l\epulllir of tbe JIIJilippine%

~uprente QCourt
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FIRST DIVISION

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, G.R. No. 181042

Plaintiff-Appellee,

Present:
- versus -
SERENO, C.J.,
LEONARDO-DE CASCI'l{O,
SAMIN ZAKARIA y BERSAMIN,
MAKASULA Y AND JOANA VILLARAMA, JR., and
ZAKARIAy SILUNGAN, *PEREZ, JJ
Accused.
Promulgated:
SAMIN ZAKARIAy
MAKASULAY, NOV 2 6 2012 '~-- /
Accused -Appellant. ta__~/-
x---------------------------------------------------------------------~------------A

DECISION

BERSAMIN, J.:

Statutory rules on preservmg the chain of custody of confiscated

prohibited drugs and related items are designed to ensure the integrity and
reliability of the evidence to be presented against the accused. Their
observance is the key to the successful prosecution of illegal possession or
illegal sale of dangerous drugs. 1

On appeal is the decision promulgated on April 11, 2007/ whereby

the Court of Appeals (CA), in CA-G.R. CR-II.C. No. 01781, 3 affirmed the

Vice Associate Justice Bienvenido L. Reyes, who is on Wellness Leave, per Special Order No 1356
dated November 13, 2012.
1
People\'. Rela10, G.R. No. 173794, January 18,2012,663 SCRA 260,262.
Rollo. pp. 2-24; penned by Associate Justice Monina Arevalo-Zenarosa Uetired) and concurred in by
Associate Justice Portia Alino-IIormachuelos (retired) and Associate Justice Edgardo F Sundiam
(deceased).
)
Entitled l'euple v. SLllnin 'Lukaria _)' Mukasulay ami Joana 'Lukuria )' Silungun

I
l---./
Decision 2 G.R. No. 181042

conviction of both accused for violation of Section 5 of Republic Act No.

9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) the Regional Trial
Court (RTC), Branch 154, in Pasig City handed down through its decision
rendered on August 26, 2005.4

Antecedents

The following information charged the two accused as follows:

On or about January 7, 2005, in Taguig, Metro Manila, and within

the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-accused, in conspiracy
with one another, not being lawfully authorized, did then and there
willfully, unlawfully and feloniously sell, deliver and give away to PO2
Luisito L. Aninias, a police poseur buyer, three (3) pieces heat-sealed
transparent plastic sachet bag containing the following:

a) (EXH “A-1”) – 4.84 grams

b) (EXH “A-2”) – 4.73 grams

c) (EXH “A-3”) – 24.66 grams

with a total weight of thirty four point twenty three (34.23 grams) of white
crystalline substance, which was found positive to the test for
methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu), a dangerous drug, in violation
of the said law.

Contrary to Law.5

On January 27, 2005, each of the accused pleaded not guilty.6

During the pre-trial, the Prosecution dispensed with the testimony of

Forensic Chemist Donna Villa P. Huelgas after the accused admitted the
existence of the Forensic Chemist Report.7

At the trial, the State presented only two witnesses, namely: PO2
Luisito Aninias and PO3 Ronald Valdez; while the Defense had only the
accused themselves as its witnesses.

4
Original Records, pp. 91-100.
5
Id. at 1-2.
6
Id. at 24-26
7
Id. at 29.
Decision 3 G.R. No. 181042

Version of the Prosecution

PO2 Aninias declared that at about 1:00 p.m. on January 6, 2005, a

confidential informant went to the CALABARZON Regional Office of the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Camp Vicente Lim in
Calamba, Laguna and informed Chief Supt. Abe Lemos that he had entered
into a drug deal for 35 grams of shabu worth P98,000.00 with alias Danny
and alias Joana to take place at 287 Tamayo Compound on Caliraya Drive,
in Taguig City.8 Thereafter, Chief Supt. Lemos tasked Insp. Julius Ceasar
Ablang to form a team for a buy-bust operation. The team was made up of
PO2 Aninias as poseur-buyer, and SPO2 Gerry Abalos, SPO1 Miguel
Lapitan, SPO1 Norman Jesus Platon, PO3 Ronald Valdez, PO3 Sherwin
Bulan, and PO3 Danilo Leona as the other team members.9 Insp. Ablang
gave a P500.00 bill to PO2 Aninias to serve as the buy-bust money. PO2
Aninias wrote his initials “LLA” on the P500.00 bill,10 and then placed the
marked bill on the bundle of boodle money that seemingly amounted to
P98,000.00. He put the boodle money in a white window envelope.11

