Rule 130 Section 36 to 51 Set B

1. People versus pruna

2. People versus cabintoy
3. People versus bagano
4. People versus roxas
5. Country bankers versus lianga
bay
6. Gotesco versus chato
7. Feria versus ca
8. Estrada versus desierto
9. People versus competente
10. Malayan versus phil nails
11. Scc chemical versus ca
12. Rp versus heirs of alejaga
13. People versus montanez
14. People versus preciados
15. People versus boller

G.k. No. L-87S84 Iune 16, 1992
GC1LSCC INVLS1MLN1 CCkCkA1ICN, peLlLloner,
vs.
GLCkIA L. CnA11C and LINA DLL2A CnA11C, respondenLs.

DAVIDL. Ik., !"#
Assalled ln Lhls peLlLlon for revlew under 8ule 43 of Lhe 8ules of CourL are boLh Lhe ueclslon
1
promulgaLed on 27
!uly 1988 and Lhe 8esoluLlon daLed 14 March 1989
2
of Lhe respondenL CourL of Appeals ln CA-C.8. Cv no. 09699
whlch, respecLlvely afflrmed lo toto Lhe declslon of 8ranch xxl of Lhe 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of Cebu ln Clvll Case no.
8-22367 enLlLled"Clorla ChaLLo, eL al. versus CoLesco lnvesLmenL CorporaLlon", and denled peLlLloner's moLlon Lo
reconslder Lhe same.
1he Lrlal courL ordered Lhe defendanL, hereln peLlLloners Lo pay Lhe plalnLlff Llna uelza L. ChaLLo Lhe sum of
10,000.00 as moral damages and Lhe plalnLlff Clorla L. ChaLLo Lhe sum of 49,030.00 as acLual and
consequenLlal damages, 73,000.00 as moral damages and 20,000.00 as aLLorney's fees, plus Lhe cosL of Lhe
sulL. 1hese awards, excepL for Lhe aLLorney's fees, were Lo earn lnLeresL aL Lhe raLe of Lwelve per cenL (12) per
annum beglnnlng from Lhe daLe Lhe complalnL was flled, 16 november 1982, unLll Lhe amounLs were fully pald.
1he anLecedenL facLs, as found by Lhe Lrlal courL and afflrmed by Lhe respondenL CourL, are summarlzed by Lhe
laLLer ln Lhe challenged declslon as follows:
1he evldence shows LhaL ln Lhe afLernoon of !une 4, 1982 plalnLlff Clorla L. ChaLLo, and her 13-
year old daughLer, plalnLlff Llna uelza L. ChaLLo wenL Lo see Lhe movle "MoLher uear" aL
Superama l LheaLer, owned by defendanL CoLesco lnvesLmenL CorporaLlon. 1hey boughL
balcony LlckeLs buL even Lhen were unable Lo flnd seaLs conslderlng Lhe number of people
paLronlzlng Lhe movle. Pardly Len (10) mlnuLes afLer enLerlng Lhe LheaLer, Lhe celllng of lLs
balcony collapsed. 1he LheaLer was plunged lnLo darkness and pandemonlum ensued. Shocked
and hurL, plalnLlffs managed Lo crawl under Lhe fallen celllng. As soon as Lhey were able Lo geL
ouL Lo Lhe sLreeL Lhey walked Lhe nearby lLu PosplLal where Lhey were conflned and LreaLed
for one (1) day.
1he nexL day, Lhey Lransferred Lo Lhe uS1 hosplLal. lalnLlff Clorla ChaLLo was LreaLed ln sald
hosplLal from !une 3 Lo !une 19 and plalnLlff Llna uelza ChaLLo from !une 3 Lo 11. er Medlco
Legal CerLlflcaLe (Lxh, "C") lssued by ur. LrnesLo C. 8rlon, plalnLlff Llna uelza ChaLLo suffered Lhe
followlng ln[urles:
hyslcal ln[urles:
ConLuslons:
forehead and drenLal reglon, scalp lefL wlLh hemaLoma,
chesL anLerlor upper bllaLeral, back rlghL, scapular reglon,
back, mld-porLlon, Lhoraco-lumbar reglons, bllaLeral
Abraslons:
back lumbar reglon, horlzonLal, across mldllne, from lefL Lo
rlghL, hand rlghL, palm, near wrlsL, hand lefL, lndex flnger,
dorsum, proxlmal phalanx.
Concluslon, cerebral.
x-8ay - Skull, 1horaco-lumbar
reglon - All negaLlve.
CCnCLuSlCnS
1. hyslcal ln[urles rloLed on Lhe sub[ecL.
2. 1haL under normal condlLlon ln Lhe
absence of compllcaLlon, sald physlcal
ln[urles wlll requlre medlcal aLLendance
and/or lncapaclLaLe Lhe sub[ecL for a
perlod of from Lwo Lo four weeks.
Cn Lhe oLher hand, Lhe flndlngs on plalnLlff Clorla ChaLLo per Medlco Legal CerLlflcaLe (Lxh. "u")
of ur. 8rlon are as follows:
xxx xxx xxx
hyslcal ln[urles:
LaceraLed wounds:
scalp verLex, runnlng across sugglLLal llne, from lefL Lo rlghL,
3.0 cm suLured,
ConLuslon, forearm rlghL, anLerlor aspecL, upper Lhlrd.
Abraslons:
Shoulder and upper Lhlrd, arm rlghL, posLerlor aspecL, llnear,
backrlghL, scapular reglon, Lwo ln number, llnear, elbow
rlghL, posLerlor aspecL, forearm rlghL, anLerlor aspecL,
mlddle Lhlrd.
Concuslon (slc), cerebral.
x-8ay - Skull - negaLlve.
Cervlcal splnes SLralghLenlng of cervlcal splne, probably Lo muscular spasm.
CCnCLuSlCnS:
1. hyslcal ln[urles noLed on sub[ecL.
2. 1haL under normal condlLlon, ln Lhe absence of compllcaLlon, sald physlcal
ln[urles wlll requlre medlcal aLLendance and/or lncapaclLaLe Lhe sub[ecL for a
perlod of from Lwo Lo four weeks.
uue Lo conLlnulng paln ln Lhe neck, headache and dlzzlness, plalnLlff wenL Lo llllnols, uSA ln !uly
1982 for furLher LreaLmenL (Lxh "L"). She was LreaLed aL Lhe Cook CounLy PosplLal ln Chlcago,
llllnols. She sLayed ln Lhe u.S. for abouL Lhree (3) monLhs durlng whlch Llme she had Lo reLurn Lo
Lhe Cook CounLy PosplLal flve (3) or, slx (6) Llmes.
uefendanL Lrled Lo avold llablllLy by alleglng LhaL Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng of lLs LheaLer was
done due Lo fotce mojeote. lL malnLalned LhaL lLs LheaLer dld noL suffer from any sLrucLural or
consLrucLlon defecL. (Lxh. 1, 2, 3, 4, & 3)
3

ln [usLlfylng lLs award of acLual or compensaLory and moral damages and aLLorney's fees, Lhe Lrlal courL sald:
lL has been esLabllshed Lhru Lhe unconLradlcLed LesLlmony of Mrs. ChaLLo LhaL durlng Lhe chaos
and confuslon aL Lhe LheaLer she losL a palr of earrlngs worLh 2,300 and Lhe sum of 1,000.00
ln cash conLalned ln her walleL whlch was losL, and LhaL she lncurred Lhe followlng expenses:
300.00 as LransporLaLlon fare from Cebu ClLy Lo Manlla on Lhe flrsL leg of her Lrlp Lo Lhe unlLed
SLaLes, 330.00 for her passporL, and 46,978.00 for her expense relaLlve Lo her LreaLmenL ln
Lhe unlLed SLaLes, lncludlng Lhe cosL of a round-Lrlp LlckeL (11,798.00) hosplLal and medlcal
bllls and oLher aLLendanL expenses. 1he LoLal ls 31,328.00, whlch ls more Lhan Lhe sum of
49,030.00 clalmed ln Lhe complalnL, hence should be reduced accordlngly.
1he same LesLlmony has also esLabllshed LhaL Mrs. ChaLLo conLracLed Lo pay her counsel Lhe
sum of 20,000.00, whlch Lhls courL conslders reasonable conslderlng, among oLher Lhlngs, Lhe
professlonal sLandlng of work (slc) lnvolved ln Lhe prosecuLlon of Lhls case. Such award of
aLLorney's fees ls proper because Lhe defendanL's omlsslon Lo provlde Lhe plalnLlffs proper and
adequaLe safeguard Lo llfe and llmb whlch Lhey deserved as paLrons Lo (slc) lLs LheaLer had
compelled Lhe plalnLlffs Lo hlre Lhe servlces of a counsel, flle Lhls case and prosecuLe lL, Lhus
lncurrlng expenses Lo proLecL Lhelr lnLeresL.
1he plalnLlffs are enLlLled Lo moral damages, whlch are Lhe dlrecL and proxlmaLe resulL of Lhe
defendanLs gross negllgence and omlsslon. Such moral damages lnclude Lhe plalnLlffs' physlcal
sufferlng, menLal angulsh, frlghL and serlous anxleLy. Cn Lhe parL of Mrs. ChaLLo, who obvlously
suffered much more paln, angulsh, frlghL and anxleLy Lhan her daughLer Llna uelza, such
damages are compounded by Lhe presence of permanenL deformlLles on her body conslsLlng of
a 6-lnch scar on Lhe head and a 2-lnch scar on one arm. 1he courL belleves LhaL Lhe sum of
73,000.00 for plalnLlff Clorla L. ChaLLo and Lhe sum of 10,000.00 for plalnLlff Llna uelza L.
ChaLLo would be reasonable.
4

eLlLloner submlLLed before Lhe respondenL CourL Lhe followlng asslgnmenL of errors:
l. 1PL LCWL8 CCu81 L88Lu ln AuMl11lnC A1Ln1L? - lnAuMlSSl8LL LvluLnCL 8LSLn1Lu
8? LAln1lll-ALLLLLS Anu ln ClvlnC LLSS 8C8A1lvL vALuL 1C u8LlC uCCuMLn1S Anu
CL81lllCA1lCnS Cl 1PL CCnul1lCn Cl 1PL 8ulLulnC, A81lCuLA8L? 1PL CL81lllCA1L Cl
CCCuAnC? lSSuLu 8? 1PL Cl1? LnClnLL8'S ClllCL Cl MAnlLA.
ll. 1PL LCWL8 CCu81 L88Lu ln llnulnC 1PA1 "1PL CLlLlnC Cl 1PL 8ALCCn? CCLLASLu uuL
1C SCML S18uC1u8AL CCnS18uC1lCn C8 A8CPl1LC1u8AL uLlLC1," Anu nC1 uuL 1C An
AC1 Cl CCu C8 lOkc MAIuk.
lll. 1PL LCWL8 CCu81 L88Lu ln llnulnC 1PA1 1PL ALLLAn1 WAS C8CSSL? nLCLlCLn1 ln
lAlLlnC "1C CAuSL 8CL8 Anu AuLCuA1L lnSLC1lCn MAln1LnAnCL Anu ukLL Cl 1PL
8ulLulnC."
S

ln lLs declslon, respondenL CourL found Lhe appeal Lo be wlLhouL merlL. As Lo Lhe flrsL asslgned error, lL ruled LhaL
Lhe Lrlal courL dld noL err ln admlLLlng Lhe exhlblLs ln quesLlon ln Lhe llghL of Lhe rullng ln Abteolco vs. CooJo
6
on
walver of ob[ecLlons arlslng ouL of fallure Lo ob[ecL aL Lhe proper Llme 1hus:
Lxh. "A", Lhe leLLer daLed !une 9, 1982 of 1lna Mo[lca of defendanL-appellanL Lo Lhe
AdmlnlsLraLor of uS1 PosplLal expresslng Lhelr wllllngness Lo guaranLy Lhe paymenL of Lhe
hosplLal bllls of Lhe plalnLlffs-appellees was noL ob[ecLed Lo ln Lrlal courL for lack of
auLhenLlcaLlon. lL ls Loo laLe Lo ralse LhaL ob[ecLlon on appeal.
LxhlblLs "8", "C", "u", "l" Lo "l-13" are Lhe hosplLal records aL lLu, uS1 and Cook CounLy
PosplLal. lL may be Lrue LhaL Lhe docLors who prepared Lhem were noL presenLed as wlLnesses.
noneLheless, Lhe records wlll show LhaL counsel for defendanL-appellanL cross examlned
plalnLlff-appellee Clorla ChaLLo on Lhe maLLer especlally Lhe conLenL of LxhlblLs "l" Lo l-13",
ConsequenLly, defendanL-appellanL ls esLopped from clalmlng lack of opporLunlLy Lo verlfy Lhelr
LexLual LruLh. Moreover, Lhe record ls full of Lhe LesLlmony of plalnLlffs-appellees on Lhe ln[urles
Lhey susLalned from Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng of defendanL-appellanL's LheaLer. 1helr exlsLence
ls crysLal clear.
Lxh. "L" ls Lhe fllghL coupon and passenger LlckeL (norLhwesL CrlenL) of plalnLlff-appellee Clorla
ChaLLo from Lhe hlllpplnes Lo Lhe u.S. (Manlla-Chlcago-Manlla). CerLalnly, Lhls ls relevanL
evldence on wheLher or noL she acLually Lravelled (slc) Lo Lhe u.S. for furLher medlcal
LreaLmenL. uefendanL-appellanL's conLenLlon LhaL Lhe besL evldence on Lhe lssue ls her passporL
ls off Lhe mark. 1he besL evldence rule applles only lf Lhe conLenLs of Lhe wrlLlng are dlrecLly ln
lssue. ln any evenL, her passporL ls noL Lhe only evldence on Lhe maLLer.
Lxh. "C" ls Lhe summary of plalnLlff-appellee Clorla ChaLLo's expenses ln Lhe u.S ln her own
handwrlLlng. uefendanL-appellanL's ob[ecLlon LhaL lL ls self servlng goes Lo Lhe welghL of Lhe
evldence. 1he LruLh of Lxh. "C" could be and should have been LesLed by cross examlnaLlon. lL
cannoL be denled however LhaL such expenses are wlLhln Lhe personal knowledge of Lhe
wlLness.
Lxh. "P" ls Lhe surglcal neckwear worn by Lhe plalnLlff-appellee Clorla ChaLLo as parL of her
LreaLmenL ln Lhe u.S. uefendanL-appellanL ob[ecLs Lo lLs admlsslon because lL ls self-servlng. 1he
ob[ecLlon ls wlLhouL merlL ln vlew of Lhe evldence on record LhaL plalnLlff-appellee Clorla ChaLLo
susLalned head ln[urles from Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng of defendanL-appellanL's LheaLer. ln facL,
counsel for defendanL-appellanL cross examlned Lhe sald wlLness on Lhe medlcal flndlng of Cook
CounLy PosplLal LhaL she was sufferlng from neck muscle spasm. (1Sn, Aprll 17, 1984, p. 11) 1he
wearlng of a surglcal neckwear has proper basls.
Lxh. "l" ls Lhe phoLograph of plalnLlff-appellee Clorla ChaLLo ln Lhe u.S. showlng Lhe use of her
surglcal neckwear. uefendanL-appellanL ob[ecLs Lo Lhls exhlblL lLs hearsay because Lhe
phoLographer was noL presenLed as a wlLness. 1he ob[ecLlon ls lncorrecL. ln order LhaL
phoLographs or plcLures may be glven ln evldence, Lhey musL be shown Lo be a Lrue and falLhful
represenLaLlon of Lhe place or ob[ecLs Lo whlch Lhey refer. 1he phoLographs may be verlfled
elLher by Lhe phoLographer who Look lL or by any person who ls acqualnLed wlLh Lhe ob[ecL
represenLed and LesLlfy (slc) LhaL Lhe phoLograph falLhfully represenLs Lhe ob[ecL. (Moran,
CommenLs ln Lhe 8ules of CourL, vol. v, 1980 ed., p. 80 clLlng new ?ork Co vs. Moore, 103 led.
723) ln Lhe case aL bar, Lxh. "l" was ldenLlfled by plalnLlff appellee Clorla ChaLLo.
7

