RA 9165- Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act

Acts Punishable
Re: DD and/or CPEC
1. Importation of Dangerous Drugs (Sec.4)
2. Under Sec. 5 of RA 9165 (ST2AD3)
a. Sale of Dangerous Drugs,
Elements of Illegal Sale (ID)
i. The identity of the buyer and the seller, the object of the sale and
its consideration
ii. The delivery of the thing sold and the payment thereof.

b. Trading,
c. Transportation,
d. Administration,
e. Dispensation,
f. Delivery,

Elements of Delivery
i. The accused passed on the possession of a dangerous drug to another,
personally or otherwise any by any means;
ii. Such delivery is not authorized by law; and
iii. The accused knowingly made the delivery. (The delivery may be
committed even without consideration.
g. Distribution
3. Manufacture of Dangerous Drugs (Sec. 8)
4. Manufacture or delivery of equipment, instruments, apparatus and other
paraphernalia (Sec. 10)
5. Failure to maintain and keep original records of transaction.

Re: Drug, Den, Dive or Resort

1. Maintenance
2. Being and Employee or Visitor

Re: Possession
1. Dangerous Drugs
2. Equipment, instruments, apparatus and other paraphernalia for dangerous
drugs
 3. Dangerous Drugs during parties, social gatherings or meetings –maximum
penalty imposed; atleast 2 persons (Secs. 13 and 14 of RA 9165)
4. Equipment, instruments, apparatus and other paraphernalia for dangerous
drugs during parties, social gatherings or meetings

Re: Prescription
1. Unnecessary prescription of dangerous drugs
2. Unlawful prescription of dangerous drugs

Others
1. Use of Dangerous Drugs
2. Cultivation or culture of plants classified as dangerous drugs or are sources
thereof
3. Illegal chemical diversion of controlled precursors and essential chemicals

2 Types of Possession
a. Possession of Illegal Drugs
b. Possession of Illegal Equipment, Instruments, Apparatus and Other
Paraphernalia of Dangerous Drugs
Elements of Illegal Possession of Drugs
i. The accused was in possession of prohibited drugs;
ii. Such possession is not authorized by law; and
iii. The accused freely and consciously possessed the prohibited drug.
Elements of Illegal Possession of Equipment, Instruments, Apparatus and Other
Paraphernalia of Dangerous Drugs
i. Possession or Control by the accused of any equipment, apparatus or other
paraphernalia fit or intended for smoking, consuming, administering, injecting,
ingesting, or introducing any dangerous drugs into the body; and
ii. Such possession is not authorized by law
Chain of Custody
Summary of Chain of Custody
1. Immediately after seizure and confiscation, apprehending officer should conduct a
physical inventory and photograph the seized substances at the place where search
 warrant is served or in case of warrantless seizures, at the nearest police station or
nearest office of the apprehending officer/team.
2. The physical inventory and photograph taking should be made in the presence of
the following:
a. accused or the person/s from whom such items were confiscated and/or seized,
or his/her representative or counsel;
b. an elected public official; and
c. a representative of the National Prosecution Service or the media.

3. The witnesses should sign copies of the inventory and be given a copy thereof.
4. The seized substance should be placed in a plastic container and the apprehending
officer should place his marking in the container and seal the same with a seal, e.g.
adhesive tape, that cannot be removed without leaving a tear on the plastic
container.
5. The marked evidence must then be turned over by the apprehending officer to the
investigating officer.
6. The investigating officer must turn over the marked evidence to the PDEA Forensic
Laboratory for examination within 24 hours from confiscation.
7. After testing of the seized substance in the crime laboratory, the forensic chemist
should put his own mark on the plastic container and seal it again with a new seal.
8. The forensic chemist should turn-over and submit the marked illegal drug to the
court.

Seizure and Marking

In seizures covered by search warrants, the physical inventory and photograph must be
conducted in the place where the search warrant was served.
Warrantless seizure such as buy bust operation, the physical inventory and photograph
shall be conducted at the nearest police station or office of the apprehending
officer/team, whichever is practicable.
Note: However, nothing prevents the apprehending officer/team conducting the
physical inventory and photography of the items at the place where they were
seized.

Marking should be done:

(1) In the presence of the apprehended violator;
(2) Immediately upon confiscation
Marking – the placing by the apprehending officer or the poseur-buyer of his/her initials
and signature of the item/s seized.
*In every case, the apprehended violator or counsel must be present.
**Seized item shall be placed in an envelope or in an evidence bag unless the type
and quantity requires a different type of handling and/or container. The evidence
bag/container shall be signed by the handling officer and turned over to the next
officer in the chain of custody.

Procedure in marking
1. Police officer who seized the suspected substance turns it over to the supervising
officer;
NOTE: Police officer who seized the suspected substance must place his markings on the
plastic container and shall seal the same with adhesive tape that cannot be removed.
2. Supervising officer sends it by courier to the police crime laboratory for testing;
3. At trial, the police officer can identify the seized substance and procedure he
observed to preserve its integrity until it reached the crime laboratory;
4. After the laboratory technician tests and verifies the nature of the substance in the
container, he should put his own mark on the plastic container and seals it again
with a new seal since the police officer’s seal has been broken;
5. At the trial, the technician can then describe the sealed condition of the plastic
container when it was handed to him and testify on the procedure he took
afterwards to preserve its identity.

NOTE: If the sealing of the seized substance has not been made, the prosecution would
have to present every police, messenger, laboratory technician and storage personnel, the
entire chain of custody, no matter how briefly one’s possession has been. Each of them has
to testify that the substance has not been tampered with or substituted while in his care.

Chain of Custody requirement, not followed

1. No physical inventory and photographs taken;
2. No marking in the presence of the accused or counsel;
3. No evidence of the authorship of markings;
4. No evidence on how seized items changed hands.
Three Witness Rule
Noncompliance with three witness rule may be excused if justified such as:
1. Their attendance was impossible because the place of arrest was a remote area;
2. Their safety during the inventory and photograph of the seized drugs was
threatened by an immediate retaliatory action of the accused or any person/s acting
for and in his/ her behalf;
3. The elected official themselves were involved in the punishable acts sought to be
apprehended;
4. Earnest efforts to secure the presence of a DOJ or media representative and an
elected public official within the period required under Article 125 of the Revised
Penal Code proved futile through no fault of the arresting officers, who face the
threat of being charged with arbitrary detention; or
5. Time constraints and urgency of the anti-drug operations, which often rely on tips of
confidential assets, prevented the law enforcers from obtaining the presence of the
required witnesses even before the offenders could escape. (People v. Romy Lim,
G.R. No. 239189, September 4, 2018)