People v.

Delos Reyes (2011)

Facts:
On February 17, 2000, accused-appellants Rolando S. Delos Reyes and Raymundo Reyes, Emmanuel
de Claro, and Mary Jane Lantion-Tom were all arrested for illegal possession, sale, delivery, distribution,
and/or transportation of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, a regulated drug commonly known as shabu.
The arrest was based on information given to the Police regarding a drug deal that was to commence at
the parking area of Shangri-la Plaza Hotel, Mandaluyong City. Such information was obtained by the
Police from a confidential informant.

The police version of the event was that they positioned themselves at the parking area of the said
Shangri-la Plaza at about 2pm and waited for the accused-appellants to arrive at the time frame of 6-
11pm. The accused-appellants allegedly arrived at 10pm where the said transaction was held at the
parking area of Whistletop Bar and Restaurant. Delos Reyes and De Claro were said to meet up at the
restaurant and after which, came out and approached a parked car where De Claro obtained a box in a
transparent plastic bag which was handed to him by Lantion-Tom who was inside the car. De Claro then
turned over this package to Delos Reyes who in turn handed over such package to Reyes. Upon seeing
the transfer of the contraband from one person to another, the Police allegedly arrested the accused-
appellants and seized the said package which they identified to be the shabu. The Police officers who
were involved in such operation stated this same narration in their testimonies.

The accused-appellant Delos Reyes however filed a counter-affidavit stating that he was not arrested at
Shangri-la Plaza but was arrested at Buenas Market, Manggahan, Pasig City. Delos Reyes narrated that
on the day he was arrested, he was with one Marlon David at the parking area of Buenas Market waiting
for Raymundo Reyes who was to pay his indebtedness. While waiting for Reyes, they were approached
by armed men and forced out of their vehicle. The armed men brought out an SM plastic bag and kept on
asking both Delos Reyes and David who was the source of the shabu which was the contents of the bag;
both denied having knowledge regarding such drug. They were blind-folded and brought to separate cars
and while inside the cars they were still being asked regarding their knowledge of the source of the drugs,
they were also beaten up by these armed men. The next thing they know, they were brought to Camp
Bagong Diwa in Taguig. David, in his testimony gave a similar account of the incident.

The accused-appellant Emmanuel De Claro testified that on the day that he was arrested, he was with his
common-law wife Mary Jane Lantion-Tom. He provided details of their whereabouts on the day of the
incident. He also stated they were with his brother Roberto De Claro and his friend James. De Claro
stated that they were at Whistletop because of a meeting of Lantion-Tom with one Daisy Milan regarding
matters pertaining to their business permit. After the meeting, Lantion-Tom walked Milan outside of the
restaurant and De Claro waited inside the restaurant. He was then approached by three male persons
who identified themselves as police officers. He was brought outside of the restaurant and was forced to
get in a waiting car. Inside the car, he was likewise being forced to admit having knowledge about the
shabu. He was also beaten up and was brought to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig. De Claro later saw that
Lantion-Tom was also there, they were being interrogated by the police and being forced to admit that the
drugs being shown to them belonged to them. They also asked for a lawyer but their plea was ignored.
The police then said that somebody should be held responsible for the shabu so they made to choose
whether both of them or only one of them would be charged. De Claro was compelled to choose the latter
option.
The RTC rendered a decision finding the accused-appellants guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime
charged. The accused-appellants appealed the decision. De Claro moved to withdraw his appeal and
moved to re-open the proceedings instead. His withdrawal of the appeal was granted. Later on, De Claro
was aquitted by the RTC which leaves Delos Reyes and Reyes the accused who are convicted. The CA
sustained such conviction modifying the penalty from life imprisonment to reclusion perpetua.

Issue: Whether or not the warrantless arrest of the accused-appellants is valid

Held:
No. The arrests were executed without any warrant or any of the exceptional circumstances to justify a
warrantless arrest. The suspects, including the accused-appellants, were arrested without warrant based
on a mere tip from a confidential informant and not because of any apparent criminal activity. A tip does
not constitute probable cause for a warrantless arrest or search and seizure incidental thereto. Thus, the
shabu allegedly seized from accused-appellants is inadmissible in evidence.

Without valid justification for the inflagrante delicto arrests of the accused-appellants, the search of the
accused-appellants persons incidental to said arrests, and the eventual seizure of the shabu from the
accused-appellants possession, are also considered unlawful and thus, the seized shabu is excluded in
evidence as fruit of a poisonous tree. Without the corpus delicti for the crime charged, then the acquittal
of accused-appellants is inevitable.