As Lo Lhe, oLher asslgned errors, Lhe respondenL CourL ruled:
1he lower courL dld noL also err ln lLs flndlng LhaL Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng of Lhe LheaLer's
balcony was due Lo consLrucLlon defecLs and noL Lo force ma[eure. lL was Lhe burden
defendanL-appellanL Lo prove LhaL lLs LheaLer dld noL suffer from any sLrucLural defecL when lL
was bullL and LhaL lL has been well malnLalned when Lhe lncldenL occurred. 1hls ls lLs Speclal
and AfflrmaLlve uefense and lL ls lncumbenL on defendanL-appellanL Lo prove lL. Conslderlng Lhe
collapse of Lhe celllng of lLs LheaLer's balcony barely four (4) years afLer lLs consLrucLlon, lL
behooved defendanL-appellanL Lo conducL an exhausLlve sLudy of Lhe reason for Lhe Lraglc
lncldenL. Cn Lhls score, Lhe efforL of defendanL-appellanL borders crlmlnal nonchalance. lLs
wlLness !esus Llm Cng LesLlfled:
ALLy. 8arcelona:
C 8y Lhe way, you made menLlon a whlle ago LhaL your sLaff of englneer and
archlLecL used Lo make round lnspecLlon of Lhe bulldlng under your
consLrucLlon Lhe of Lhese bulldlngs ls CoLesco Clnema 1 and 2, sub[ecL maLLer
of Lhls case, and you also made a regular round up or lnspecLlon of Lhe
LheaLer. ls LhaL rlghL?
A ?es, slr.
C And do you personally lnspecL Lhese bulldlngs under your consLrucLlon?
A ?es, whenever l can.
C ln Lhe case of CoLesco Clnema 1 and 2, had you any chance Lo lnspecL Lhls
bulldlng?
A ?es, slr.
C arLlcularly ln Lhe monLhs of May and !une of 1982?
A ?es, ln LhaL (slc) monLhs.
C now, you sald also LhaL someLlme ln !une 1982 you remember LhaL one of
Lhese LheaLers.
ALLy. 8arcelona: conLlnulng
parLlcularly Superama 1 Lhe celllng had collapsed?
A ?es, slr.
C uld you conducL an lnvesLlgaLlon?
A ?es, slr.
C WhaL was your flndlng?
A 1here was really noLhlng, l cannoL explaln. l could noL glve any reason why
Lhe celllng collapsed.
C Could lL noL be due Lo any defecL of Lhe planL?
ALLy. llorldo:
Already answered, ?our Ponor, he could noL glve any reason.
CCu81:
Cb[ecLlon susLalned.
ALLy. 8arcelona:
C When LhaL lncldenL happened, dld Lhe owner CoLesco lnvesLmenL
CorporaLlon wenL (slc) Lo you Lo call your aLLenLlon?
A ?es, slr.
ALLy. llorldo:
?our Ponor, we noLlced (slc) serles of leadlng quesLlons, buL Lhls Llme we
ob[ecL.
CCu81:
SusLalned.
ALLy. 8arcelona,
C WhaL dld Lhe owner of CoLesco do when Lhe celllng collapsed, upon
knowlng LhaL one of Lhe clnemas you malnLalned collopsed?
A Pe asked for a Lhorough lnvesLlgaLlon.
C And as a maLLer of facL as asked you Lo lnvesLlgaLe?
A ?es, slr.
C uld you come ouL wlLh any lnvesLlgaLlon reporL.
A 1here was noLhlng Lo reporL.
Clearly, Lhere was no auLhorlLaLlve lnvesLlgaLlon conducLed by lmparLlal clvll and sLrucLural
englneers on Lhe cause of Lhe collapse of Lhe LheaLer's celllng, !esus Llm Cng ls noL an englneer,
Pe ls a graduaLe of archlLecLure from Lhe SL. Loule (slc) unlverslLy ln 8agulo ClLy. lL does noL
appear he has passed Lhe governmenL examlnaLlon for archlLecLs. (1Sn, !une 14, 1983 p. 4) ln
flne, Lhe lgnorance of Mr. Cng abouL Lhe cause of Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng of Lhelr LheaLer
cannoL be equaLed, as an acL, of Cod. 1o susLaln LhaL proposlLlon ls Lo lnLroduce sacrllege ln our
[urlsprudence. 8
lLs moLlon for reconslderaLlon of Lhe declslon havlng been denled by Lhe respondenL CourL, peLlLloner flled Lhls
peLlLlon assalllng Lhereln Lhe challenged declslon on Lhe followlng grounds:
1. 1he basls of Lhe award for damages sLems from medlcal reporLs lssued by prlvaLe physlclans
of local hosplLals wlLhouL beneflL of cross-examlnaLlon and more serlously, xerox coples of
medlcal flndlngs lssued by Amerlcan docLors ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes wlLhouL Lhe producLlon of
orlglnals, wlLhouL Lhe requlred consular auLhenLlcaLlon for forelgn documenLs, and wlLhouL Lhe
opporLunlLy for cross-examlnaLlon.
2. 1he damage award ln favor of respondenLs ls prlnclpally, made depend on such unrellable,
hearsay and lncompeLenL evldence for whlch an award of more Lhan 130,000.00 ln alleged
acLual, moral and l "consequenLlal" damages are awarded Lo Lhe pre[udlce of Lhe rlghL of
peLlLloner Lo due process. . . .
3. unforLunaLely, peLlLloners evldence of due dlllgence ln Lhe care and malnLenance of Lhe
bulldlng was noL serlously consldered by Lhe CourL of Appeals, conslderlng LhaL frequenL
lnspecLlons and malnLenance precauLlons had Lo be observed by hlred englneers of peLlLloner,
whlch en[oys an unsullled repuLaLlon ln Lhe buslness of exhlblLlng movles ln a chaln of movle
houses ln MeLro Manlla.
9

AfLer Lhe prlvaLe respondenLs flled Lhelr CommenL as requlred ln Lhe 8esoluLlon of 17 May 1989, Lhls CourL
resolved Lo glve due course Lo Lhe peLlLlon and requlred Lhe parLles Lo flle Lhelr respecLlve Memoranda.
SubsequenLly, prlvaLe respondenLs, ln a moLlon, prayed for leave Lo adopL Lhelr CommenL as Lhelr Memorandum,
whlch Lhls CourL granLed on 6 uecember 1989. eLlLloner flled lLs Memorandum on 10 !anuary 1990.
1he peLlLlon presenLs boLh facLual and legal lssues. 1he flrsL relaLes Lo Lhe cause of Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng
whlle Lhe laLLer lnvolves Lhe correcLness of Lhe admlsslon of Lhe exhlblLs ln quesLlon.
We flnd no merlL ln Lhe peLlLlon.
1he rule ls well-seLLled LhaL Lhe [urlsdlcLlon of Lhls CourL ln cases broughL Lo lL from Lhe CourL of Appeals ls llmlLed
Lo revlewlng and revlslng Lhe errors of law lmpuLed Lo lL, lLs flndlngs of facL belng concluslve,
10
excepL only where
a case ls shown as comlng under Lhe accepLed excepLlon.
11
none of Lhe excepLlons whlch Lhls CourL has
palnsLaklngly summarlzed ln several cases
12
has been shown Lo exlsL ln Lhls peLlLlon. eLlLloner's clalm LhaL Lhe
collapse of Lhe celllng of Lhe LheaLer's balcony was due Lo fotce mojeote ls noL even founded on facLs because lLs
own wlLness, Mr. !esus Llm Cng, admlLLed LhaL "he could noL glve any reason why Lhe celllng collapsed." Pavlng
lnLerposed lL as a defense, lL had Lhe burden Lo prove LhaL Lhe collapse was lndeed caused by fotce mojeote. lL
could noL have collapsed wlLhouL a cause. 1haL Mr. Cng could noL offer any explanaLlon does noL lmply fotce
mojeote. As early as elghLy-flve (83) years ago, Lhls CourL had Lhe occaslon Lo deflne fotce mojeote. ln loos y
compolo vs. lo compolo Motltlmo
13
Lhls CourL held:
An examlnaLlon of Lhe Spanlsh and Amerlcan auLhorlLles concernlng Lhe meanlng of fotce
mojeoteshows LhaL Lhe [urlsprudence of Lhese Lwo counLrles pracLlcally agree upon Lhe
meanlng of Lhls phrase.
8lacksLone, ln hls CommenLarles on Lngllsh Law, deflnes lL as -
lnevlLable accldenL or casualLy, an accldenL produced by any physlcal cause
whlch ls lrreslsLlble, such as llghLnlng. LempesL, perlls of Lhe sea, lnundaLlon,
or earLhquake, Lhe sudden lllness or deaLh of a person. (2 8lacksLone's
CommenLarles, 122, SLory ln 8allmenLs, sec. 23.)
Lscrlche, ln hls ulccloootlo Je leqlslocloo y IotlsptoJeoclo, deflnes foetzo moyot as follows.
1he evenL whlch we could nelLher foresee nor reslsL, as for example, Lhe
llghLnlng sLroke, hall, lnundaLlon, hurrlcane, publlc enemy, aLLack by
robbers, vls mojot est, says Cayo, eo pooe cooslllo bomooo oepoe ptovlJetl
oepoe vltotl potest. AccldenL and mlLlgaLlng clrcumsLances.
8ouvler deflnes Lhe same as -
Any accldenL due Lo naLural cause, dlrecLly excluslvely wlLhouL human
lnLervenLlon, such as could noL have been prevenLed by any klnd of overslghL,
palns and care reasonably Lo have been expecLed. (Law 8eporLs, 1 Common
leas ulvlslon, 423, Law 8eporLs, 10 Lxchequer, 233.)
Corkburn, chlef [usLlce, ln a well consldered Lngllsh case (1 Common leas ulvlslon, 34, 432),
sald LhaL were a capLaln -
uses all Lhe known means Lo whlch prudenL and experlenced capLalns
ordlnarlly have recourse, he does all LhaL can be reasonably requlred of hlm,
and lf, under such clrcumLances, he ls overpowered by sLorm or oLher naLural
agency, he ls wlLhln Lhe rule whlch glves lmmunlLy from Lhe effecLs of such vls
mojor.
1he Lerm generally applles, broadly speaklng, Lo naLural accldenLs, such as Lhose caused by
llghLnlng, earLhquake, LempesLs, publlc enemy ,eLc.
eLlLloner could have easlly dlscovered Lhe cause of Lhe collapse lf lndeed lL were due Lo fotce mojeote. 1o Cur
mlnd, Lhe real reason why Mr. Cng could noL explaln Lhe cause or reason ls LhaL elLher he dld noL acLually
conducL Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon or LhaL he ls, as Lhe respondenL CourL lmplledly held, lncompeLenL. Pe ls noL an
englneer, buL an archlLecL who had noL even passed Lhe governmenL's examlnaLlon. verlly, posL-lncldenL
lnvesLlgaLlon cannoL be consldered as maLerlal Lo Lhe presenL proceedlngs. WhaL ls slgnlflcanL ls Lhe flndlng of Lhe
Lrlal courL, afflrmed by Lhe respondenL CourL, LhaL Lhe collapse was due Lo consLrucLlon defecLs. 1here was no
evldence offered Lo overLurn Lhls flndlng. 1he bulldlng was consLrucLed barely four (4) years prlor Lo Lhe accldenL
ln quesLlon. lL was noL shown LhaL any of Lhe causes denomlnaLes as fotce mojeote obLalned lmmedlaLely before
or aL Lhe Llme of Lhe collapse of Lhe celllng. Such defecLs could have been easlly dlscovered lf only peLlLloner
exerclsed due dlllgence and care ln keeplng and malnLalnlng Lhe premlses. 8uL as dlsclosed by Lhe LesLlmony of
Mr. Cng, Lhere was no adequaLe lnspecLlon of Lhe premlses before Lhe daLe of Lhe accldenL. Pls answers Lo Lhe
leadlng quesLlons on lnspecLlon dlsclosed nelLher Lhe exacL daLes of sald. lnspecLlon nor Lhe naLure and exLenL of
Lhe same. 1haL Lhe sLrucLural deslgns and plans of Lhe bulldlng were duly approved by Lhe ClLy Lnglneer and Lhe
bulldlng permlLs and cerLlflcaLe of occupancy were lssued do noL aL all prove LhaL Lhere were no defecLs ln Lhe
consLrucLlon, especlally as regards Lhe celllng, conslderlng LhaL no LesLlmony was offered Lo prove LhaL lL was ever
lnspecLed aL all.
lL ls seLLled LhaL:
1he owner or proprleLor of a place of publlc amusemenL lmplledly warranLs LhaL Lhe premlses,
appllances and amusemenL devlces are safe for Lhe purpose for whlch Lhey are deslgned, Lhe
docLrlne belng sub[ecL Lo no oLher excepLlon or quallflcaLlon Lhan LhaL he does noL conLracL
agalnsL unknown defecLs noL dlscoverable by ordlnary or reasonable means.
14

