RTC okays more evidence vs Ongpin
Immediately, prosecutors of the Department of Justice filed a motion for reconsideration and sought a hearing on the motion with plea to present additional evidence.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) in San Fernando, La Union has granted the plea of government prosecutors to present additional evidence starting 7 December after the illegal drugs case against Julian Ongpin was junked earlier.
The charges against Ongpin were junked last 15 November by the RTC, saying police failed to follow strictly the guidelines set on the custody of seized illegal drugs.
Immediately, prosecutors of the Department of Justice filed a motion for reconsideration and sought a hearing on the motion with plea to present additional evidence.
Judge Romeo E. Agacita Jr. set the hearing on the motion on Friday, 3 December and according to Prosecutor General Benedicto A. Malcontento, the presentation of the evidence on the motion is set on 7 December.
The case of Julian, son of former Trade Secretary Roberto Ongpin, was due to the recovery of the police of the 12.6 grams of cocaine, a prohibited drug, inside a San Juan, La Union hotel room where he and the late artist Breanna “Bree” Jonson checked in last 17 September
Breanna was found “unconscious” and died thereafter in the morning of 18 September and Julian became a person of interest in her death.
A probe, as per order of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra was conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation.
Judge Agacita, in dismissing the case, ruled that the policemen who arrested Julian failed to comply with the provisions of Section 21 of Republic Act (RA) 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Section 21 of RA 9165 imposes a strict compliance with the chain of custody of the seized illegal drugs.
The law requires that “the seized dangerous drugs must be inventoried and photographed immediately after seizure or confiscation; the physical inventory and photographing must be done in the presence of the accused or his/her representative or counsel, an elected public official, a representative from the media, and a representative from the Department of Justice, all of whom shall be required to sign the copies of the inventory and be given a copy of the same; and the seized drugs must be turned over to a forensic laboratory within 24 hours from confiscation for examination.”
In its numerous decisions, the Supreme Court had ruled that “strict compliance with the requirements is necessary in protecting the integrity and identity of the corpus delicti (body of the crime), without which the crime of the illegal sale and illegal possession of dangerous drugs cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt.”