At about 3:00 p.m. of January 6, 2005, PO2 Aninias, PO3 Valdez and
the confidential informant surveyed the target area in order to confirm if
drug activities were taking place there. PO2 Aninias observed there about
ten persons going in and out of the target area. The persons were thin and
looked haggard, and had deep set eyes and protruding cheeks. About 30
minutes later, PO2 Aninias and his companions left the target area and
returned to the Regional Office to report their observations.12

In the morning of January 7, 2005, the confidential informant

contacted Danny to tell him that he had a buyer. They agreed to have the

8
TSN of March 3, 2005, pp. 2-3.
9
Id. at 4.
10
Id. at 4-5.
11
Id. at 4.
12
Id. at 6-7.
Decision 4 G.R. No. 181042

deal at the target area.13 Insp. Ablang prepared a pre-operation report,14 and
coordinated with the PDEA National Office.15

Using a Toyota Revo and a Mitsubishi Adventure, the buy-bust team

arrived at the target area at around 1:45 p.m. of January 7, 2005. PO2
Aninias drove the Revo, with the confidential informant on board. The rest
of the team rode on the Adventure. PO2 Aninias parked the Revo some 10
meters away from the target area, while the other driver parked the
Adventure about 50 meters from the Revo. The confidential informant then
called Danny and told him that he and the buyer were already in the vicinity,
but Danny advised them to wait for the shabu to be prepared. At about 2:00
p.m., PO2 Aninias moved the Revo closer to the target area. Not long after,
Danny arrived. The confidential informant, whom Danny personally knew,
motioned to Danny to get on board the Revo. Once Danny got in the Revo,
the confidential informant introduced PO2 Aninias to Danny as the buyer of
shabu. Danny asked PO2 Aninias about the money. PO2 Aninias showed to
Danny the white window envelope containing the P500.00 bill and boodle
money. Saying that the shabu was with his wife, Danny then got out of the
Revo to fetch her.16

After nearly 15 minutes, Danny returned with a woman. The

confidential informant requested the two to board the Revo. Danny
introduced the woman to PO2 Aninias as his wife Joana. Danny again asked
for the money. PO2 Aninias once more flashed the white window envelope
to Danny and asked to see the shabu. Danny pulled three sachets containing
white crystalline substance from his pocket and handed the sachets to PO2
Aninias, who turned over the white window envelope to Joana and forthwith
made a missed call to PO3 Valdez. The missed call was the pre-arranged
signal indicating that the transaction was consummated. As Danny was
about to count the money in the envelope, PO2 Aninias drew and pointed his
13
Id. at 8.
14
Original Records, p. 20.
15
TSN of March 3, 2005, p. 11.
16
Id. at 11-14.
Decision 5 G.R. No. 181042

gun at Danny and Joana. The rest of the team, who had meanwhile rushed
towards the Revo as soon as PO3 Valdez received PO2 Aninias’ missed call,
quickly arrested the two suspects.

PO2 Aninias immediately placed his initials on the three sachets

received from Danny, while PO3 Valdez recovered the boodle money from
Joana.17 The team then brought Danny and Joana to Camp Vicente Lim for
investigation.18 Danny was identified as Samin Zakaria y Makasulay and
Joana as Joana Zakaria y Silungan.

Bearing the Request for a Laboratory Examination prepared by Chief

Supt. Lemos,19 PO2 Aninias turned over the seized sachets and their contents
to the PNP Regional Crime Laboratory, where Forensic Chemist Sr. Insp.
Donna Villa Huelgas conducted qualitative and quantitative examinations on
the contents. The examinations yielded positive results for the presence of
methylamphetamine hydrochloride, a dangerous drug. Forensic Chemist
Huelgas issued Chemistry Report No. D-0031-05 dated January 8, 2005,20 as
follows:

SPECIMEN SUBMITTED:

Three (3) heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets, each containing white

crystalline substance with the following markings (with signature) and net
weights:

