MANILA — A Las Piñas City court on Friday acquitted the son of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla of illegal drug possession charge.
In a 34-page decision, Las Piñas City Regional Trial Court Branch 197 Judge Ricardo Moldez II said the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of Juanito Jose Diaz Remulla III for possession of dangerous drugs beyond reasonable doubt.
The court explained that in a controlled delivery, the mere designation or acceptance of a package containing illegal items is not sufficient to prove that the recipient is involved in unlawful activities.
Remulla III, 38, was arrested by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group after he had received a parcel containing nearly a kilo of high-grade marijuana or kush on Oct. 11, 2022.
“Unfortunately, apart from showing that the package or parcel was handed to the accused, the prosecution did not present other evidence to show that the former knew that it contained marijuana. The prosecution failed to show that [the] accused, by receiving the parcel, knew that he was also possessing illegal drugs,” the decision reads.
The court also said it has “serious reservations on the integrity and evidentiary value of the dangerous drugs allegedly seized.”
It pointed out that as early as Sept. 20, the Customs Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force already had possession or, at the very least, was aware of the existence of the parcel allegedly containing illicit drugs – but that the package was only turned over to Customs examiner Gerardo Pascual on Oct. 4.
This, the court said, “has effectively put into question the identity, integrity and evidentiary value of the purportedly seized dangerous drugs.”
There was also an absence of records to show how the parcel had been handled, stored, and preserved from the time it was discovered, according to the court.
No testimony or proof has likewise shown how the parcel and its contents were preserved from Oct. 4 until it was turned over to the PDEA on Oct. 10, it added.
“The prosecution failed to establish during the ‘detection stage’ or before the parcel allegedly containing the illegal drugs were turned over to the PDEA that precautions were taken to ensure that there had been no change in the condition of the parcel and its contents, and that there was no opportunity for someone not in the chain to have possession of the same during the same period,” the court further explained.
“Because of this, this Court is unable [to] to discount the possibility of evidence tampering on that occasion,” it added.
Although this illegal drug possession charge is dismissed, Remulla III is still facing a separate complaint for drug importation and violation of customs law before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office.
Both cases – possession of at least 500 grams of marijuana and importation of illegal drugs – carry the highest penalty of life imprisonment under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 since the death penalty was scrapped in 2006. (Beatrice Pinlac © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
