People of the Philippines Vs Allen Mantalaba

GR No. 186227 July 20, 2017

FACTS:
The Task Force Regional Anti Crime Emergency Response (RACER) received a report from an
informer that a certain Allen Mantalaba, 17 years old at the time, was selling shabu at Purok 4 Brgy 3,
Agao District, Butuan City. A buy bust operation was conducted composed of 2 police officers (PO1 Pajo
and PO1 Simon and 2 poseur-buyer). Around 7 in the evening when the poseur-buyer approached
Mantalaba and handed the 2 pieces of Php 100.00 marked bills in exchange of a sachet of shabu. The
poseur buyer went back to the police officers and told them that the transaction has been completed and
they rushed to the place and handcuffed Mantalaba. In the presence of barangay officials, the police
officers found a big sachet of shabu and the marked money that Mantalaba thrown on the ground.
The laboratory examination revealed that the substance recovered from Mantalaba is an illegal
drugs (methamphetamine hydrochloride). Thereafter, two information were filed against him for violation
of Section 5 and 11 of RA 9165, selling and possession of dangerous drugs respectively.
The RTC find him guilty beyond reasonable doubt and meted a penalty of Reclusion Perpetua for
selling shabu without considering his minority at the time of the commission of the crime. He was also
sentence for 6 yrs and 1 day, as minimum, to 8 yrs as maximum of Prision Mayor, applying the
Indeterminate Sentence Law, for illegal possession of shabu.
The CA affirmed in toto the decision of RTC. Hence this appeal. Appellant argued that the lower
court gravely erred in convicting him of the crime charged despite the failure of the prosecution to prove
his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

ISSUE: W/N minority of Mantalaba at the time of the commission of the crime may be admitted as
privilege mitigating circumstances and entitles him to ISLAW.

HELD: YES.
A violation of Section 5 RA 9165 merits the penalty of life imprisonment to death; however, in
Section 98, where the offender is minor, the penalty of life imprisonment to death shall become reclusion
perpetua to death. Basically, this means that the penalty can now be graduated as it has adopted the
technical nomenclature of penalties provided in the RPC.
Consequently, the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority can now be appreciated in fixing
the penalty that should be imposed. Applying this rule, Mantalba being minor, the proper penalty should
be one degree lower than reclusion perpetua, which is reclusion temporal. Necessarily, also applying the
ISLAW, the minimum penalty should be taken from the penalty next lower in degree which is prision
mayor and the maximum penalty shall be taken from medium of reclusion temporal, there being no other
mitigating nor aggravating circumstances. The ISLAW is applicable in the present case because the
penalty which has been originally an indivisible where ISLAW is inapplicable, became a divisible penalty
by virtue of minority. Therefore a penalty of 6 yrs and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum, and 14 yrs 8
mos and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum would be the proper imposable penalty.