On 20 September 2000 the Philippine Supreme Court upheld the marijuana-trafficking conviction of Marcos Kangitit but commuted his death sentence to reclusion perpetua and fined him P650,000 jointly with his co-accused.[1][2] Kangitit had been condemned to death by lethal injection by the Bayombong trial court in October 1997 for the illegal sale and delivery of marijuana.[1][2]
The case began when an NBI undercover asset made a test purchase of one kilo of marijuana for P650 from the group of David Banawor in O-ong, Hingyon, Ifugao, on 23 September 1996.[1][2] The next day the asset returned with P5,000 for ten bricks weighing 9.660 kilograms; when the sellers drove the carton toward Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya, NBI teams chased their tricycle down the highway and arrested Banawor and Kangitit.[1][2]
The trial court had sentenced the eighteen-year-old Banawor to a prison term plus the same P650,000 fine, which he did not appeal, while Kangitit drew the death penalty and reached the Supreme Court on automatic review.[1][2] The high court found his guilt proved beyond reasonable doubt but, with no mitigating or aggravating circumstance, imposed the lesser of the two indivisible penalties.[1][2] A third accused, Linglingon Binwag, remained at large and was never tried in these proceedings.[1][2]