Pasig City Regional Trial Court Judge acquitted a man of drug charges after the principal witness, the man who arrested him, failed to appear to testify in court.

In a three-page decision, Pasig City RTC Branch 164 Judge Librado S. Correa acquitted accused Hawe Bustan, of violating Section 11, Article II of Republic Act 9165 after the prosecution team failed to produce before the court Batas Ciudad Enforcement Office (BCEO) officer Ronald Teng.

According to court records, Teng was the one who arrested Bustan on August 12, 2008 after allegedly finding on the accused one heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet with two centigrams (0.02 gram) of white crystalline substance which was later found out to be methylamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu.”

Correa said the failure of the prosecution lawyers to produce Teng during court hearings from June 4 and August 24, 2009, to properly identify the accused and the confiscated sachet of shabu destroyed the prosecution’s chances to prove Bustan guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

He said that the sworn statement of Teng presented by prosecutors can’t be considered and appreciated as evidence against the accused as it is hearsay and inadmissible evidence.

“The sworn statement of BCEO Teng cannot be considered and appreciated of evidence against the accused as it’s hearsay and inadmissible evidence because BCEO Teng failed to appear and substantiate the statements contained therein and be subjected to cross-examination of the accused.

It is hornbook doctrine that unless the affiant himself takes the witness stand to affirm the averments in his affidavit, the said affidavit must be excluded from the judicial proceedings, it being inadmissible hearsay (Lee vs CA et al., G.R. No. 145498, January 17, 2005) Hearsay evidence has no probative value whether objected to or not (The City Government of Davao, etc vs. Consuji, et al., G.R. No. 136825, May 21, 2001),” Correa said.