Clemente v. People

Summary

The Supreme Court acquitted Minda Clemente of illegal possession of dangerous drugs under RA 9165, reversing lower court convictions. Police officers arrested petitioner for allegedly violating Manila City Ordinance on breach of peace after she shouted about missing items from her bag. During the arrest, they recovered 0.064 gram of shabu from her person. The Court held that petitioner's utterance was not slanderous, threatening, or abusive, and caused no public disturbance, making her warrantless arrest invalid. Consequently, the subsequent search was illegal and the seized drugs inadmissible as evidence. The Court also found violations of chain of custody requirements. Since the drugs constituted the corpus delicti and were inadmissible, acquittal was warranted. The decision reinforces constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and strict compliance with procedural requirements in drug cases.