A (EXH “A-1” LLA 07 Jan ’05) – 4.84 grams

B (EXH “A-2” LLA 07 Jan ’05) – 4.73 grams
C (EXH “A-3” LLA 07 Jan ’05) – 24.66 grams
xxxx

PURPOSE OF LABORATORY EXAMINATION:

To determine the presence of dangerous drug/s on the above-mentioned

specimen

xxxx

17
Id. at 14-16.
18
Id. at 17.
19
Original Records, p. 13.
20
Id. at 14.
Decision 6 G.R. No. 181042

FINDINGS:

Qualitative examination conducted on specimen A,B and C gave

POSITIVE result to the tests for the presence of Methamphetamine
Hydrochloride, a dangerous drug.21

xxxx

A certificate of inventory22 was issued by the PDEA Regional Office

and was signed by Insp. Ablang, Bell Desolo of Abante-Tonite, and Victor
Penid, an official of Barangay Mapayapa.

PO3 Valdez corroborated PO2 Aninias’ account of the conduct of the

surveillance and buy-bust operation. PO3 Valdez said that during the
operation he received the missed call from PO2 Aninias and immediately
rushed towards the Revo to assist in the arrest of the two suspects.23 He
attested that he recovered the marked money from Joana.24

Version of the Defense

The Defense gave a different story.

Joana said that at about 12:00 noon on January 7, 2005, she left to
fetch her five-year old child, Jornea, from school on board a tricycle;25 that
on her return home with her child at around 1:00 p.m., she immediately
noticed that the door to their house had been detached and that at least eight
men in civilian clothes were inside their house;26 that she saw Samin, her
husband, lying face down on the floor of their bedroom, and one of the men
was stepping on her husband’s head;27 that Samin’s cousins, Benson Pam
and Saudi, were in the sala, also lying face down on the floor about three

21
Id.
22
Id. at 17.
23
TSN of June 20, 2005, p. 6.
24
Id. at 7.
25
TSN of June 27, 2005, pp. 3, 8.
26
Id. at 11-12, 14.
27
Id. at 13-14.
Decision 7 G.R. No. 181042

meters from where her husband was;28 that the men brought the couple to
Camp Vicente Lim; that on the way to Camp Vicente Lim on board a white
Revo driven by PO2 Aninias, PO3 Valdez demanded P100,000.00 in
exchange for their release;29 and that she answered that they could not give
P100,000.00 because they did not have money due to her husband being
only a tricycle driver.30

Joana recalled that she and her husband were detained for a while in a
small room in Camp Vicente Lim before being shown by PO2 Aninias
plastic sachets containing shabu that had been supposedly recovered from
them; and that she protested and argued that they were not selling shabu.31

Samin corroborated Joana’s recollection. He stated that on January 7,

2005, he and his cousins, Saudi and Benson Pam, went to worship in the
mosque and returned to his house at around 12:50 p.m. to rest;32 that while
he was resting in the bedroom, two men in civilian attire barged in and
ordered him to lie face down on the floor; that one of them put his foot on
his nape;33 and that he came to know later on that his cousins, who were
themselves resting in the sala, had also been ordered to lie face down by
other men who had entered his house.34

Samin asserted that he saw the sachets of shabu for the first time only
when PO2 Aninias showed them to him in Camp Vicente Lim;35 and that
one of the men whom he could no longer identify demanded P100,000.00 as
settlement of the case against them.36

On August 26, 2005, the RTC convicted both accused, disposing thus:

28
Id. at 12.
29
Id. at 18-20.
30
Id. at 21.
31
Id. at 6-7.
32
TSN of July 4, 2005, pp. 3, 7-8.
33
Id. at 11-16.
34
Id. at 18.
35
Id. at 7.
36
Id. at 26.
Decision 8 G.R. No. 181042

WHEREFORE, premises considered, judgment is hereby rendered

finding both the accused SAMIN ZAKARIA y Makasulay and his wife
JOANA ZAKARIA y Silungan GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of
violation of Section 5 of R.A. 9165 (illegal sale of dangerous drugs) and
they are hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of LIFE
IMPRISONMENT. Each of them is also ordered to pay a fine of FIVE
HUNDRED THOUSAND (P500,000.00) PESOS.