1hls lmplled warranLy has glven rlse Lo Lhe rule LhaL:
Where a paLron of a LheaLer or oLher place of publlc amusemenL ls ln[ured, and Lhe Lhlng LhaL
caused Lhe ln[ury ls wholly and excluslvely under Lhe conLrol and managemenL of Lhe
defendanL, and Lhe accldenL ls such as ln Lhe ordlnary course of evenLs would noL have
happened lf proper care had been exerclsed, lLs occurrence ralses a presumpLlon or permlLs of
an lnference of negllgence on Lhe parL of Lhe defendanL.
1S

1haL presumpLlon or lnference was noL overcome by Lhe peLlLloner.
8esldes, even assumlng for Lhe sake of argumenL LhaL, as peLlLloner vlgorously lnslsLs, Lhe cause of Lhe collapse
was due Lo fotce mojeote, peLlLloner would sLlll be llable because lL was gullLy of negllgence, whlch Lhe Lrlal courL
denomlnaLed as qtoss. As gleaned from 8ouvler's deflnlLlon of and Cockburn's elucldaLlon on fotce mojeote for
one Lo be exempL from any llablllLy because of lL, he musL have exerclsed care, l.e., he should noL have been
gullLy of negllgence.
1urnlng now Lo Lhe legal lssue posed ln Lhls peLlLlon, Lhe error lles noL ln Lhe dlsqulslLlons of Lhe respondenL
CourL, buL ln Lhe sweeplng concluslon of peLlLloner. We agree wlLh Lhe respondenL CourL LhaL peLlLloner offered
no reasonable ob[ecLlon Lo Lhe exhlblLs. More Lhan Lhls, however, We noLe LhaL Lhe exhlblLs were admlLLed noL as
lndependenL evldence, buL, prlmarlly, as parL of Lhe LesLlmony of Mrs. Clorla ChaLLo. nelLher were Lhe exhlblLs
made Lhe maln basls for Lhe award of damages. As Lo Lhe laLLer, lncludlng Lhe award for aLLorney's fees, Lhe
LesLlmonlal evldence presenLed ls sufflclenL Lo supporL Lhe same, moreover, peLlLloner was noL deprlved of lLs
rlghL Lo LesL Lhe, LruLh or falslLy of prlvaLe respondenLs' LesLlmony Lhrough cross-examlnaLlon or refuLe Lhelr clalm
by lLs own evldence. lL could noL Lhen be successfully argued by peLlLloner LhaL Lhe admlsslon of Lhe exhlblLs
vlolaLed Lhe hearsay rule. As Lhls CourL sees lL, Lhe Lrlal courL admlLLed such merely as lndependenLly relevanL
sLaLemenLs, whlch was noL ob[ecLlonable, for:
Where, regardless of Lhe LruLh or Lhe falslLy of a sLaLemenL, Lhe facL LhaL lL has been made ls
relevanL, Lhe hearsay rule does noL apply, buL Lhe sLaLemenL may be shown. Lvldence as Lo Lhe
maklng of such sLaLemenL ls noL secondary buL prlmary, for Lhe sLaLemenL lLself may consLlLuLe
a facL, ln lssue, or be clrcumsLanLlally relevanL as Lo Lhe exlsLence of such a facL.
16

lurLhermore, and wlLh parLlcular reference Lo Lhe documenLs lssued ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes of Amerlca (LxhlblLs "l",
"l-1" Lo "l-13", lncluslve), Lhe maln ob[ecLlon LhereLo was noL LhaL Lhey are hearsay. ln lLs wrlLLen commenL
and/or opposlLlon Lo documenLary exhlblLs, peLlLloner ob[ecLed Lo Lhelr admlsslon on Lhe followlng grounds only:
. . . for belng lncompeLenL evldence conslderlng LhaL Lhe same were noL duly auLhenLlcaLed by
Lhe responslble consular and/or embassy offlclals auLhorlzed Lo auLhenLlcaLe Lhe sald
documenLs.
17

All Lold, Lhe lnsLanL peLlLlon ls wlLhouL merlL.
[G.k. No. 1229S4. Iebruary 1S, 2000]
NCk8Lk1C ILkIA ACUING, %&'('()*&+, -." 1nL CCUk1 CI ALALS, 1nL DIkLC1Ck CI 1nL 8UkLAU CI
CCkkLC1ICNS, MUN1INLUA, ML1kC MANILA (IN LACL CI 1nL IAIL WAkDLN CI 1nL MANILA CI1 IAIL), 1nL
kLSIDING IUDGL CI 8kANCn II, kLGICNAL 1kIAL CCUk1 CI MANILA, and 1nL CI1 kCSLCU1Ck, CI1 CI
MANILA, +&.%)*/&*'."
D L C I S I C N
UISUM8ING, !.:
1he mere loss or desLrucLlon of Lhe records of a crlmlnal case subsequenL Lo convlcLlon of Lhe accused wlll noL
render Lhe [udgmenL of convlcLlon vold, nor wlll lL warranL Lhe release of Lhe convlcL by vlrLue of a wrlL of bobeos
cotpos. 1he proper remedy ls Lhe reconsLlLuLlon of [udlclal records whlch ls as much a duLy of Lhe prosecuLlon as
of Lhe defense.
Sub[ecL of Lhls peLlLlon for revlew on cettlototl are (1) Lhe ueclslon daLed Aprll 28, 1993, of Lhe LlghLh ulvlslon of
Lhe CourL of Appeals, whlch afflrmed Lhe dlsmlssal of Lhe peLlLlon forbobeos cotpos flled by peLlLloner, and (2) Lhe
8esoluLlon of Lhe CourL of Appeals daLed uecember 1, 1993, whlch denled Lhe MoLlon for 8econslderaLlon. As
hereafLer elucldaLed, we susLaln Lhe [udgmenL of respondenL appellaLe courL.
8ased on Lhe avallable records and Lhe admlsslons of Lhe parLles, Lhe anLecedenLs of Lhe presenL peLlLlon are as
follows:
eLlLloner norberLo lerla y acqulng has been under deLenLlon slnce May 21, 1981, up Lo presenL
[1]
by reason of
hls convlcLlon of Lhe crlme of 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde, ln Crlmlnal Case no. 60677, by Lhe 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of
Manlla, 8ranch 2, for Lhe [eepney hold-up and kllllng of unlLed SLaLes eace Corps volunLeer MargareL vlvlene
Carmona.
Some Lwelve (12) years laLer, or on !une 9, 1993, peLlLloner soughL Lo be Lransferred from Lhe Manlla ClLy !all Lo
Lhe 8ureau of CorrecLlons ln MunLlnlupa ClLy,
[2]
buL Lhe !all Warden of Lhe Manlla ClLy !all lnformed Lhe resldlng
!udge of Lhe 81C-Manlla, 8ranch 2, LhaL Lhe Lransfer cannoL be effecLed wlLhouL Lhe submlsslon of Lhe
requlremenLs, namely, Lhe CommlLmenL Crder or MlLLlmus, ueclslon, and lnformaLlon.
[3]
lL was Lhen dlscovered
LhaL Lhe enLlre records of Lhe case, lncludlng Lhe copy of Lhe [udgmenL, were mlsslng. ln response Lo Lhe lnqulrles
made by counsel of peLlLloner, boLh Lhe Cfflce of Lhe ClLy rosecuLor of Manlla and Lhe Clerk of CourL of 8eglonal
1rlal CourL of Manlla, 8ranch 2 aLLesLed Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhe records of Crlmlnal Case no. 60677 could noL be
found ln Lhelr respecLlve offlces. upon furLher lnqulrles, Lhe enLlre records appear Lo have been losL or desLroyed
ln Lhe flre whlch occurred aL Lhe second and Lhlrd floor of Lhe Manlla ClLy Pall on november 3, 1986.
[4]

Cn CcLober 3, 1994, peLlLloner flled a eLlLlon for Lhe lssuance of a WrlL of nobeos cotpos
j5]
wlLh Lhe Supreme
CourL agalnsL Lhe !all Warden of Lhe Manlla ClLy !all, Lhe resldlng !udge of 8ranch 2, 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of
Manlla, and Lhe ClLy rosecuLor of Manlla, praylng for hls dlscharge from conflnemenL on Lhe ground LhaL hls
conLlnued deLenLlon wlLhouL any valld [udgmenL ls lllegal and vlolaLlve of hls consLlLuLlonal rlghL Lo due process.
ln lLs 8esoluLlon daLed CcLober 10, 1994,
[6]
Lhe Second ulvlslon of Lhls CourL resolved -
" x x x (a) Lo lSSuL Lhe WrlL of Pabeas Corpus, (b) Lo C8uL8 Lhe LxecuLlve !udge of Lhe 8eglonal
1rlal CourL of Manlla Lo conducL an lmmedlaLe 8AllLL of Lhls case among Lhe lncumbenL [udges
Lhereof, and (c) Lo 8LCul8L [1] Lhe !udge Lo whom Lhls case ls raffled Lo SL1 Lhe case for
PLA8lnC on 1hursday, CcLober 13, 1994 aL 8:30 A.M., Lry and declde Lhe same on Lhe merlLs
and LhereafLer lu8nlSP Lhls CourL wlLh a copy of hls declslon Lhereon, [2] Lhe respondenLs Lo
make a 8L1u8n of Lhe WrlL on or before Lhe close of offlce hours on Wednesday, CcLober 12,
1994 and ALA8 L8SCnALL? and 8CuuCL Lhe person of norberLo lerla y a[c]qulng on Lhe
aforesald daLe and Llme of hearlng Lo Lhe !udge Lo whom Lhls case ls raffled, and [3] Lhe
ulrecLor Ceneral, hlllpplne naLlonal ollce, Lhrough hls duly auLhorlzed represenLaLlve(s) Lo
SL8vL Lhe WrlL and eLlLlon, and make a 8L1u8n Lhereof as provlded by law and, speclflcally,
hls duly auLhorlzed represenLaLlve(s) Lo ALA8 L8SCnALL? and LSCC81 Lhe person of
norberLo lerla y a[c]qulng aL Lhe aforesald daLe and Llme of hearlng."
1he case was Lhen raffled Lo 8ranch 9 of Lhe 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of Manlla, whlch on november 13, 1994, afLer
hearlng, lssued an Crder
[7]
dlsmlsslng Lhe case on Lhe ground LhaL Lhe mere loss of Lhe records of Lhe case does
noL lnvalldaLe Lhe [udgmenL or commlLmenL nor auLhorlze Lhe release of Lhe peLlLloner, and LhaL Lhe proper
remedy would be reconsLlLuLlon of Lhe records of Lhe case whlch should be flled wlLh Lhe courL whlch rendered
Lhe declslon.
eLlLloner duly appealed sald Crder Lo Lhe CourL of Appeals, whlch on Aprll 28, 1993, rendered Lhe assalled
ueclslon
[8]
afflrmlng Lhe declslon of Lhe Lrlal courL wlLh Lhe modlflcaLlon LhaL "ln Lhe lnLeresL of orderly
admlnlsLraLlon of [usLlce" and "under Lhe pecullar facLs of Lhe case" peLlLloner may be Lransferred Lo Lhe 8ureau
of CorrecLlons ln MunLlnlupa ClLy wlLhouL submlsslon of Lhe requlremenLs (MlLLlmus, ueclslon and lnformaLlon)
buL wlLhouL pre[udlce Lo Lhe reconsLlLuLlon of Lhe orlglnal records.
1he MoLlon for 8econslderaLlon of Lhe aforesald Crder havlng been denled for lack of merlL,
[9]
peLlLloner ls now
before us on cettlototl, asslgnlng Lhe followlng errors of law:
[10]

