Professional Documents
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FIRST DIVISION
CITY
PROSECUTOR
ARMANDO P. ABANADO,
Complainant,
Present:
- versus -
JUDGE
A.
ABRAHAM
BA YONA,
Presiding
Judge,
Municipal Trial Court in Cities,
Branch 7, Bacolod City,
Respondent.
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,*
Acting Chairperson,
BERSAMIN,
DEL CASTILLO,
VILLARAMA, JR., and
PERLAS-BERNABE,** JJ
Promulgated:
30 JUL 2012
X- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .- -- -- -- - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DECISION
The case now before this Court sprang from Criminal Case No. 09-03164 74, entitled People of the Philippines v. Cresencio Palo, Sr.
On March
DECISION
On April 29, 2009, the Office of the City Prosecutor submitted a copy
of the Memorandum of Preliminary Investigation and informed respondent
that the documents submitted by the parties for preliminary investigation
were already appended to the complaint, thus, taking care of items 1, 2, and
4 required by the April 13, 2009 Order.
Id. at 19.
DECISION
discussed that the case was initially handled by ACP Jarder who found no
probable cause against Cresencio Palo, Sr., accused in Criminal Case No.
09-03-16474. However, complainant, upon review pursuant to Section 4,
Rule 112 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,5 found otherwise;
that is, there was probable cause against Palo. Thus, complainant
disapproved ACP Jarders Resolution and filed the Information in court.6
4
5
6
7
DECISION
On May 11, 2009, in view of the foregoing order, the Office of the
City Prosecutor again sent a letter9 explaining the impossibility of
submitting the Jarder Resolution to the court. The letter stated that the
Jarder Resolution was no longer part of the records of the case as it was
disapproved by complainant and it attached a letter of Chief State Prosecutor
Jovencito Zuo which reads:
This refers to your letter dated April 18, 2008. For your
information, all resolutions prepared by an Investigating Prosecutor after
preliminary investigation shall form part of the record of the case. But if
they have been disapproved by the Provincial/City Prosecutor, the same
shall not be released to the parties and/or their counsels. Thus, only
resolutions approved by the Provincial/City Prosecutor for promulgation
and release to the parties shall be made known to the parties and/or their
counsel.10
Respondent did not accept the explanations made by the Office of the
City Prosecutor and insisted instead that the Jarder Resolution should form
part of the records of the case. Thus, in an Order11 dated May 14, 2009, he
required complainant to explain within five days from the receipt thereof
8
9
10
11
Id. at 25.
Id. at 26.
Id. at 92.
Id. at 27-29.
DECISION
why he should not be cited for contempt under Section 3, Rule 71 of the
Rules of Court.12
12
13
14
DECISION
4.
That [Complainant] is now in a quandary because despite
the fact that the production of the disapproved resolution is not required
under Circular Resolution No. 12 for purposes of issuance of warrant of
arrest[,] the Court is very much interested in its production and adding
insult to injury in foisting to cite in contempt the City Prosecutor for its
non-production.
5.
That the issuance of said order is capricious and whimsical
and issued with grave abuse of discretion. Because as it appears now, the
presiding judge is very much interested in the outcome of this case,
thereby showing bias and prejudice against the prosecution.16
15
16
17
18
Id. at 32-33.
Id. at 33.
Docketed as Civil Case No. 09-13383.
Rollo, pp. 35-42.
DECISION
cause for the sole purpose of issuing a warrant of arrest against the
accused. What is required, rather, is that the judge must have
sufficient supporting documents (such as the complaint, affidavits,
counter-affidavits, sworn statements of witnesses or transcripts of
stenographic notes, if any) upon which to make his independent
judgment or, at the very least, upon which to verify the findings of the
prosecutor as to the existence of probable cause. x x x.19 (Emphases
supplied.)
19
20
21
22
23
24
Id. at 40-41.
Id. at 2-10.
RULES OF COURT, Rule 140, Section 8(9).
Id., Section 8(3).
A hearing is not necessary therefor. In satisfying himself of the existence of probable cause for the
issuance of a warrant of arrest, the judge, following the established doctrine and procedure, shall
either (a) personally evaluate the report and the supporting documents submitted by the prosecutor
regarding the existence of probable cause and, on the basis thereof, issue a warrant of arrest, or (b)
if on the face of the information he finds no probable cause, he may disregard the prosecutor's
certification and require the submission of the supporting affidavits of witnesses to aid him in
arriving at a conclusion as to the existence of probable cause. (De los Santos-Reyes v. Judge
Montesa, Jr., 317 Phil. 101, 111 (1995).
Rollo, pp. 57-82; dated October 1, 2009.
DECISION
As for respondents
25
26
27
28
Id. at 61.
Id. at 79-80.
Id. at 102-107.
Id. at 118-121.
be
RE-
DECISION
We adopt the factual findings of the OCA but find reason not to
impose the recommended penalty of reprimand on respondent.
29
30
31
Id. at 121.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company v. Tobias, G.R. No. 177780, January 25, 2012; People v.
Court of Appeals and Cerbo, 361 Phil. 401, 410 (1999).
Superseding Department Order No. 153, s. 1996.
DECISION
10
DECISION
11
(1)
the
investigating
prosecutor
prepares
resolution
DECISION
12
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
affidavit,
the
sworn
statements
of
the
DECISION
13
32
Amante-Descallar v. Judge Ramas, A.M. No. RTJ-08-2142, March 20, 2009, 582 SCRA 22.
DECISION
14
33
34
35
See Ocampo v. Arcaya-Chua, A.M. OCA I.P.I. No. 07-2630-RTJ, April 23, 2010, 619 SCRA 59,
92-93.
Cf. Tabujara III v. Gonzales-Asdala, A.M. No. RTJ-08-2126, January 20, 2009, 576 SCRA 404,
413-414.
See RULES OF COURT, Rule 139-B.
DECISION
15
SO ORDERED.
~~4~
WE CONCUR:
/~~~~:,
Associate Justice
r..fuL~ERNABE
ESTELA M.
Associate Justice