The illegal substance subject of the information is directed to be

delivered forthwith to the PDEA for its immediate disposition.

Considering the penalty imposed by the Court, the commitment of

the accused Samin Zakaria and Joana Zakaria to the New Bilibid Prison
and Correctional Institution for Women, respectively, is ordered.

SO ORDERED.37

On appeal, the accused assigned the following errors, to wit:

I. The trial court committed grave error in considering that the

group of PO2 Aninias who are assigned at the Philippine Drug Agency,
Regional Office, Calabarzon Camp Vicente Lim failed to observed (sic)
strictly the provision of RA 9165 - the procedure in the obtaining seized
prohibited and regulated drugs.

II. The trial court gravely erred in disregarding the fact that police
officers merely informed the accused of their constitutional rights only
without elaborating what are their constitutional rights.

III. The trial court gravely erred in not considering that minor
inconsistencies of accused do not affect their credibility.38

On April 11, 2007, the CA affirmed the conviction, viz:

After carefully going over the evidence on record, we find

absolutely no reason to disturb the findings of the trial court and its
decision finding both accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the
offense as charged in the information.

WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby AFFIRMED

in toto.

SO ORDERED.39

37
Original Records, p. 100.
38
CA rollo, pp. 45-46.
39
Id. at 136.
Decision 9 G.R. No. 181042

Only Samin filed a timely notice of appeal,40 resulting in the decision

of the CA becoming final and executory as to Joana. The CA issued a partial
entry of judgment on May 11, 2007.41

Issues

Samin insists that the members of the buy-bust team did not fully
explain to him his constitutional rights; that the State did not establish the
origin of the seized dangerous drugs and did not prove that the chain of
custody had been observed; and that his guilt was not established beyond
reasonable doubt.

The State, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), counters
that Samin was properly convicted because his guilt for the crime charged
was sufficiently established; that the State proved the identities of the sellers
and the buyer, the object and the consideration; that the State further proved
the delivery of the shabu and the payment for the shabu; that there was no
doubt that the sachets of shabu came from Samin and Joana, considering that
PO2 Aninias proved that the shabu had not been planted but had been in the
possession of the accused at the time of the buy-bust operation; that PO2
Aninias marked the confiscated items, prepared the certificate of inventory,
and personally brought the shabu to the Regional Crime Laboratory with the
request for examination; that the chain of custody was not broken; that the
supposed failure to inform the accused of their constitutional rights was
immaterial considering that no admission or confession had been taken from
them; and that the credibility of the Defense witnesses was best addressed by
the RTC as the trial court, which found that their inconsistencies affected
their credibility because they concerned material points.

40
Id. at 146.
41
Id. at 147.
Decision 10 G.R. No. 181042

Ruling

The appeal is meritorious.

In every prosecution for the illegal sale of dangerous drugs, the

presentation of the seized dangerous drugs as evidence in court is
indispensable.42 It is essential that the identity of the dangerous drugs be
established beyond doubt. What is more, the fact that the dangerous drugs
bought during the buy-bust operation are the same dangerous drugs offered
in court should be established. The chain of custody requirement performs
this function in that it ensures that unnecessary doubts concerning the
identity of the evidence are removed.43

Moreover, to discharge its overall duty of proving the guilt of the

accused beyond reasonable doubt, the State bears the burden of proving the
corpus delicti, or the body of the crime. The Prosecution does not comply
with the indispensable requirement of proving the corpus delicti either when
the dangerous drugs are missing, or when there are substantial gaps in the
chain of custody of the seized dangerous drugs that raise doubts on the
authenticity of the evidence ultimately presented in court.44 That proof of the
corpus delicti depends on a gapless showing of the chain of custody. As the
Court has pointed out in People v. Belocura:45

xxx. The chain-of-custody requirement applied xxx by virtue of the

universal need to competently and sufficiently establish the corpus delicti.
It is basic under the Rules of Court, indeed, that evidence, to be relevant,
must throw light upon, or have a logical relation to, the facts in issue to be
established by one party or disproved by the other.46 The test of relevancy
is whether an item of evidence will have any value, as determined by logic
and experience, in proving the proposition for which it is offered, or
whether it would reasonably and actually tend to prove or disprove any
matter of fact in issue, or corroborate other relevant evidence. The test is