l. WPL1PL8 C8 nC1, unuL8 1PL LCuLlA8 Cl8CuMS1AnCLS Cl 1PlS CASL, WPL8L 1PL
8LCC8uS Cl CCnvlC1lCn WL8L LCS1, 1PL L1l1lCnL8'S CCn1lnuLu lnCA8CL8A1lCn lS
!uS1lllLu unuL8 1PL LAW.
CC8CLLA8? 1C 1PlS, WPL1PL8 C8 nC1 1PL CCu81 Cl ALALS' 8LSCLu1lCn, Alll8MlnC
1PL uLnlAL Cl PL8Lln ALLLAn1'S L1l1lCn lC8 PA8LAS CC8uS lS, ln CCn1LMLA1lCn
Cl LAW, A !uuCMLn1 C8 A Su8S1l1u1L !uuCMLn1, WPlCP CAn 8L u1lLlZLu AS A SulllClLn1
8ASlS lC8 PlS lnCA8CL8A1lCn.
ll. WPL1PL8 C8 nC1 1PL 8LCCnS1l1u1lCn Cl ClllClAL 8LCC8uS LCS1/uLS18C?Lu SPCuLu
8L lnl1lA1Lu 8? 1PL CCvL8nMLn1 Anu l1S C8CAnS, WPC A8L ln CuS1Cu? Cl SuCP, C8 8?
1PL 8lSCnL8, WPCSL Ll8L81? lS 8LS18AlnLu.
eLlLloner argues LhaL hls deLenLlon ls lllegal because Lhere exlsLs no copy of a vollJ [udgmenL as requlred by
SecLlons 1 and 2 of 8ule 120 of Lhe 8ules of CourL,
[11]
and LhaL Lhe evldence consldered by Lhe Lrlal courL and
CourL of Appeals ln Lhe bobeos cotpos proceedlngs dld noL esLabllsh Lhe cooteots of such [udgmenL. eLlLloner
furLher conLends LhaL our rullng ln Cooobe v. ultectot of ltlsoos, 77 lbll. 993, 993 (1947), LhaL "reconsLlLuLlon ls
as much Lhe duLy of Lhe prosecuLlon as of Lhe defense" has been modlfled or abandoned ln Lhe subsequenL case
ofOtJooez v. ultectot of ltlsoos, 233 SC8A 132, 133 (1994), whereln we held LhaL "[l]L ls noL Lhe faulL of Lhe
prlsoners LhaL Lhe records cannoL now be found. lf anyone ls Lo be blamed, lL surely cannoL be Lhe prlsoners, who
were noL Lhe cusLodlans of Lhose records."
ln lLs CommenL,
[12]
Lhe Cfflce of Lhe SollclLor Ceneral conLends LhaL Lhe sole lnqulry ln Lhls bobeos
cotpos proceedlng ls wheLher or noL Lhere ls legal basls Lo deLaln peLlLloner. 1he CSC malnLalns LhaL publlc
respondenLs have more Lhan sufflclenLly shown Lhe exlsLence of a legal ground for peLlLloner's conLlnued
lncarceraLlon, vlz., hls convlcLlon by flnal [udgmenL, and under SecLlon 4 of 8ule 102 of Lhe 8ules of CourL, Lhe
dlscharge of a person sufferlng lmprlsonmenL under lawful [udgmenL ls noL auLhorlzed. eLlLloner's remedy,
Lherefore, ls noL a peLlLlon for bobeos cotpos buL a proceedlng for Lhe reconsLlLuLlon of [udlclal records.
1he hlgh prerogaLlve wrlL of bobeos cotpos, whose orlgln ls Lraced Lo anLlqulLy, was devlsed and exlsLs as a
speedy and effecLual remedy Lo relleve persons from unlawful resLralnL, and as Lhe besL and only sufflclenL
defense of personal freedom.
[13]
lL secures Lo a prlsoner Lhe rlghL Lo have Lhe cause of hls deLenLlon examlned
and deLermlned by a courL of [usLlce, and Lo have Lhe lssue ascerLalned as Lo wheLher he ls held under lawful
auLhorlLy.
[14]
ConsequenLly, Lhe wrlL may also be avalled of where, as a consequence of a [udlclal proceedlng, (a)
Lhere has been a deprlvaLlon of a consLlLuLlonal rlghL resulLlng ln Lhe resLralnL of a person, (b) Lhe courL had no
[urlsdlcLlon Lo lmpose Lhe senLence, or (c) an excesslve penalLy has been lmposed, as such senLence ls vold as Lo
such excess.
[13]
eLlLloner's clalm ls anchored on Lhe flrsL ground conslderlng, as he clalms, LhaL hls conLlnued
deLenLlon, noLwlLhsLandlng Lhe lack of a copy of a vollJ [udgmenL of convlcLlon, ls vlolaLlve of hls consLlLuLlonal
rlghL Lo due process.
8ased on Lhe records and Lhe hearlng conducLed by Lhe Lrlal courL, Lhere ls sufflclenL evldence on record Lo
esLabllsh Lhe facL of convlcLlon of peLlLloner whlch serves as Lhe legal basls for hls deLenLlon. eLlLloner made
[udlclal admlsslons, boLh verbal and wrlLLen, LhaL he was charged wlLh and convlcLed of Lhe crlme of 8obbery
wlLh Pomlclde, and senLenced Lo suffer lmprlsonmenL "habang buhay".
ln lLs Crder daLed CcLober 17, 1994, Lhe 81C-Manlla, 8ranch 9, made Lhe flndlng LhaL -
[16]

"uurlng Lhe Lrlal and on manlfesLaLlon and argumenLs made by Lhe accused, hls learned counsel
and SollclLor Alexander C. Cesmundo who appeared for Lhe respondenLs, lL appears clear and
lndublLable LhaL:
(A) eLlLloner had been charged wlLh 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde ln Crlmlnal Case
no. 60677, lllegal ossesslon of llrearm ln Crlmlnal Case no. 60678 and
8obbery ln 8and ln Crlmlnal Case no. 60867. ... ln Crlmlnal Case no. 60677
(8obbery wlLh Pomlclde) the accused adm|tted |n open Court that a dec|s|on
was read to h|m |n open Court by a personne| of the respondent Court (k1C
8ranch II) sentenc|ng h|m to L|fe Impr|sonment (nabang buhay)..." (emphasls
supplled)
lurLher, ln Lhe urgenL MoLlon for Lhe lssuance of CommlLmenL Crder of Lhe Above LnLlLled Crlmlnal Case daLed
!une 8, 1993,
[17]
peLlLloner hlmself sLaLed LhaL -
"CCMLS nCW, Lhe underslgned accused ln Lhe above enLlLled crlmlnal case and unLo Lhls
Ponorable CourL mosL respecLfully move:
1. 1hat |n 1981 the accused was charge of (s|c) kobbery w|th nom|c|de,
2. 1hat after four years of tr|a|, the court found the accused gu||ty and g|ven a L|fe Sentence |n
a promu|gat|on handed down |n 198S, (emphasls supplled)
3. 1haL afLer Lhe senLence was promulgaLed, Lhe resldlng !udge Lold Lhe councel (slc) LhaL
accused has Lhe rlghL Lo appeal Lhe declslon,
4. 1haL wheLher Lhe de oflclo counsel appealed Lhe declslon ls beyond Lhe accused
comprehenslon (slc) because Lhe lasL Llme he saw Lhe counsel was when Lhe declslon was
promulgaLed.
3. 1haL everyLlme Lhere ls change of Warden aL Lhe Manlla ClLy !all aLLempLs were made Lo geL
Lhe CommlLmenL Crder so LhaL Lransfer of Lhe accused Lo Lhe 8ureau of CorrecLlons can be
affecLed, buL all ln valn,"
eLlLloner's declaraLlons as Lo a relevanL facL may be glven ln evldence agalnsL hlm under SecLlon 23 of 8ule 130
of Lhe 8ules of CourL. 1hls rule ls based upon Lhe presumpLlon LhaL no man would declare anyLhlng agalnsL
hlmself, unless such declaraLlon were Lrue,
[18]
parLlcularly wlLh respecL Lo such grave maLLer as hls convlcLlon for
Lhe crlme of 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde. lurLher, under SecLlon 4 of 8ule 129, "[a]n admlsslon, verbal or wrlLLen,
made by a parLy ln Lhe course of Lhe proceedlngs ln Lhe same case, does noL requlre proof. 1he admlsslon may be
conLradlcLed only by a showlng LhaL lL was made Lhrough palpable mlsLake or LhaL no such admlsslon was made."
eLlLloner does noL clalm any mlsLake nor does he deny maklng such admlsslons.
1he records also conLaln a cerLlfled Lrue copy of Lhe MonLhly 8eporL daLed !anuary 1983
[19]
of Lhen !udge 8osallo
A. ue Leon, aLLesLlng Lo Lhe facL LhaL peLlLloner was convlcLed of Lhe crlme of 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde on !anuary
11, 1983. Such MonLhly 8eporL consLlLuLes an enLry ln offlclal records under SecLlon 44 of 8ule 130 of Lhe 8evlsed
8ules on Lvldence, whlch lsptlmo focle evldence of facLs Lhereln sLaLed.
ubllc respondenLs llkewlse presenLed a cerLlfled Lrue copy of eople's !ournal daLed !anuary 18, 1983, page
2,
[20]
lssued by Lhe naLlonal Llbrary, conLalnlng a shorL news arLlcle LhaL peLlLloner was convlcLed of Lhe crlme of
8obbery wlLh Pomlclde and was senLenced Lo "llfe lmprlsonmenL." Powever, newspaper arLlcles amounL Lo
"hearsay evldence, Lwlce removed"
[21]
and are Lherefore noL only lnadmlsslble buL wlLhouL any probaLlve value aL
all wheLher ob[ecLed Lo or noL,
[22]
unless offered for a purpose oLher Lhan provlng Lhe LruLh of Lhe maLLer
asserLed. ln Lhls case, Lhe news arLlcle ls admlsslble only as evldence LhaL such publlcaLlon does exlsL wlLh Lhe
Lenor of Lhe news Lhereln sLaLed.
As a general rule, Lhe burden of provlng lllegal resLralnL by Lhe respondenL resLs on Lhe peLlLloner who aLLacks
such resLralnL. ln oLher words, where Lhe reLurn ls noL sub[ecL Lo excepLlon, LhaL ls, where lL seLs forLh process
whlch on lLs face shows good ground for Lhe deLenLlon of Lhe prlsoner, lL ls lncumbenL on peLlLloner Lo allege and
prove new maLLer LhaL Lends Lo lnvalldaLe Lhe apparenL effecL of such process.
[23]
lf Lhe deLenLlon of Lhe prlsoner
ls by reason of lawful publlc auLhorlLy, Lhe reLurn ls consldered ptlmo focle evldence of Lhe valldlLy of Lhe
resLralnL and Lhe peLlLloner has Lhe burden of proof Lo show LhaL Lhe resLralnL ls lllegal. 1hus, SecLlon 13 of 8ule
102 of Lhe 8ules of CourL provldes:
"SLC. 13. wbeo tbe tetoto evlJeoce, ooJ wbeo ooly o pleo.-lf lL appears LhaL Lhe prlsoner ls ln
cusLody under a warranL of commlLmenL ln pursuance of law, Lhe reLurn shall be consldered
prlma facle evldence of Lhe cause of resLralnL, buL lf he ls resLralned of hls llberLy by any alleged
prlvaLe auLhorlLy, Lhe reLurn shall be consldered only as a plea of Lhe facLs Lhereln seL forLh, and
Lhe parLy clalmlng Lhe cusLody musL prove such facLs."
ubllc respondenLs havlng sufflclenLly shown good ground for Lhe deLenLlon, peLlLloner's release from
conflnemenL ls noL warranLed under SecLlon 4 of 8ule 102 of Lhe 8ules of CourL whlch provldes LhaL -
"Sec. 4. wbeo wtlt oot olloweJ ot Jlscbotqe ootbotlzeJ. - lf lL appears LhaL Lhe person alleged Lo
be resLralned of hls llberLy ls ln Lhe cusLody of an offlcer under process lssued by a courL or
[udge or by vlrLue of a [udgmenL or order of a courL of record, and LhaL Lhe courL or [udge had
[urlsdlcLlon Lo lssue Lhe process, render Lhe [udgmenL, or make Lhe order, Lhe wrlL shall noL be
allowed, or lf Lhe [urlsdlcLlon appears afLer Lhe wrlL ls allowed, Lhe person shall noL be
dlscharged by reason of any lnformallLy or defecL ln Lhe process, [udgmenL, or order. nor shall
anyLhlng ln Lhls rule be held Lo auLhorlze Lhe dlscharge of a person charged wlLh or convlcLed of
an offense ln Lhe hlllpplnes, or of a person sufferlng lmprlsonmenL under lawful [udgmenL."
ln Lhe case of Comez v. ultectot of ltlsoos, 77 lbll. 438 (1946), accused was convlcLed by Lhe Lrlal courL of Lhe
crlme of rape, and was commlLLed Lo Lhe new 8lllbld rlson. endlng appeal wlLh Lhe CourL of Appeals, Lhe
records of Lhe case were, for reasons undlsclosed, compleLely desLroyed or losL. Accused Lhen flled a peLlLlon for
Lhe lssuance of Lhe wrlL of bobeos cotpos wlLh Lhe Supreme CourL. 1he CourL denled Lhe peLlLlon, rullng Lhus:
"1he peLlLlon does noL make ouL a case. 1he ulrecLor of rlsons ls holdlng Lhe prlsoner under
process lssued by a compeLenL courL ln pursuance of a lawful, subslsLlng [udgmenL. 1he prlsoner
hlmself admlLs Lhe legallLy of hls deLenLlon. 1he mere loss or desLrucLlon of Lhe record of Lhe
case does noL lnvalldaLe Lhe [udgmenL or Lhe commlLmenL, or auLhorlze Lhe prlsoner's release."
noLe furLher LhaL, ln Lhe presenL case, Lhere ls also no showlng LhaL peLlLloner duly appealed hls convlcLlon of Lhe
crlme of 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde, hence for all lnLenLs and purposes, such [udgmenL has already become flnal and
execuLory. When a courL has [urlsdlcLlon of Lhe offense charged and of Lhe parLy who ls so charged, lLs [udgmenL,
order, or decree ls noL sub[ecL Lo collaLeral aLLack by bobeos cotpos.
[24]
uL anoLher way, ln order LhaL a [udgmenL
may be sub[ecL Lo collaLeral aLLack by bobeos cotpos, lL musL be vold for lack of [urlsdlcLlon.
[23]
1hus, peLlLloner's
lnvocaLlon of our rullng ln keyes v. ultectot of ltlsoos, sopto, ls mlsplaced. ln Lhe keyes case, we granLed Lhe wrlL
and ordered Lhe release of Lhe prlsoner on Lhe ground LhaL "[l]L does noL appear LhaL Lhe prlsoner has been
senLenced by any Lrlbunal duly esLabllshed by a compeLenL auLhorlLy durlng Lhe enemy occupaLlon" and noL
because Lhere were no coples of Lhe declslon and lnformaLlon. Pere, a copy of Lhe mlttlmos ls avallable. And,
lndeed, peLlLloner does noL ralse any [urlsdlcLlonal lssue.
1he proper remedy ln Lhls case ls for elLher peLlLloner or publlc respondenLs Lo lnlLlaLe Lhe reconsLlLuLlon of Lhe
[udgmenL of Lhe case under elLher AcL no. 3110,
[26]
Lhe general law governlng reconsLlLuLlon of [udlclal records, or
under Lhe lnherenL power of courLs Lo reconsLlLuLe aL any Llme Lhe records of Lhelr flnlshed cases ln accordance
wlLh SecLlon 3 (h) of 8ule 133 of Lhe 8ules of CourL.
[27]
!udlclal records are sub[ecL Lo reconsLlLuLlon wlLhouL
excepLlon, wheLher Lhey refer Lo pendlng cases or flnlshed cases.
[28]
1here ls no sense ln llmlLlng reconsLlLuLlon Lo
pendlng cases, flnlshed cases are [usL as lmporLanL as pendlng ones, as evldence of rlghLs and obllgaLlons flnally
ad[udlcaLed.
[29]

