
and observed the meeting between Parajas and Lamog through the intercession of the informer.  Then, they followed Parajas
to Holy Ghost Hill Extension.

“At Holy Ghost Hill Extension, Lamog
led Parajas and the informer to the house of co-accused
Colasa Aliga.   Lamog talked with Colasa and the
latter let Parajas and the Informer inside.  Colasa said that
she had with her only two (2) kilos of marijuana but that their co-accused Florence Sacuchang,
who lived next door, had some more of the stuff.  Thereupon, Lamog
left and momentarily returned with
Florence who brought
along with her eleven (11) kilos more of marijuana but Lamog
said that he needed only ten (10) kilos. 
When payment was demanded, Parajas merely
flashed to them the
entrapment money and thereafter,
gave the pre-arranged signal to the
members of the back-up team, who by then were already around the premises, to close in.

“Lamog, Colasa
and Florence were
arrested and the marijuana they were selling in thirteen (13) bundles
(Exhibits ‘B-1’ to ‘B-13’), including the blue plastic sack container (Exhibit
‘B’) were confiscated.

“Another person, who was then also inside the house of Colasa helping in the sale of the marijuana, ran away when
the arrests were effected.  Parajas tried to
stop him by firing a shot
into the air but he did not pay heed
and instead lost himself into the neighborhood.

“Subsequently, the confiscated items (Exhibits ‘B-1’ to
‘B-13’) were referred to the PC Crime Laboratory, Regional Unit I, for chemical
analysis (Exhibit ‘A’), and Forensic Chemist Carlos V. Figueroa determined that
the specimens, with an aggregate weight of 12.6 kilos, were positive to the
standard tests for marijuana
(Exhibit ‘C’).” (RTC Decision, pp. 15-16, Rollo.)

Lamog’s version was that on January 21, 1986 he was asked by his
wife Romana to get three kilos of meat which she had
ordered from a butcher named Nato
who lived near the Slaughterhouse Compound. 
When he reached Nato’s
house, he saw three men drinking coffee inside the house.  He asked for Nato. One of the men introduced himself as Nato.  He told Nato
of his errand and after paying him P96 for three kilos of meat, supposedly priced at P34 per kilo, he mentioned that he was going to Holy Ghost Hill
Extension.  Nato suggested that he ride with him and his
companions because they were also going that way.  They all rode in a taxicab.

Upon reaching Holy Ghost Hill Extension, Lamog
alighted in front of a store and bought cigarettes.  He intended to go to the house of his friend
William Pandagos, to whom he was to deliver one kilo
of meat.  He met Pandagos
at the curb and they stopped to talk. 
Momentarily, a blue truck arrived. 
Three men came out of the truck and went up the road on foot.  In a short
while, Pandagos and Lamog
heard four shots and saw a man chasing another. 
Lamog recognized the pursuer as one of the men
who rode with him and Nato
in the taxicab.  The man turned out to be
Parajas.  Parajas was chasing Kampiwel but
when he failed to catch him, he returned and picked up two women named Florence
and Colasa, followed by Nato who carried a sack and a carton box.  They all proceeded
to the NARCOM headquarters on Quisumbing
Street,

Pandagos corroborated Lamog’s testimony.

Florence’s story was
that on the night of January 20, 1986,
a certain Campewer (or Kampiwel?), who was her husband’s
provincemate, visited them and left a sack in their
house which he was supposed to pick up the next day.  He returned the next day with two companions,
one of whom was the PC soldier, Parajas.  It was only
then that she learned that the sack left by Campewer
contained marijuana.

Colasa averred that she was about to
leave her house to buy bottles for resale, when Parajas
for no apparent reason, grabbed her hand and took her along with Florence
to the NARCOM headquarters.

The trial court gave credence to the prosecution’s version of the
incident.  It dismissed
the defense’ theory of a frame-up.  It
found that the peace officers were merely discharging their duty to apprehend
violators of the Dangerous Drugs Law, and that they acted without any ill-will
or corrupt motive to trump-up a charge against the accused, who were complete
strangers to them.  It gave scant
consideration to Florence‘s pretense of innocence about the sack of marijuana in her house.