42
People v. Doria, G.R. No. 125299, January 22, 1999, 301 SCRA 668, 718.
43
Malillin v. People, G.R. No. 172953, April 30, 2008, 553 SCRA 619, 632.
44
People v. Coreche, G.R. No. 182528, August 14, 2009, 596 SCRA 350, 356-357.
45
G.R. No. 173474, August 29, 2012.
46
Id., citing Section 3 and Section 4, Rule 128, Rules of Court.
Decision 11 G.R. No. 181042

satisfied if there is some logical connection either directly or by inference

between the fact offered and the fact to be proved.47

To ensure the establishment of the chain of custody, Section 21 (1) of

Republic Act No. 9165 provides:

Section 21. Custody and Disposition of Confiscated, Seized, and/or

Surrendered Dangerous Drugs, Plant Sources of Dangerous Drugs,
Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals,
Instruments/Paraphernalia and/or Laboratory Equipment. - The PDEA
shall take charge and have custody of all dangerous drugs, plant sources of
dangerous drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals, as well as
instruments/paraphernalia and/or laboratory equipment so confiscated,
seized and/or surrendered, for proper disposition in the following manner:

(1) The apprehending team having initial custody and control of

the drugs shall, immediately after seizure and confiscation, physically
inventory and photograph 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, 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 and be given a copy thereof.

xxxx

Section 21 (a) of Article II, the Implementing Rules and Regulations

(IRR) of Republic Act No. 9165, states:

xxxx

(a) The apprehending office/team having initial custody and

control of the drugs shall, immediately after seizure and confiscation,
physically inventory and photograph 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, 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 and be given a
copy thereof: Provided, that the physical inventory and photograph shall
be conducted at the place where the search warrant is served; or at the
nearest police station or at the nearest office of the apprehending
officer/team, whichever is practicable, in case of warrantless seizures;
Provided, further that non-compliance with these requirements under
justifiable grounds, as long as the integrity and the evidentiary value of the
seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officer/team,
shall not render void and invalid such seizures of and custody over said
items;

xxxx

47
Id., citing 31A CJS, Evidence, §199.
Decision 12 G.R. No. 181042

Crucial in proving the chain of custody is the marking of the seized

dangerous drugs or other related items immediately after they are seized
from the accused, for the marking upon seizure is the starting point in the
custodial link that succeeding handlers of the evidence will use as reference
point. Moreover, the value of marking of the evidence is to separate the
marked evidence from the corpus of all other similar or related evidence
from the time of seizure from the accused until disposition at the end of
criminal proceedings, obviating switching, “planting” or contamination of
evidence.48 A failure to mark at the time of taking of initial custody imperils
the integrity of the chain of custody that the law requires.

The records show that the buy-bust team did not observe the
mandatory procedures under Republic Act No. 9165 and its IRR. Although
PO2 Aninias supposedly marked the confiscated shabu with his initials
immediately upon seizure, he did not do so in the presence of the accused or
of their representatives and any representative from the media and
Department of Justice (DOJ), or any elected public official. If he had, he
would have readily stated so in court. In fact, both PO2 Aninias and PO3
Valdez themselves revealed that no media or DOJ representative, or elected
public official was present during the buy-bust operation and at the time of
the recovery of the evidence at the target area. Instead, the media were only
around in the PDEA regional headquarters.49

The certificate of inventory, although signed by a media

representative and a barangay official,50 was nonetheless discredited by PO2
Aninias’ admission that only the confidential informant and the members of
the buy-bust team were present at the time of the recovery of the sachets of
shabu from Samin. Verily, although PO2 Aninias declared having personally
seen the media representative and the barangay official affixing their
signatures on the certificate of inventory, he gave no indication at all that the

48
People v. Coreche, supra note 43, at 357.
49
TSN of May 30, 2005, p.11.
50
Original Records, p. 17.
Decision 13 G.R. No. 181042

certificate had been signed in the presence of the accused or of their

representative.

Another serious lapse committed was that the buy-bust team did not
take any photographs of the sachets of shabu upon their seizure. The
photographs were intended by the law as another means to confirm the chain
of custody of the dangerous drugs.

