THE Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the guilty verdict handed down by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Pasay City against a Chinese and five others who were arrested while trying to smuggle in more than 31 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in September 1991.

In a 17-page decision written by Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, the Court’s First Division held that the RTC in Pasay did not err in finding Ho Wai Ho guilty beyond reasonable doubt of drug trafficking, an offense punishable under Section 15, Article III of Republic Act 5425, or the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Ho and his co-accused were sentenced by the RTC in Pasay in April 1995 to reclusion perpetua and ordered to pay fines ranging from P500,000 to P10 million.

The trial court’s ruling was also affirmed by the Court of Appeals in a decision issued on June 2006.  It was only Ho who questioned his conviction while his co-accused no longer appealed their case.

In dismissing Ho’s petition for review, the SC did not give merit to his claim that he should have been acquitted for violation of his constitutional rights during custodial investigation.

Specifically, Ho said he was not informed of his right to remain silent and was not provided counsel of his choice, so the evidence against him should not have been admitted during trial.

While its true that there was indeed violation of his rights under Section 12, Article III of the Constitution, which “prohibits as evidence only confessions and admission of the accused against himself,” the Court held that what was more important was Ho’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt that was established during trial.

“We must not, however, lose sight of the fact that what [the] said constitutional provision prohibits as evidence are only confessions and admissions of the accused as against himself,” said the ruling.

The Court gave weight to the testimony of eyewitness Gilda Cinco, customs examiner, in convicting Ho and his co-accused.

“Verily, the evidence adduced against petitioner is so overwhelming 
that this court is convinced that his guilt has been established
 beyond reasonable doubt. Nothing else can speak so eloquently of his 
culpability than the unassailable fact that he was caught red-handed 
in the very act of transporting, along with his co-accused, shabu into 
the country,” the Court pointed out.

Concurring with the ruling were division Chairman and Chief Justice Renato Corona and three other division members.