The law prescribes a strict procedure for handling object evidence,
particularly the custody of confiscated dangerous drugs by law enforcement
agencies and by the courts. Non-compliance with the said procedure renders
the evidence non-admissible, resulting in the eventual acquittal of the accused
if there is no other sufficient evidence to convict him.
1. Suppose a person is arrested pursuant to an entrapment operation
effected by the police for the apprehension of drug traffickers.
2. During the arrest, it is a standard operating procedure for the law
enforcement officer to confiscate the illegal drugs obtained in the crime
scene.
3. Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165 directs the apprehending team having initial
custody and control of the drugs to immediately undertake a physical
inventory of the confiscated drugs, and to take photographs of the same,
in the presence of the accused or the person/s from whom such items
were confiscated and/or seized, or his/her representative or counsel.
4. The law also requires a representative from the media and the
Department of Justice (DOJ) and any elected public official who shall
be required to sign the copies of the inventory.
5. Within 24 hours upon confiscation of dangerous drugs, these must be
submitted to the PDEA Forensic Laboratory for a qualitative and
quantitative examination. The forensic laboratory examiner must then
make a certification of the forensic laboratory examination results. The
said certification must be issued within 24 hours after the receipt of the
subject item/s. What if the confiscated drugs are so numerous as to
render it impossible to conduct an examination within 24 hours of
confiscation? In this case, a partial laboratory examination report shall
be provisionally issued stating the quantities of dangerous drugs still to
be examined by the forensic laboratory. However, a final certification
must be issued on the completed forensic laboratory examination
within the next 24 hours. In other words, the law only allows an
extended period of 24 hours.
6. While the PDEA has custody of the confiscated drugs, the police agents
shall file the complaint with the prosecutor, who in turn files the
criminal Information in court.
7. Seventy-two (72) hours after filing, the court must conduct an ocular
inspection of the confiscated, seized and/or surrendered dangerous
drugs.
8. Within 24 hours thereafter, the PDEA shall then proceed with the
destruction or burning of the confiscated drugs, in the presence of the
accused or the person/s from whom such items were confiscated
and/or seized, or his/her representative or counsel, a representative
from the media and the DOJ, civil society groups and any elected
public official.
9. The PDEA Board afterward shall issue a sworn certification as to the fact
of destruction or burning of the subject item/s together with the
representative sample/s in the custody of the PDEA. The sworn
certification must be submitted to the court having jurisdiction over the
case. In all instances, the representative sample/s shall be kept to a
minimum quantity as determined by the Board.
10.
During the trial, the prosecution has the burden of proving the
chain of custody — i.e., the prosecutor must prove that the sample of
drugs being presented into evidence forms part of the inventory of
drugs at the time and place of confiscation. Moreover, the prosecutor
must prove that the said drugs which are being presented into evidence
are the same substances taken from the possession of the accused.
11.
If there are substantial gaps in the testimony of witnesses on the
chain of custody of the seized dangerous drugs, these raise doubts about
the authenticity of the evidence presented in court, and therefore the
accused cannot be convicted beyond reasonable doubt.