eLlLloner belabors Lhe facL LhaL no lnlLlaLlve was Laken by Lhe CovernmenL Lo reconsLlLuLe Lhe mlsslng records of
Lhe Lrlal courL. We relLeraLe, however, LhaL "reconsLlLuLlon ls as much Lhe duLy of Lhe prosecuLlon as of Lhe
defense."
[30]
eLlLloner's lnvocaLlon of OtJoez v. ultectot of ltlsoos, 233 SC8A 132 (1994), ls mlsplaced slnce Lhe
granL of Lhe peLlLlon for bobeos cotposLhereln was premlsed on Lhe loss of records ptlot Lo Lhe flllng of
lnformaLlons agalnsL Lhe prlsoners, and Lherefore "[L]he governmenL has falled Lo show LhaL Lhelr conLlnued
deLenLlon ls supporLed by a valld convlcLlon or by Lhe pendency of charges agalnsL Lhem or by any leglLlmaLe
cause whaLsoever." ln Lhls case, Lhe records were losL oftet peLlLloner, by hls own admlsslon, was already
convlcLed by Lhe Lrlal courL of Lhe offense charged. lurLher, Lhe same lncldenL whlch gave rlse Lo Lhe flllng of Lhe
lnformaLlon for 8obbery wlLh Pomlclde also gave rlse Lo anoLher case for lllegal ossesslon of llrearm,
[31]
Lhe
records of whlch could be of asslsLance ln Lhe reconsLlLuLlon of Lhe presenL case.
WnLkLICkL, Lhe peLlLlon ls uLnlLu for lack of merlL, and Lhe declslon of Lhe CourL of Appeals ls Alll8MLu.
SC CkDLkLD.
G.k. Nos. 146710-1S. March 2, 2001]
ICSLn L. LS1kADA, %&'('()*&+, -." ANIANC DLSILk1C, |n h|s capac|ty as Cmbudsman, kAMCN GCN2ALLS,
VCLUN1LLkS AGAINS1 CkIML AND CCkkU1ICN, GkAI1 IkLL nILIINLS ICUNDA1ICN, INC.,
LLCNAkD DL VLkA, DLNNIS IUNA, kCMLC CAULCNG and LkNLS1C 8. IkANCISCC, Ik., +&.%)*/&*'"
[G.k. No. 146738. March 2, 2001]
ICSLn L. LS1kADA, %&'('()*&+, -." GLCkIA MACAAGAL-AkkCC, +&.%)*/&*'"
D L C I S I C N
UNC, !.:
Cn Lhe llne ln Lhe cases aL bar ls Lhe offlce of Lhe resldenL. eLlLloner !oseph L[erclLo LsLrada alleges LhaL
he ls Lhe resldenL on leave whlle respondenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo clalms she ls Lhe resldenL. 1he warrlng
personallLles are lmporLanL enough buL more LranscendenLal are Lhe consLlLuLlonal lssues embedded on Lhe
parLles' dlspuLe. Whlle Lhe slgnlflcanL lssues are many, Lhe [ugular lssue lnvolves Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween Lhe
ruler and Lhe ruled ln a democracy, hlllpplne sLyle.
llrsL, we Lake a vlew of Lhe panorama of evenLs LhaL preclplLaLed Lhe crlsls ln Lhe offlce of Lhe resldenL.
ln Lhe May 11, 1998 elecLlons, peLlLloner !oseph L[erclLo LsLrada was elecLed resldenL whlle respondenL
Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo was elecLed vlce-resldenL. Some (10) mllllon llllplnos voLed for Lhe peLlLloner
bellevlng he would rescue Lhem from llfe's adverslLy. 8oLh peLlLloner and Lhe respondenL were Lo serve a slx-year
Lerm commenclng on !une 30, 1998.
lrom Lhe beglnnlng of hls Lerm, however, peLlLloner was plagued by a pleLhora of problems LhaL slowly buL
surely eroded hls popularlLy. Pls sharp descenL from power sLarLed on CcLober 4, 2000. llocos Sur Covernos, Luls
ChavlL" Slngson, a longLlme frlend of Lhe peLlLloner, wenL on alr and accused Lhe peLlLloner, hls famlly and
frlends of recelvlng mllllons of pesos from joeteoq lords.
[1]

1he expose lmmedlaLely lgnlLed reacLlons of rage. 1he nexL day, CcLober 3, 2000, SenaLor 1eoflsLo
Culngona !r, Lhen Lhe SenaLe MlnorlLy Leader, Look Lhe floor and dellvered a flery prlvllege speech enLlLled l
Accuse." Pe accused Lhe peLlLloner of recelvlng some 220 mllllon ln joeteoq money from Covernor Slngson from
november 1998 Lo AugusL 2000. Pe also charged LhaL Lhe peLlLloner Look from Covernor Slngson 70 mllllon on
exclse Lax on clgareLLes lnLended for llocos Sur. 1he prlvllege speech was referred by Lhen SenaLe resldenL
lranklln urllon, Lo Lhe 8lue 8lbbon CommlLLee (Lhen headed by SenaLor Aqulllno lmenLel) and Lhe CommlLLee on
!usLlce (Lhen headed by SenaLor 8enaLo CayeLano) for [olnL lnvesLlgaLlon.
[2]

1he Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves dld no less. 1he Pouse CommlLLee on ubllc Crder and SecurlLy, Lhen headed
by 8epresenLaLlve 8ollo Colez, declded Lo lnvesLlgaLe Lhe expose of Covernor Slngson. Cn Lhe oLher hand,
8epresenLaLlves Peherson Alvarez, LrnesLo Perrera and Mlchael uefensor spearheaded Lhe move Lo lmpeach Lhe
peLlLloner.
Calls for Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner fllled Lhe alr. Cn CcLober 11, Archblshop !alme Cardlnal Sln lssued
a pasLoral sLaLemenL ln behalf of Lhe resbyLeral Councll of Lhe Archdlocese of Manlla, asklng peLlLloner Lo sLep
down from Lhe presldency as he had losL Lhe moral auLhorlLy Lo govern.
[3]
1wo days laLer or on CcLober 13, Lhe
CaLhollc 8lshops Conference of Lhe hlllpplnes [olned Lhe cry for Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner.
[4]
lour days
laLer, or on CcLober 17, former resldenL Corazon C. Aqulno also demanded LhaL Lhe peLlLloner Lake Lhe
supreme self-sacrlflce" of reslgnaLlon.
[3]
lormer resldenL lldel 8amos also [olned Lhe chorus. Larly on, or on
CcLober 12, respondenL Arroyo reslgned as SecreLary of Lhe ueparLmenL of Soclal Welfare and Servlces
[6]
and
laLer asked for peLlLloner's reslgnaLlon.
[7]
Powever, peLlLloner sLrenuously held on Lo hls offlce and refused Lo
reslgn.
1he heaL was on. Cn november 1, four (4) senlor economlc advlsers, members of Lhe Councll of Senlor
Lconomlc Advlsers, reslgned. 1hey were !alme AugusLo Zobel de Ayala, former rlme MlnlsLer Cesar vlraLa,
former SenaLor vlcenLe aLerno and WashlngLon Syclp.
[8]
Cn november 2, SecreLary Mar 8oxas ll also reslgned
from Lhe ueparLmenL of 1rade and lndusLry.
[9]
Cn november 3, SenaLe resldenL lranklln urllon, and Pouse
Speaker Manuel vlllar, LogeLher wlLh some 47 represenLaLlves defecLed from Lhe rullng coallLlon, Laplan ng
Masang lllplno.
[10]

1he monLh of november ended wlLh a blg bang. ln a LumulLuous sesslon on november 13, Pouse Speaker
vlllar LransmlLLed Lhe ArLlcles of lmpeachmenL
[11]
slgned by 113 represenLaLlves, or more Lhan 1/3 of all Lhe
members of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves Lo Lhe SenaLe. 1hls caused pollLlcal convulslons ln boLh houses of
Congress. SenaLor urllon was replaced by SenaLor lmenLel as SenaLe resldenL. Speaker vlllar was unseaLed by
8epresenLaLlve luenLabella.
[12]
Cn november 20, Lhe SenaLe formally opened Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlal of Lhe
peLlLloner. 1wenLy-one (21) senaLors Look Lhelr oaLh as [udges wlLh Supreme CourL Chlef !usLlce Pllarlo C.
uavlde, !r., presldlng.
[13]

1he pollLlcal LemperaLure rose desplLe Lhe cold uecember. Cn uecember 7, Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlal
sLarLed.
[14]
Lhe baLLle royale was foughL by some of Lhe marquee names ln Lhe legal professlon. SLandlng as
prosecuLors were Lhen Pouse MlnorlLy lloor Leader lellclano 8elmonLe and 8epresenLaLlves !oker Arroyo,
WlgberLo 1anada, Serglo AposLol, 8aul Conzales, Cscar Moreno, Salacnlb 8aLerlna, 8oan Llbarlos, Cscar
8odrlguez, Clavel MarLlnez and AnLonlo nachura. 1hey were asslsLed by a baLLery of prlvaLe prosecuLors led by
now SecreLary of !usLlce Pernando erez and now SollclLor Ceneral Slmeon Marcelo. Servlng as defense counsel
were former Chlef !usLlce Andres narvasa, former SollclLor Ceneral and SecreLary of !usLlce LsLellLo . Mendoza,
former ClLy llscal of Manlla !ose llamlano, former uepuLy Speaker of Lhe Pouse 8aul uaza, ALLy. Slegfrled lorLun
and hls broLher, ALLy. 8aymund lorLun. 1he day Lo day Lrlal was covered by llve 1v and durlng lLs course en[oyed
Lhe hlghesL vlewlng raLlng. lLs hlgh and low polnLs were Lhe consLanL conversaLlonal plece of Lhe chaLLerlng
classes. 1he dramaLlc polnL of Lhe uecember hearlngs was Lhe LesLlmony of Clarlssa Ccampo, senlor vlce
presldenL of LqulLable-Cl 8ank. She LesLlfled LhaL she was one fooL away from peLlLloner LsLrada when he
afflxed Lhe slgnaLure !ose velarde" on documenLs lnvolvlng a 300 mllllon lnvesLmenL agreemenL wlLh Lhelr
bank on lebruary 4, 2000.
[13]

AfLer Lhe LesLlmony of Ccampo, Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlal was ad[ourned ln Lhe splrlL of ChrlsLmas. When lL
resumed on !anuary 2, 2001, more bombshells were exploded by Lhe prosecuLlon. Cn !anuary 11, ALLy. Ldgardo
LsplrlLu who served as peLlLloner's SecreLary of llnance Look Lhe wlLness sLand. Pe alleged LhaL Lhe peLlLloner
[olnLly owned 8W 8esources CorporaLlon wlLh Mr. uanLe 1an who was faclng charges of lnslder Lradlng.
[16]
1hen
came Lhe faLeful day of !anuary 16, when by a voLe of 11-10
[17]
Lhe senaLor-[udges ruled agalnsL Lhe openlng of
Lhe second envelop whlch allegedly conLalned evldence showlng LhaL peLlLloner held 3.3 bllllon ln a secreL bank
accounL under Lhe name !ose velarde." 1he publlc and prlvaLe prosecuLors walked ouL ln proLesL of Lhe
rullng. ln dlsgusL, SenaLor lmenLel reslgned as SenaLe resldenL.
[18]
1he rullng made aL 10:00 p.m. was meL by a
sponLaneous ouLbursL of anger LhaL hlL Lhe sLreeLs of Lhe meLropolls. 8y mldnlghL, Lhousands had assembled aL
Lhe LuSA Shrlne and speeches full of sulphur were dellvered agalnsL Lhe peLlLloner and Lhe eleven (11) senaLors.
Cn !anuary 17, Lhe publlc prosecuLors submlLLed a leLLer Lo Speaker luenLebella Lenderlng Lhelr collecLlve
reslgnaLlon. 1hey also flled Lhelr ManlfesLaLlon of WlLhdrawal of Appearance wlLh Lhe lmpeachmenL
Lrlbunal.
[19]
SenaLor 8aul 8oco qulckly moved for Lhe lndeflnlLe posLponemenL of Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlngs
unLll Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves shall have resolved Lhe lssue of reslgnaLlon of Lhe publlc prosecuLors. Chlef
!usLlce uavlde granLed Lhe moLlon.
[20]

!anuary 18 saw Lhe hlgh veloclLy lnLenslflcaLlon of Lhe call for peLlLloner's reslgnaLlon. A 10-kllomeLer llne of
people holdlng llghLed candles formed a human chaln from Lhe nlnoy Aqulno MonumenL on Ayala Avenue ln
MakaLl ClLy Lo Lhe LuSA Shrlne Lo symbollze Lhe people's solldarlLy ln demandlng peLlLloner's
reslgnaLlon. SLudenLs and Leachers walked ouL of Lhelr classes ln MeLro Manlla Lo show Lhelr
concordance. Speakers ln Lhe conLlnulng rallles aL Lhe LuSA Shrlne, all masLers of Lhe physlcs of persuaslon,
aLLracLed more and more people.
[21]

