Saludares v. People

Summary

Rocky Saludares was arrested on February 4, 2016, during the election period while in possession of an unlicensed firearm and alleged dangerous drugs at carnival grounds. He was charged with three crimes under special penal laws. The Supreme Court partly granted his petition, acquitting him of illegal possession of dangerous drugs due to the prosecution's failure to comply with the mandatory witness requirements under Section 21 of RA 9165, specifically the absence of earnest efforts to secure required witnesses during inventory. However, the Court affirmed his conviction for illegal possession of firearm and violation of the COMELEC gun ban, noting that his objection to the arrest's validity was waived for not being raised before entering his plea. The case demonstrates the strict application of chain of custody requirements in drug cases while upholding procedural rules on waiver of objections to arrest validity.