TOPIC: IN FLAGRANTE DELICTO (VALID ARREST) Case Name: People v Sembrano G.R.

No: 185848 Date: August 16, 2010 Ponente: Perez Location: Gulod, Novaliches Plaintiff: People of the Philippines Respondent: Michael Sembrano Crimes: Illegal sale and illegal possession of shabu RTC: Guilty CA: Guilty Supreme Court Decision: Denied. Facts: Operatives of the Station Anti-Illegal Drugs of the Novaliches Police Station arrested appellant in broad daylight, in the course of a buy-bust operation and after a follow-up search on him. Two days after the arrest, the Assistant City Prosecutor of Quezon City in the National Capital Region filed two separate Informations against him: for illegal sale and illegal possession of shabu, a dangerous drug. Qualitative examination was conducted by the forensic chemical officer on specimens of the substance retrieved from the buy-bust operations. The findings showed that the specimens were composed of Methylamphetamine Hydrochloride, a dangerous drug Sembrano was arraigned and with the assistance of counsel, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Pre-trial proceedings having been terminated, trial on the merits ensued Issue: Whether or not the appellant was illegally arrested. Ruling: Appeal is denied. Appellant contends that the warrantless arrest against him was unlawful, and consequently, applying the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, any evidence allegedly obtained during such unlawful warrantless arrest cannot be used as evidence. The defense proffers that the illegal drugs allegedly seized from appellant during the buy-bust operation should have been declared inadmissible. Appellant adds that he was framed up by the police officers. The Solicitor General disagrees, saying that the sachets of shabu were seized from appellant during a buy-bust operation. Thus, any opposition thereto with respect to its admissibility on the ground that said sachets were seized during an illegal arrest is unfounded. Conviction is proper in prosecutions involving illegal sale of regulated or prohibited drugs if the following elements are present: (1) the identity of the buyer and the seller, the object, and the consideration; and (2) the delivery of the thing sold and the payment thereto. What is material is proof that the transaction or sale actually took place, coupled with the

presentation in court of the prohibited or regulated drug. The court reiterated the meaning of the term corpus delicti, which is the actual commission by someone of the particular crime charged. Appellant was caught in flagrante delicto delivering 0.12 gram of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu to PO2 Manaol, the poseur-buyer, for a consideration of P200.00. Upon frisking after his arrest, another 0.27 gram of methamphetamine hydrochloride was recovered from him. A buy-bust operation is a form of entrapment, which in recent years has been accepted as a valid and effective mode of apprehending drug pushers. Consequently, the warrantless arrest and warrantless search and seizure conducted on the person of appellant were allowed under the circumstances. The search, incident to his lawful arrest, needed no warrant to sustain its validity. Thus, there is no doubt that the sachets of shabu recovered during the legitimate buy-bust operation, are admissible and were properly admitted in evidence against him.