Cn !anuary 19, Lhe fall from power of Lhe peLlLloner appeared lnevlLable. AL 1:20 p.m., Lhe peLlLloner
lnformed LxecuLlve SecreLary Ldgardo Angara LhaL Ceneral Angelo 8eyes, Chlef of SLaff of Lhe Armed lorces of
Lhe hlllpplnes, had defecLed. AL 2:30 p.m., peLlLloner agreed Lo Lhe holdlng of a snap elecLlon for resldenL
where he would noL be a candldaLe. lL dld noL dlffuse Lhe growlng crlsls. AL 3:00 p.m., SecreLary of naLlonal
uefense Crlando Mercado and Ceneral 8eyes, LogeLher wlLh Lhe chlefs of all Lhe armed servlces wenL Lo Lhe LuSA
Shrlne.
[22]
ln Lhe presence of former resldenLs Aqulno and 8amos and hundreds of Lhousands of cheerlng
demonsLraLors, Ceneral 8eyes declared LhaL on behalf of your Armed lorces, Lhe 130,000 sLrong members of
Lhe Armed lorces, we wlsh Lo announce LhaL we are wlLhdrawlng our supporL Lo Lhls governmenL."
[23]
A llLLle
laLer, n Chlef, ulrecLor Ceneral anfllo Lacson and Lhe ma[or servlce commanders gave a slmllar sLunnlng
announcemenL.
[24]
Some CablneL secreLarles, undersecreLarles, asslsLanL secreLarles, and bureau chlefs qulckly
reslgned from Lhelr posLs.
[23]
8allles for Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner exploded ln varlous parLs of Lhe
counLry. 1o sLem Lhe Llde of rage, peLlLloner announced he was orderlng hls lawyers Lo agree Lo Lhe openlng of
Lhe hlghly conLroverslal second envelop.
[26]
1here was no Lurnlng back Lhe Llde. 1he Llde had become a Lsunaml.
!anuary 20 Lurned Lo be Lhe day of surrender. AL 12:20 a.m., Lhe flrsL round of negoLlaLlons for Lhe peaceful
and orderly Lransfer of power sLarLed aL Malacanang's Mablnl Pall, Cfflce of Lhe LxecuLlve SecreLary. SecreLary
Ldgardo Angara, Senlor uepuLy LxecuLlve SecreLary 8amon 8agaLslng, ollLlcal Advlser AngellLo 8anayo, AssL.
SecreLary 8oylng 8emulla, and ALLy. Macel lernandez, head of Lhe presldenLlal ManagemenL SLaff, negoLlaLed for
Lhe peLlLloner. 8espondenL Arroyo was represenLed by now LxecuLlve SecreLary 8enaLo de vllla, now SecreLary
of llnance AlberLo 8omulo and now SecreLary of !usLlce Pernando erez.
[27]
CuLslde Lhe palace, Lhere was a brlef
encounLer aL Mendlola beLween pro and anLl-LsLrada proLesLers whlch resulLed ln sLone-Lhrowlng and caused
mlnor ln[urles. 1he negoLlaLlons consumed all mornlng unLll Lhe news broke ouL LhaL Chlef !usLlce uavlde would
admlnlsLer Lhe oaLh Lo respondenL Arroyo aL hlgh noon aL Lhe LuSA Shrlne.
AL abouL 12:00 noon, Chlef !usLlce uavlde admlnlsLered Lhe oaLh Lo respondenL Arroyo as resldenL of Lhe
hlllpplnes.
[28]
AL 2:30 p.m., peLlLloner and hls famlly hurrledly lefL Malacanang alace.
[29]
Pe lssued Lhe followlng
press sLaLemenL:
[30]

20 !anuary 2001
S1A1LMLn1 l8CM
8LSluLn1 !CSLP L!L8Cl1C LS18AuA
AL Lwelve o'clock noon Loday, vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo Look her oaLh as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc
of Lhe hlllpplnes. Whlle along wlLh many oLher legal mlnds of our counLry, l have sLrong and serlous doubLs
abouL Lhe legallLy and consLlLuLlonallLy of her proclamaLlon as resldenL, l do noL wlsh Lo be a facLor LhaL wlll
prevenL Lhe resLoraLlon of unlLy and order ln our clvll socleLy.
lL ls for Lhls reason LhaL l now leave Malacanang alace, Lhe seaL of Lhe presldency of Lhls counLry, for Lhe sake of
peace and ln order Lo begln Lhe heallng process of our naLlon. l leave Lhe alace of our people wlLh graLlLude for
Lhe opporLunlLles glven Lo me for servlce Lo our people. l wlll noL shlrk from any fuLure challenges LhaL may come
ahead ln Lhe same servlce of our counLry.
l call on all my supporLers and followers Lo [oln me ln Lhe promoLlon of a consLrucLlve naLlonal splrlL of
reconclllaLlon and solldarlLy.
May Lhe AlmlghLy bless our counLry and beloved people.
MA8uPA?!
(Sgd.) !CSLP L!L8Cl1C LS18AuA"
lL also appears LhaL on Lhe same day, !anuary 20, 2001, he slgned Lhe followlng leLLer:
[31]

Slr:
8y vlrLue of Lhe provlslons of SecLlon 11, ArLlcle vll of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, l am hereby LransmlLLlng Lhls declaraLlon
LhaL l am unable Lo exerclse Lhe powers and duLles of my offlce. 8y operaLlon of law and Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, Lhe
vlce-resldenL shall be Lhe AcLlng resldenL.
(Sgd.) !CSLP L!L8Cl1C LS18AuA"
A copy of Lhe leLLer was senL Lo former Speaker luenLebella aL 8:30 a.m., on !anuary 20.
[32]
AnoLher copy was
LransmlLLed Lo SenaLe resldenL lmenLel on Lhe same day alLhough lL was recelved only aL 9:00 p.m.
[33]

Cn !anuary 22, Lhe Monday afLer Laklng her oaLh, respondenL Arroyo lmmedlaLely dlscharged Lhe powers
and duLles of Lhe resldency. Cn Lhe same day, Lhls CourL lssued Lhe followlng 8esoluLlon ln AdmlnlsLraLlve
MaLLer no. 01-1-03-SC, Lo wlL:
A.M. no. 01-1-03-SC - ln re: 8equesL of vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo Lo 1ake her CaLh of Cfflce as
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes before Lhe Chlef !usLlce - AcLlng on Lhe urgenL requesL of vlce-
resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo Lo be sworn ln as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes, addressed Lo
Lhe Chlef !usLlce and conflrmed by a leLLer Lo Lhe CourL, daLed !anuary 20, 2001, whlch requesL was LreaLed as an
admlnlsLraLlve maLLer, Lhe courL 8esolved unanlmously Lo conflrm Lhe auLhorlLy glven by Lhe Lwelve (12)
members of Lhe CourL Lhen presenL Lo Lhe Chlef !usLlce on !anuary 20, 2001 Lo admlnlsLer Lhe oaLh of offlce Lo
vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo as resldenL of Lhe hlllpplnes, aL noon of !anuary 20, 2001.
1hls resoluLlon ls wlLhouL pre[udlce Lo Lhe dlsposlLlon of any [usLlclable case LhaL maybe flled by a proper parLy."
8espondenL Arroyo appolnLed members of her CablneL as well as ambassadors and speclal
envoys.
[34]
8ecognlLlon of respondenL Arroyo's governmenL by forelgn governmenLs swlfLly followed. Cn !anuary
23, ln a recepLlon or vlo J boooeot aL Malacanang, led by Lhe uean of Lhe ulplomaLlc Corps, apal nunclo
AnLonlo lranco, more Lhan a hundred forelgn dlplomaLs recognlzed Lhe governmenL of respondenL Arroyo.
[33]
uS
resldenL Ceorge W. 8ush gave Lhe respondenL a Lelephone call from Lhe WhlLe Pouse conveylng uS recognlLlon
of her governmenL.
[36]

Cn !anuary 24, 8epresenLaLlve lellclano 8elmonLe was elecLed new Speaker of Lhe Pouse of
8epresenLaLlves.
[37]
1he Pouse Lhen passed 8esoluLlon no. 173 expresslng Lhe full supporL of Lhe Pouse of
8epresenLaLlves Lo Lhe admlnlsLraLlon of Per Lxcellency Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo, resldenL of Lhe
hlllpplnes."
[38]
lL also approved 8esoluLlon no. 176 expresslng Lhe supporL of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves Lo
Lhe assumpLlon lnLo offlce by vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe
hlllpplnes, exLendlng lLs congraLulaLlons and expresslng lLs supporL for her admlnlsLraLlon as a parLner ln Lhe
aLLalnmenL of Lhe naLlon's goals under Lhe ConsLlLuLlon."
[39]

Cn !anuary 26, Lhe respondenL slgned lnLo law Lhe Solld WasLe ManagemenL AcL.
[40]
A few days laLer, she
also slgned lnLo law Lhe ollLlcal AdverLlslng 8an and lalr LlecLlon racLlces AcL.
[41]

Cn lebruary 6, respondenL Arroyo nomlnaLed SenaLor 1eoflsLo Culngona, !r., as her vlce resldenL.
[42]
Lhe
nexL day, lebruary 7, Lhe SenaLe adopLed 8esoluLlon no. 82 conflrmlng Lhe nomlnaLlon of SenaLor Culngona,
!r.
[43]
SenaLors Mlrlam uefensor-SanLlago, !uan once Lnrlle, and !ohn Csmena voLed yes" wlLh reservaLlons,
clLlng as reason Lherefore Lhe pendlng challenge on Lhe leglLlmacy of respondenL Arroyo's presldency before Lhe
Supreme CourL. SenaLors 1eresa Aqulno-CreLa and 8oberL 8arbers were absenL.
[44]
1he Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves
also approved SenaLor Culngona's nomlnaLlon ln 8esoluLlon no. 178.
[43]
SenaLor Culngona Look hls oaLh as vlce
resldenL Lwo (2) days laLer.
[46]

Cn lebruary 7, Lhe SenaLe passed 8esoluLlon no. 83 declarlng LhaL Lhe lmpeachmenL courL ls fooctos
offlclo and has been LermlnaLed.
[47]
SenaLor Mlrlam uefensor-SanLlago sLaLed for Lhe record" LhaL she voLed
agalnsL Lhe closure of Lhe lmpeachmenL courL on Lhe grounds LhaL Lhe SenaLe had falled Lo declde on Lhe
lmpeachmenL case and LhaL Lhe resoluLlon lefL open Lhe quesLlon of wheLher LsLrada was sLlll quallfled Lo run for
anoLher elecLlve posL.
[48]

Meanwhlle, ln a survey conducLed by ulse Asla, resldenL Arroyo's publlc accepLance raLlng [acked up from
16 on !anuary 20, 2001 Lo 38 on !anuary 26, 2001.
[49]
ln anoLher survey conducLed by Lhe A8S-C8n/SWS from
lebruary 2-7, 2001, resulLs showed LhaL 61 of Lhe llllplnos naLlonwlde accepLed resldenL Arroyo as
replacemenL of peLlLloner LsLrada. 1he survey also revealed LhaL resldenL Arroyo ls accepLed by 60 ln MeLro
Manlla, by also 60 ln Lhe balance of Luzon, by 71 ln Lhe vlsayas, and 33 ln Mlndanao. Per LrusL raLlng
lncreased Lo 32. Per presldency ls accepLed by ma[orlLles ln all soclal classes:
38 ln Lhe A8C or mlddle-Lo-upper classes, 64 ln Lhe u or mass, and 34 among Lhe L's or very poor
class.
[30]

