This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2009-06-22 |
CHICO-NAZARIO, J. |
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| The contention of the accused x x x that it would be highly improbable for PO1 Domingo Marchan a complete stranger to the accused to offer to buy shabu from the latter is not tenable. What matters in drug related cases is not the existing familiarity between the seller and the buyer, but their agreement and the acts constituting the sale and delivery of the dangerous drug (People v. Jaymalin, 214 SCRA 685). Besides, drug pushers, especially small quantity or retail pushers, sell their prohibited wares to anyone who can pay for the same, be they strangers or not (People v. Madriaga, 211 SCRA 711). It is of common knowledge that pushers, especially small-time dealers, peddle prohibited drugs in the open like any articles of commerce (People v. Merabueno, 239 SCRA 197). Drug pushers do no confine their nefarious trade to known customers and complete strangers are accommodated provided they have the money to pay (People v. Solon, 244 SCRA 554). It is therefore, not unusual for a stranger like PO1 Domingo Marchan to offer to buy shabu and for Gwyn Quinicot to entertain the offer after two days from their initial meeting especially in this case when the subsequent transaction was firmed up thru telephone facilitated by a civilian informant.[32] It is also not surprising that the buy-bust operation was conducted at noontime. As we have ruled, drug-pushing when done on a small scale, as in this case, belongs to that class of crimes that may be committed at any time and at any place. After the offer to buy is accepted and the exchange is made, the illegal transaction is completed in a few minutes. The fact that the parties are in a public place and in the presence of other people may not always discourage them from pursuing their illegal trade, as these factors may even serve to camouflage the same.[33] | |||||