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MANILA, Philippines — A regional trial court in Pangasinan has acquitted over 100 individuals charged with illegal possession of cigarette manufacturing materials and counterfeit tax stamps, citing insufficient evidence and procedural lapses in the investigation.
In a 29-page decision dated June 25, the Rosales, Pangasinan Regional Trial Court Branch 52 granted a demurrer to evidence filed by the 102 accused, effectively clearing them of all charges.
A demurrer is a legal motion asserting that the prosecution’s evidence is too weak to warrant a conviction. Its approval results in an acquittal.
The case
The case stemmed from a raid conducted on November 28, 2023, at a warehouse in Barangay Carmay East, Rosales, Pangasinan. Prosecutors alleged that the accused had in their possession various contraband items, including:
- Fake USA Blue Seals and tobacco stamps
- Cigarette packing machines and filter tips
- Cigarette tipping paper, bobbins of filter tipping, and film
- Empty master cases, tape, and boxes of counterfeit cigarettes
The charges against the individuals included violations of the National Internal Revenue Code, specifically:
- Unlawful Possession of False or Counterfeit Internal Revenue Stamps
- Unlawful Possession of Cigarette Tipping Paper or Cigarette Filter Tips
- Unlawful Possession or Removal of Articles Subject to Excise Tax Without Payment of Tax
- Unlawful Possession of False or Counterfeit Internal Revenue Stamps
The court found that the prosecution failed to prove the existence of a valid search and seizure. The operation was carried out based solely on a mission order from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), not a court-issued search warrant.
“The BIR, like any other police or law enforcement agency, is not exempt from the fundamental requirement of obtaining a search warrant from the court before making searches and seizures,” the decision stated.
It added: “The Mission Order is not equivalent to a valid search warrant issued by the court. A search warrant must have particularity on the subject matter to be seized, which the subject mission orders clearly lack.”
The court also cited failures in the chain of custody, noting that the prosecution could not show how the confiscated materials were handled and preserved from the point of seizure to their transfer to a storage facility in Porac, Pampanga.
“The Prosecution failed to show that the confiscated objects were marked or recorded, including dates, times, locations, and the identities of individuals who have had custody of the evidence,” the court said. “Furthermore, the Prosecution failed to show the proper preservation of the seized pieces of object evidence.”
Trafficking victims. Renfred Tan of Tan Briones & Associates, who represented 47 of the 102 accused, said the individuals were victims of human trafficking.
According to Tan, his clients had been recruited from their hometowns with promises of factory jobs and competitive pay. Instead, they were brought to what turned out to be an illicit cigarette manufacturing site.
“Justice at last, not only for our 47 Masbateño clients, but for all the 102 Filipinos who were duped into thinking they had secured lawful jobs from Chinese recruiters, only to find themselves jailed for being in a wrong place at a wrong time,” Tan said in a statement.