AfLer hls fall from Lhe pedesLal of power, Lhe peLlLloner's legal problems appeared ln clusLers. Several cases
prevlously flled agalnsL hlm ln Lhe Cfflce of Lhe Cmbudsman were seL ln moLlon. 1hese are: (1) CM8 Case no. 0-
00-1629, flled by 8amon A. Conzales on CcLober 23, 2000 for brlbery and grafL and corrupLlon, (2) CM8 Case no.
0-00-1734 flled by Lhe volunLeers AgalnsL Crlme and CorrupLlon on november 17, 2000 for plunder, forfelLure,
grafL and corrupLlon, brlbery, per[ury, serlous mlsconducL, vlolaLlon of Lhe Code of ConducL for governmenL
Lmployees, eLc, (3) CM8 Case no. 0-00-1733 flled by Lhe CrafL lree hlllpplnes loundaLlon, lnc. on november 24,
2000 for plunder, forfelLure, grafL and corrupLlon, brlbery, per[ury, serlous mlsconducL, (4) CM8 Case no. 0-00-
1736 flled by 8omeo Capulong, eL al., on november 28, 2000 for malversaLlon of publlc funds, lllegal use of publlc
funds and properLy, plunder, eLc., (3) CM8 Case no. 0-00-1737 flled by Leonard de vera, eL al., on november 28,
2000 for brlbery, plunder, lndlrecL brlbery, vlolaLlon of u 1602, u 1829, u 46, and 8A 7080, and (6) CM8 Case
no. 0-00-1738 flled by LrnesLo 8. lranclsco, !r. on uecember 4, 2000 for plunder, grafL and corrupLlon.
A speclal panel of lnvesLlgaLors was forLhwlLh creaLed by Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman Lo lnvesLlgaLe Lhe
charges agalnsL Lhe peLlLloner. lL ls chalred by Cverall uepuLy Cmbudsman MargarlLo . Cervaslo wlLh Lhe
followlng as members, vlz: ulrecLor Andrew AmuyuLan, rosecuLor elayo AposLol, ALLy. !ose de !esus and ALLy.
Lmmanuel Laureso. Cn !anuary 22, Lhe panel lssued an Crder dlrecLlng Lhe peLlLloner Lo flle hls counLer-affldavlL
and Lhe affldavlLs of hls wlLnesses as well as oLher supporLlng documenLs ln answer Lo Lhe aforemenLloned
complalnLs agalnsL hlm.
1hus, Lhe sLage for Lhe cases aL bar was seL. Cn lebruary 3, peLlLloner flled wlLh Lhls CourL C8 no. 146710-
13, a peLlLlon for prohlblLlon wlLh a prayer for a wrlL of prellmlnary ln[uncLlon. lL soughL Lo en[oln Lhe respondenL
Cmbudsman from conducLlng any furLher proceedlngs ln Case nos. CM8 0-00-1629, 1734, 1733, 1736, 1737 and
1738 or ln any oLher crlmlnal complalnL LhaL may be flled ln hls offlce, unLll afLer Lhe Lerm of peLlLloner as
resldenL ls over and only lf legally warranLed." 1hru anoLher counsel, peLlLloner, on lebruary 6, flled C8 no.
146738 for Cuo WarranLo. Pe prayed for [udgmenL conflrmlng peLlLloner Lo be Lhe lawful and lncumbenL
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes Lemporarlly unable Lo dlscharge Lhe duLles of hls offlce, and declarlng
respondenL Lo have Laken her oaLh as and Lo be holdlng Lhe Cfflce of Lhe resldenL, only ln an acLlng capaclLy
pursuanL Lo Lhe provlslons of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon." AcLlng on C8 nos. 146710-13, Lhe CourL, on Lhe same day,
lebruary 6, requlred Lhe respondenLs Lo commenL Lhereon wlLhln a non-exLendlble perlod explrlng on 12
lebruary 2001." Cn lebruary 13, Lhe CourL ordered Lhe consolldaLlon of C8 nos. 146710-13 and C8 no. 146738
and Lhe flllng of Lhe respondenLs' commenLs on or before 8:00 a.m. of lebruary 13."
Cn lebruary 13, Lhe consolldaLed cases were orally argued ln a four-hour hearlng. 8efore Lhe hearlng, Chlef
!usLlce uavlde, !r.,
[31]
and AssoclaLe !usLlce ArLemlo anganlban
[32]
recused Lhemselves on moLlon of peLlLloner's
counsel, former SenaLor 8ene A. Sagulsag. 1hey debunked Lhe charge of counsel Sagulsag LhaL Lhey have
compromlsed Lhemselves by lndlcaLlng LhaL Lhey have Lhrown Lhelr welghL on one slde" buL noneLheless
lnhlblLed Lhemselves. 1hereafLer, Lhe parLles were glven Lhe shorL perlod of flve (3) days Lo flle Lhelr memoranda
and Lwo (2) days Lo submlL Lhelr slmulLaneous replles.
ln a resoluLlon daLed lebruary 20, acLlng on Lhe urgenL moLlon for coples of resoluLlon and press sLaLemenL
for Cag Crder" on respondenL Cmbudsman flled by counsel for peLlLloner ln C.8. no. 146738, Lhe CourL
resolved:
(1) Lo lnform Lhe parLles LhaL Lhe CourL dld noL lssue a resoluLlon on !anuary 20, 2001 declarlng Lhe offlce of Lhe
resldenL vacanL and LhaL nelLher dld Lhe Chlef !usLlce lssue a press sLaLemenL [usLlfylng Lhe alleged resoluLlon,
(2) Lo order Lhe parLles and especlally Lhelr counsel who are offlcers of Lhe CourL under paln of belng clLed for
conLempL Lo refraln from maklng any commenL or dlscusslng ln publlc Lhe merlLs of Lhe cases aL bar whlle Lhey
are sLlll pendlng declslon by Lhe CourL, and
(3) Lo lssue a 30-day sLaLus quo order effecLlve lmmedlaLely en[olnlng Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman from
resolvlng or decldlng Lhe crlmlnal cases pendlng lnvesLlgaLlon ln hls offlce agalnsL peLlLloner !oseph L. LsLrada and
sub[ecL of Lhe cases aL bar, lL appearlng from news reporLs LhaL Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman may lmmedlaLely
resolve Lhe cases agalnsL peLlLloner !oseph L. LsLrada seven (7) days afLer Lhe hearlng held on lebruary 13, 2001,
whlch acLlon wlll make Lhe cases aL bar mooL and academlc."
[33]

1he parLles flled Lhelr replles on lebruary 24. Cn Lhls daLe, Lhe cases aL bar were deemed submlLLed for
declslon.
1he bedrock lssues for resoluLlon of Lhls CourL are:
I
WheLher Lhe peLlLlons presenL a [usLlclable conLroversy.
II
Assumlng LhaL Lhe peLlLlons presenL a [usLlclable conLroversy, wheLher peLlLloner LsLrada ls a resldenL on leave
whlle respondenL Arroyo ls an AcLlng resldenL.
III
WheLher convlcLlon ln Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlngs ls a condlLlon precedenL for Lhe crlmlnal prosecuLlon of
peLlLloner LsLrada. ln Lhe negaLlve and on Lhe assumpLlon LhaL peLlLloner ls sLlll resldenL, wheLher he ls lmmune
from crlmlnal prosecuLlon.
IV
WheLher Lhe prosecuLlon of peLlLloner LsLrada should be en[olned on Lhe ground of pre[udlclal publlclLy.
We shall dlscuss Lhe lssues lo setlotlm.
I
Whether or not the cases at bar |nvo|ve a po||t|ca| quest|on

rlvaLe respondenLs
[34]
ralse Lhe Lhreshold lssue LhaL Lhe cases aL bar pose a pollLlcal quesLlon, and hence,
are beyond Lhe [urlsdlcLlon of Lhls CourL Lo declde. 1hey conLend LhaL shorn of lLs embrolderles, Lhe cases aL bar
assall Lhe leglLlmacy of Lhe Arroyo admlnlsLraLlon." 1hey sLress LhaL respondenL Arroyo ascended Lhe presldency
Lhrough people power, LhaL she has already Laken her oaLh as Lhe 14
Lh
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc, LhaL she has
exerclsed Lhe powers of Lhe presldency and LhaL she has been recognlzed by forelgn governmenLs. 1hey submlL
LhaL Lhese reallLles on ground consLlLuLe Lhe pollLlcal LhlckeL whlch Lhe CourL cannoL enLer.
We re[ecL prlvaLe respondenLs' submlsslon. 1o be sure, courLs here and abroad, have Lrled Lo llfL Lhe shroud
on pollLlcal quesLlon buL lLs exacL laLlLude sLlll spllLs Lhe besL of legal mlnds. ueveloped by Lhe courLs ln Lhe
20
Lh
cenLury, Lhe pollLlcal quesLlon docLrlne whlch resLs on Lhe prlnclple of separaLlon of powers and on
prudenLlal conslderaLlons, conLlnue Lo be reflned ln Lhe mllls consLlLuLlonal law.
[33]
ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes, Lhe mosL
auLhorlLaLlve guldellnes Lo deLermlne wheLher a quesLlon ls pollLlcal were spelled ouL by Mr. !usLlce 8rennan ln
Lhe 1962 case of 8aker v. Carr,
[36]
vlz:
x x x romlnenL on Lhe surface on any case held Lo lnvolve a pollLlcal quesLlon ls found a LexLually demonsLrable
consLlLuLlonal commlLmenL of Lhe lssue Lo a coordlnaLe pollLlcal deparLmenL or a lack of [udlclally dlscoverable
and manageable sLandards for resolvlng lL, or Lhe lmposslblllLy of decldlng wlLhouL an lnlLlal pollcy deLermlnaLlon
of a klnd clearly for non[udlclal dlscreLlons, or Lhe lmposslblllLy of a courL's underLaklng lndependenL resoluLlon
wlLhouL expresslng lack of Lhe respecL due coordlnaLe branches of governmenL, or an unusual need for
unquesLlonlng adherence Lo a pollLlcal declslon already made, or Lhe poLenLlallLy of embarrassmenL from
mulLlfarlous pronouncemenLs by varlous deparLmenLs on quesLlon. unless one of Lhese formulaLlons ls
lnexLrlcable from Lhe case aL bar, Lhere should be no dlsmlssal for non [usLlclablllLy on Lhe ground of a pollLlcal
quesLlon's presence. 1he docLrlne of whlch we LreaL ls one of 'pollLlcal quesLlons', noL of 'pollLlcal cases'."
ln Lhe hlllpplne seLLlng, Lhls CourL has been conLlnuously confronLed wlLh cases calllng for a flrmer
dellneaLlon of Lhe lnner and ouLer perlmeLers of a pollLlcal quesLlon.
[37]
Cur leadlng case ls 1anada v.
Cuenco,
[38]
where Lhls CourL, Lhrough former Chlef !usLlce 8oberLo Concepclon, held LhaL pollLlcal quesLlons refer
Lo Lhose quesLlons whlch, under Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, are Lo be dec|ded by the peop|e ln Lhelr soverelgn capaclLy, or
ln regard Lo whlch fu|| d|scret|onary author|ty has been delegaLed Lo Lhe leglslaLlve or execuLlve branch of Lhe
governmenL. lL ls concerned wlLh lssues dependenL upon Lhe w|sdom, noL|ega||ty of a parLlcular measure." 1o a
greaL degree, Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon has narrowed Lhe reach of Lhe pollLlcal quesLlon docLrlne when lL expanded
Lhe power of [udlclal revlew of Lhls court noL only Lo seLLle acLual conLroversles lnvolvlng rlghLs whlch are legally
demandable and enforceable but also to determ|ne whether or not there has been a grave abuse of dlscreLlon
amounLlng Lo lack or excess of [urlsdlcLlon on Lhe parL of any branch or lnsLrumenLallLy of
governmenL.
[39]
PereLofore, Lhe [udlclary has focused on Lhe Lhou shalL noL's" of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon dlrecLed
agalnsL Lhe exerclse of lLs [urlsdlcLlon.
[60]
WlLh Lhe new provlslon, however, courLs are glven a greaLer prerogaLlve
Lo deLermlne whaL lL can do Lo prevenL grave abuse of dlscreLlon amounLlng Lo lack or excess of [urlsdlcLlon on
Lhe parL of any branch or lnsLrumenLallLy of governmenL. C|ear|y, the new prov|s|on d|d not [ust grant the Court
power of do|ng noth|ng. ln sync and symmeLry wlLh Lhls lnLenL are oLher provlslons of Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon
Lrlmmlng Lhe so called pollLlcal LhlckeL. romlnenL of Lhese provlslons ls secLlon 18 of ArLlcle vll whlch empowers
Lhls CourL ln llmpld language Lo x x x revlew, ln an approprlaLe proceedlng flled by any clLlzen, Lhe sufflclency of
Lhe facLual basls of Lhe proclamaLlon of marLlal law or Lhe suspenslon of Lhe prlvllege of Lhe wrlL (of habeas
corpus) or Lhe exLenslon Lhereof x x x."
8espondenLs rely on Lhe case of Lawyers League for a 8etter h|||pp|nes and]or C||ver A. Lozano v.
res|dent Corazon C. Aqu|no, et a|.
[61]
and relaLed cases
[62]
Lo supporL Lhelr Lhesls LhaL slnce Lhe cases aL bar
lnvolve Lhe leglLlmacy of Lhe governmenL of respondenL Arroyo, ergo, Lhey presenL a pollLlcal quesLlon. A more
cerebral readlng of Lhe clLed cases wlll show LhaL Lhey are lnappllcable. ln Lhe clLed cases, we held LhaL Lhe
governmenL of former resldenL Aqulno was Lhe resulL of a successful revoluLlon by Lhe soverelgn people, olbelt a
peaceful one. no less Lhan Lhe lreedom ConsLlLuLlon
[63]
declared LhaL Lhe Aqulno governmenL was lnsLalled
Lhrough a dlrecL exerclse of Lhe power of Lhe llllplno people |n def|ance of the prov|s|ons of the 1973
Const|tut|on, as amended." lL ls famlllar learnlng LhaL Lhe leglLlmacy of a governmenL slred by a successful
revoluLlon by people power ls beyond [udlclal scruLlny for LhaL governmenL auLomaLlcally orblLs ouL of Lhe
consLlLuLlonal loop. ln checkered conLrasL, the government of respondent Arroyo |s not revo|ut|onary |n
character. 1he oaLh LhaL she Look aL Lhe LuSA Shrlne ls Lhe oaLh under Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon.
[64]
In her oath, she
categor|ca||y swore to preserve and defend the 1987 Const|tut|on. lndeed, she has sLressed LhaL she ls
dlscharglng Lhe powers of Lhe presldency under Lhe auLhorlLy of Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon.
ln flne, Lhe |ega| d|st|nct|on beLween LuSA eople ower l and LuSA eople ower ll ls clear. LDSA
I lnvolves Lhe exerclse of Lhe peop|e power of revo|ut|on whlch overthrew the who|e government. LDSA II ls an
exerclse of peop|e power of freedom of speech and freedom of assemb|y to pet|t|on the government for
redress of gr|evances whlch on|y affected the off|ce of the res|dent. LDSA I |s extra const|tut|ona| and Lhe
leglLlmacy of Lhe new governmenL LhaL resulLed from lL cannoL be Lhe sub[ecL of [udlclal revlew, buL LDSA II |s
|ntra const|tut|ona| and Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe slLLlng resldenL LhaL lL caused and Lhe successlon of Lhe vlce
resldenL as resldenL are sub[ecL Lo [udlclal revlew. LDSA I presented po||t|ca| quest|on, LDSA II |nvo|ves |ega|
quest|ons. A brlef dlscourse on freedom of speech and of Lhe freedom of assembly Lo peLlLlon Lhe governmenL
for redress of grlevance whlch are Lhe cutt|ng edge of LDSA eop|e ower II ls noL lnapproprlaLe.
lreedom of speech and Lhe rlghL of assembly are Lreasured by llllplnos. uenlal of Lhese rlghLs was one of
Lhe reasons of our 1898 revoluLlon agalnsL Spaln. Cur naLlonal hero, !ose . 8lzal, ralsed Lhe clarlon call for Lhe
recognlLlon of freedom of Lhe press of Lhe llllplnos and lncluded lL as among Lhe reforms sloe polbos
ooo."
[63]
1he Ma|o|os Const|tut|on, whlch ls Lhe work of Lhe revoluLlonary Congress ln 1898, provlded ln lLs 8lll of
8lghLs LhaL llllplnos shall noL be deprlved (1) of Lhe rlghL Lo freely express hls ldeas or oplnlons, orally or ln
wrlLlng, Lhrough Lhe use of Lhe press or oLher slmllar means, (2) of Lhe rlghL of assoclaLlon for purposes of human
llfe and whlch are noL conLrary Lo publlc means, and (3) of Lhe rlghL Lo send peLlLlons Lo Lhe auLhorlLles,
lndlvldually or collecLlvely." 1hese fundamenta| r|ghts were preserved when the Un|ted States acqu|red
[ur|sd|ct|on over the h|||pp|nes. ln Lhe lnsLrucLlon Lo Lhe Second hlllpplne Commlsslon of Aprll 7, 1900 lssued
by resldenL Mcklnley, lL ls speclflcally provlded LhaL no law shall be passed abrldglng Lhe freedom of speech or
of Lhe press or of Lhe rlghLs of Lhe people Lo peaceably assemble and peLlLlon Lhe CovernmenL for redress of
grlevances." 1he guaranLy was carrled over ln Lhe hlllpplne 8lll, Lhe AcL of Congress of !uly 1, 1902 and Lhe !ones
Law, Lhe AcL of Congress of AugusL 29, 1966.
[66]