Lamog, denied knowing Colasa Align and Florence Gacuchang.
 However, both women testified that they,
including Lamog and Pandagos,
all came from barrio Saclit, Sandanga,
and, that they are neighbors in Quirino Hill, Baguio City.

On September
15, 1987, the trial
court promulgated a decision
finding Lamog guilty of attempted sale of marijuana
and the women, of illegal possession of the drug.

All the accused appealed
to this Court alleging that the lower court erred in convicting them upon
“vague, inconsistent and inaccurate evidence.” (p. 10, Rollo)

The trial court did not
err in giving credence to the testimonies of the
prosecution witnesses rather than to those of the accused.  The testimonies of the police officers on the
entrapment of the accused were straightforward and entirely credible.  On the other hand, the stories of the accused
were illogical, improbable, and contradictory.

The appellant failed to
show that the police officers were actuated by any improper motive in
testifying as they did.  Courts generally
give full faith and credit to police officers for they are presumed to
have performed their duties in a regular manner (Rule 131, Sec. 5[m], Rules of
Court; People vs. Gamayon, 121 SCRA 642; People vs. Policarpio, 158 SCRA 85; People vs. Patog,
G.R. No. 69620, September 24, 1986; People vs. Natipravat,
145 SCRA 483; People vs. De Jesus, 145 SCRA 521).

The evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the three (3)
accused were partners in crime, or co-principals in the crime of selling
marijuana.  Lamog
was an agent or broker for the two women who supplied him with the prohibited
drug for sale to his customers.  It maybe
noted that when Colasa did not have enough of the
stuff in her house, it was Lamog who went next door
and came back with Florence who
brought with her 11 kilos of marijuana to add to Colasa’s
stock.

Consequently, We find that it was error
for the trial court to have convicted the two women of the lesser offense of
possession of prohibited drug, instead of the same crime that Lamog committed – attempted sale of marijuana to the PC
undercover agents.

The penalty for the sale of marijuana is life imprisonment to death and a fine ranging from P20,000 to P30,000
(Sec. 4, R.A. 6425, as amended by P.D. 1675). Section 21 of the law further
provides:

“SEC. 21. Attempt and Conspiracy. – The Same penalty prescribed
by this Act for the commission of the offense shall be imposed in case of any
attempt or conspiracy to commit the same in the following cases:

“a)     Importation of dangerous drugs;

“b)     Sale, administration, delivery, distribution
and transportation of dangerous drugs;

”c)     Maintenance of a den, dive or resort for prohibited drugs users;

“d)     Manufacture of dangerous drugs; and

“e)     Cultivation or culture of plants which are
sources of prohibited drugs.” (Underlining ours.)

The law is severe because those who are caught in the strangle
hold of prohibited drugs not only slide into the ranks of the living dead, but,
what is worse, they become a grave menace to the safety of the law-abiding
members of society.  As this Court
declared in People vs. Policarpio, 158 SCRA 85, “Peddlers of drugs
are actually agents of destruction.  They
deserve no less than the maximum penalty.”

WHEREFORE, the appealed decision is affirmed with respect
to appellant Modesto Lamog y Cutay,
and modified with respect to the appellants Colasa Aliga y Cabbey and Florence Sacuchang y Kiowa whom We find guilty beyond reasonable
doubt as co-principals or co-conspirators of their co-accused Lamog in the commission of the crime of attempted illegal
sale of marijuana, and We hereby sentence each of them, like Lamog, to suffer the penalty of life imprisonment, to pay a
fine of P20,000 without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and to
pay their proportionate share of the costs. 
In other respects the decision of the trial court is affirmed.  Costs against the
appellants.

SO ORDERED.

Narvasa, (Chairman), Cruz, Gancayco, and Medialdea, JJ., concur.