Illegal Possession of Different Drugs

Absent any clear interpretation as to the application of the penalties in cases such as the present one, this Court shall construe it in favor of the petitioner for the subject provision is penal in nature. It is a well-known rule of legal hermeneutics that penal or criminal laws are strictly construed against the state and liberally in favor of the accused. Thus, an accused may only be convicted of a single offense of possession of dangerous drugs if he or she was caught in possession of different kinds of dangerous drugs in a single occasion. If convicted, the higher penalty shall be imposed, which is still lighter if the accused is convicted of two (2) offenses having two (2) separate penalties. This interpretation is more in keeping with the intention of the legislators as well as more favorable to the accused (David v. People, G.R. No. 181861. October 17, 2011).