The last paragraph of Section 21 (a) of the IRR, supra, contains a

saving proviso to the effect that “non-compliance with these requirements
under justifiable grounds, as long as the integrity and the evidentiary value
of the seized items are properly preserved by the apprehending officer/team,
shall not render void and invalid such seizures of and custody over said
items.” But in order for the saving proviso to apply, the Prosecution must
first recognize and explain the lapse or lapses in procedure committed by the
arresting lawmen.51 That did not happen here, because the Prosecution
neither recognized nor explained the lapses. Even conceding, for instance,
that the PDEA Regional Office contacted and informed the media about the
buy-bust operation, we wonder why the media representative or the
barangay official did not witness the actual marking of the evidence and
why the representative and barangay official signed the certificate of
inventory sans the presence of the accused or his representatives. In that
respect, the Prosecution offered no explanation at all.

Even if we are now to disregard the frame-up defense of Samin, the

Prosecution’s failure to recognize and to explain to the trial court the non-
compliance by the buy-bust team with the requirements for preserving the
chain of custody left the identity of the shabu ultimately presented as
evidence in court suspect and ambiguous. The suspiciousness and ambiguity
irreparably broke the chain of custody required under Republic Act No.
9165, which was fatal to the cause of the Prosecution. Indeed, the chain of

51
People v. Denoman, G.R. No. 171732, August 14, 2009, 596 SCRA 257, 270.
Decision 14 G.R. No. 181042

custody was crucial in establishing the link between the shabu confiscated
from the accused and the evidence presented to the court for its appreciation.
The Court has pointed out in Malillin v. People:52

As a method of authenticating evidence, the chain of custody rule

requires that the admission of an exhibit be preceded by evidence
sufficient to support a finding that the matter in question is what the
proponent claims it to be. It would include testimony about every link in
the chain, from the moment the item was picked up to the time it is offered
into evidence, in such a way that every person who touched the exhibit
would describe how and from whom it was received, where it was and
what happened to it while in the witness’ possession, the condition in
which it was received and the condition in which it was delivered to the
next link in the chain. These witnesses would then describe the
precautions taken to ensure that there had been no change in the condition
of the item and no opportunity for someone not in the chain to have
possession of the same.

While testimony about a perfect chain is not always the standard

because it is almost always impossible to obtain, an unbroken chain of
custody becomes indispensable and essential when the item of real
evidence is not distinctive and is not readily identifiable, or when its
condition at the time of testing or trial is critical, or when a witness has
failed to observe its uniqueness. The same standard likewise obtains in
case the evidence is susceptible to alteration, tampering, contamination
and even substitution and exchange. In other words, the exhibit’s level of
susceptibility to fungibility, alteration or tampering—without regard to
whether the same is advertent or otherwise not—dictates the level of
strictness in the application of the chain of custody rule.

Under the circumstances, the corpus delicti was not credibly proved
because the Prosecution did not establish an unbroken chain of custody,
resulting in rendering the seizure and confiscation of the shabu open to
doubt and suspicion. Hence, the incriminatory evidence should not pass
judicial scrutiny.53

WHEREFORE, the Court SETS ASIDE the decision of the Court of

Appeals promulgated on April 11, 2007; ACQUITS accused SAMIN
ZAKARIA y MAKASULAY of the violation of Section 5 of Republic Act
No. 9165 charged in the information; DIRECTS the immediate release from
detention of accused SAMIN ZAKARIA y MAKASULAY, unless he is

52
Supra, note 42, pp. 632-633.
53
People v. Belocura, supra, note 44.
Decision 15 G. R. N u. I ~ I U4 2

also detained for some other lawtl.d cause; and ORDERS the Director ur the
Bureau of Corrections to implement this decision and to report his action
hereon to this Cout1 within ten days from receipt hereof. No
pronouncements on costs of suit.

SO ORDERED.

WE CONCUR:

MARIA LOURDES P. A. SERENO

Chief Justice

L,_:/;., ~ r.'
,rn;~SJTA J. LEONARDt.;E~R<~iLLARX~, m.
Associate Justice Associate Just~ .. )

JOS

CERTIFICATI(lN

Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, I certity that

the conclusions in the above decision had been reached in consultation
before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court's
Division.

MAIHA LOURDES P. A. SERENO

Chief Justice