1hence on, Lhe guaranLy was seL ln sLone ln our 193S Const|tut|on,
[67]
and the 1973
[68]
Const|tut|on. 1hese
rlghLs are now safely ensconced ln secLlon 4, ArLlcle lll of Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon, vlz.
Sec. 4. no law shall be passed abrldglng Lhe freedom of speech, of expresslon, or of Lhe press, or Lhe rlghL of Lhe
people peaceably Lo assemble and peLlLlon Lhe governmenL for redress of grlevances."
1he lndlspensablllLy of Lhe people's freedom of speech and of assembly Lo democracy ls now self-
evldenL. 1he reasons are well puL by Lmerson: flrsL, freedom of expresslon ls essenLlal as a means of assurlng
lndlvldual fulflllmenL, second, lL ls an essenLlal process for advanclng knowledge and dlscoverlng LruLh, Lhlrd, lL ls
essenLlal Lo provlde for parLlclpaLlon ln declslon-maklng by all members of socleLy, and fourLh, lL ls a meLhod of
achlevlng a more adapLable and hence, a more sLable communlLy of malnLalnlng Lhe precarlous balance beLween
healLhy cleavage and necessary consensus."
[69]
In th|s sense, freedom of speech and of assemb|y prov|des a
framework |n wh|ch the "conf||ct necessary to the progress of a soc|ety can take p|ace w|thout destroy|ng the
soc|ety."
[70]
ln nague v. Comm|ttee for Industr|a| Crgan|zat|on,
[71]
Lhls funcLlon of free speech and assembly was
echoed ln Lhe omlcos cotloe brlef flled by Lhe 8lll of 8lghLs CommlLLee of Lhe Amerlcan 8ar AssoclaLlon whlch
emphaslzed LhaL Lhe basls of Lhe rlghL of assembly ls Lhe subsLlLuLlon of Lhe expresslon of oplnlon and bellef
by ta|k rather than force, and Lhls means ta|k for a|| and by a||."
[72]
ln Lhe relaLlvely recent case of
Subayco -" Sand|ganbayan,
[73]
Lhls CourL slmllarly sLressed LhaL "... lL should be clear even Lo Lhose wlLh
lnLellecLual deflclLs LhaL when Lhe soverelgn people assemble Lo peLlLlon for redress of grlevances, all should
llsLen. Ior |n a democracy, |t |s the peop|e who count, those who are deaf to the|r gr|evances are c|phers."
needless Lo sLaLe, Lhe cases aL bar pose legal and noL pollLlcal quesLlons. 1he prlnclpal lssues for resoluLlon
requlre Lhe proper lnLerpreLaLlon of cerLaln provlslons ln Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon, noLably secLlon 1 of ArLlcle
ll,
[74]
and secLlon 8
[73]
of ArLlcle vll, and Lhe allocaLlon of governmenLal powers under secLlon 11
[76]
of ArLlcle
vll. 1he lssues llkewlse call for a rullng on Lhe scope of presldenLlal lmmunlLy from sulL. 1hey also lnvolve Lhe
correcL callbraLlon of Lhe rlghL of peLlLloner agalnsL pre[udlclal publlclLy. As early as Lhe 1803 case of Marbury v.
Mad|son,
[77]
Lhe docLrlne has been lald down LhaL |t |s emphat|ca||y the prov|nce and duty of the [ud|c|a|
department to say what the |aw |s . . ." 1hus, respondenL's lnvocaLlon of Lhe docLrlne of pollLlcal ls buL a foray ln
Lhe dark.
II
Whether or not the pet|t|oner res|gned as res|dent

We now sllde Lo Lhe second lssue. none of Lhe parLles consldered Lhls lssue as poslng a pollLlcal
quesLlon. lndeed, lL lnvolves a legal quesLlon whose facLual lngredlenL ls deLermlnable from Lhe records of Lhe
case and by resorL Lo [udlclal noLlce. eLlLloner denles he reslgned as resldenL or LhaL he suffers from a
permanenL dlsablllLy. Pence, he submlLs LhaL Lhe offlce of Lhe resldenL was noL vacanL when respondenL Arroyo
Look her oaLh as presldenL.
1he lssue brlngs under Lhe mlcroscope of Lhe meanlng of secLlon 8, ArLlcle vll of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon whlch
provldes:
Sec. 8. ln case of deaLh, permanenL dlsablllLy, removal from offlce or reslgnaLlon of Lhe resldenL, Lhe vlce
resldenL shall become Lhe resldenL Lo serve Lhe unexplred Lerm. ln case of deaLh, permanenL dlsablllLy,
removal from offlce, or reslgnaLlon of boLh Lhe resldenL and vlce resldenL, Lhe resldenL of Lhe SenaLe or, ln
case of hls lnablllLy, Lhe Speaker of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves, shall Lhen acLs as resldenL unLll resldenL or
vlce resldenL shall have been elecLed and quallfled.
x x x."
1he lssue Lhen ls wheLher Lhe peLlLloner reslgned as resldenL or should be consldered reslgned as of
!anuary 20, 2001 when respondenL Look her oaLh as Lhe 14
Lh
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc. 8eslgnaLlon ls noL a hlgh
level legal absLracLlon. lL ls a facLual quesLlon and lLs e|ements are beyond qulbble: there must be an |ntent to
res|gn and the |ntent must be coup|ed by acts of re||nqu|shment.
[78]
1he valldlLy of a reslgnaLlon ls noL governed
by any formal requlremenL as Lo form. lL can be oral. lL can be wrlLLen. lL can be express. lL can be lmplled. As
long as Lhe reslgnaLlon ls clear, lL musL be glven legal effecL.
ln Lhe cases aL bar, Lhe facLs shows LhaL peLlLloner dld noL wrlLe any formal leLLer of reslgnaLlon before he
evacuaLed Malacanang alace ln Lhe AfLernoon of !anuary 20, 2001 afLer Lhe oaLh-Laklng of respondenL
Arroyo. ConsequenLly, wheLher or noL peLlLloner reslgned has Lo be deLermlned from hls acLs and omlsslons
before, durlng and afLer !anuary 20, 2001 or by Lhe tota||ty of pr|or, contemporaneous and poster|or facts and
c|rcumstant|a| ev|dence bear|ng a mater|a| re|evance on the |ssue.
uslng Lhls LoLallLy LesL, we ho|d that pet|t|oner res|gned as res|dent.
1o appreclaLe Lhe publlc pressure LhaL led Lo Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner, lL ls lmporLanL Lo follow Lhe
successlon of evenLs afLer Lhe expose of Covernor Slngson. 1he SenaLe 8lue 8lbbon CommlLLee lnvesLlgaLed. 1he
more deLalled revelaLlons of peLlLloner's alleged mlsgovernance ln Lhe 8lue 8lbbon lnvesLlgaLlon splked Lhe haLe
agalnsL hlm. 1he ArLlcles of lmpeachmenL flled ln Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves whlch lnlLlally was glven a near
clpher chance of succeedlng snowballed. ln express speed, lL galned Lhe slgnaLures of 113 represenLaLlves or
more Lhan 1/3 of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves. Soon, peLlLloner's powerful pollLlcal allles began deserLlng
hlm. 8espondenL Arroyo qulL as SecreLary of Soclal Welfare. SenaLe resldenL urllon and lormer Speaker vlllar
defecLed wlLh 47 represenLaLlves ln Low. 1hen, hls respecLed senlor economlc advlsers reslgned LogeLher wlLh hls
SecreLary of 1rade and lndusLry.
As Lhe pollLlcal lsolaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner worsened, Lhe people's call for hls reslgnaLlon lnLenslfled. 1he call
reached a new crescendo when Lhe eleven (11) members of Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlbunal refused Lo open Lhe
second envelope. lL senL Lhe people Lo paroxysms of ouLrage. 8efore Lhe nlghL of !anuary 16 was over, Lhe LuSA
Shrlne was swarmlng wlLh people crylng for redress of Lhelr grlevance. 1helr number grew exponenLlally. 8allles
and demonsLraLlon qulckly spread Lo Lhe counLryslde llke a brush flre.
As evenLs approached !anuary 20, we can have an auLhorlLaLlve wlndow on Lhe state of m|nd of Lhe
peLlLloner. 1he wlndow ls provlded ln Lhe llnal uays of !oseph L[erclLo LsLrada," Lhe dlary of LxecuLlve SecreLary
Angara serlallzed ln Lhe h|||pp|ne Da||y Inqu|rer.
[79]
1he Angara ulary reveals LhaL ln mornlng of !anuary 19,
peLlLloner's loyal advlsers were worrled abouL Lhe swelllng of Lhe crowd aL LuSA, hence, Lhey declded Lo craLe an
ad hoc commlLLee Lo handle lL. 1helr worry would worsen. AL 1:20 p.m., peLlLloner pulled SecreLary Angara lnLo
hls small offlce aL Lhe presldenLlal resldence and exclalmed: Ld, seryoso na lLo. kumalas na sl Angelo (8eyes)
(Ld, Lhls ls serlous. Angelo has defecLed.)"
[80]
An hour laLer or aL 2:30, p.m., Lhe peLlLloner declded Lo call for a
snap presldenLlal elecLlon and stressed he wou|d not be a cand|date. 1he proposa| for a snap e|ect|on for
pres|dent |n May where he wou|d not be a cand|date |s an |nd|c|um that pet|t|oner had |ntended to g|ve up the
pres|dency even at that t|me. AL 3:00 p.m., Ceneral 8eyes [olned Lhe sea of LuSA demonsLraLors demandlng Lhe
reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner and dramaLlcally announced Lhe Al's wlLhdrawal of supporL from Lhe peLlLloner
and Lhelr pledge of supporL Lo respondenL Arroyo. 1he selsmlc shlfL of supporL lefL peLlLloner weak as a
presldenL. Accordlng Lo SecreLary Angara, he asked SenaLor lmenLel Lo advlse peLlLloner Lo conslder Lhe opLlon
of d|gn|f|ed ex|t or res|gnat|on."
[81]
et|t|oner d|d nor d|sagree but ||stened |ntent|y.
[82]
1he sky was falllng fasL
on Lhe peLlLloner. AL 9:30 p.m., SenaLor lmenLel repeaLed Lo Lhe peLlLloner Lhe urgency of maklng a graceful and
dlgnlfled exlL. Pe gave Lhe proposal a sweeLener by saylng LhaL peLlLloner would allowed Lo go abroad wlLh
enough funds Lo supporL hlm and hls famlly.
[83]
S|gn|f|cant|y, the pet|t|oner expressed no ob[ect|on to the
suggest|on for a gracefu| and d|gn|f|ed ex|t but sa|d he wou|d never |eave the country.
[84]
AL 10:00 p.m.,
peLlLloner revealed Lo SecreLary Angara, Ld, Angle (8eyes) guaranLeed LhaL l would have flve days Lo a week ln
Lhe palace."
[83]
1h|s |s proof that pet|t|oner had reconc||ed h|mse|f to the rea||ty that he had to res|gn. n|s m|nd
was a|ready concerned w|th the f|ve-day grace per|od he cou|d stay |n the pa|ace. It was a matter of t|me.
1he pressure conLlnued plllng up. 8y 11:00 p.m., former resldenL 8amos called up SecreLary Angara and
requesLed, Ld, magLulungan Layo para magkaroon Layo ng (leL's cooperaLe Lo ensure a)peacefu| and order|y
transfer of power."
[86]
1here was no deflance Lo Lhe requesL. SecreLary Angara readlly agreed. Agaln, we noLe
LhaL aL Lhls sLage, the prob|em was a|ready about a peacefu| and order|y transfer of power. 1he res|gnat|on of
the pet|t|oner was |mp||ed.
1he f|rst negot|at|on for a peaceful and orderly Lransfer of power lmmedlaLely sLarLed aL 12:20 a.m. of
!anuary 20, LhaL faLeful SaLurday. 1he negot|at|on was ||m|ted Lo Lhree (3) polnLs: (1) Lhe LranslLlon perlod of
flve days afLer Lhe peLlLloner's reslgnaLlon, (2) Lhe guaranLee of Lhe safeLy of Lhe peLlLloner and hls famlly, and (3)
Lhe agreemenL Lo open Lhe second envelope Lo vlndlcaLe Lhe name of Lhe peLlLloner.
[87]
Aga|n, we note that the
res|gnat|on of pet|t|oner was not a d|sputed po|nt. 1he pet|t|oner cannot fe|gn |gnorance of th|s
fact. Accordlng Lo SecreLary Angara, aL 2:30 a.m., he brlefed Lhe peLlLloner on Lhe Lhree polnLs and Lhe followlng
enLry ln Lhe Angara D|ary shows the react|on of the pet|t|oner, vlz:
x x x
l explaln whaL happened durlng Lhe flrsL round of negoLlaLlons. 1he res|dent lmmedlaLely sLresses LhaL he [ust
wants Lhe flve-day perlod promlsed by 8eyes, as well as Lo open Lhe second envelope Lo clear hls name.
If the enve|ope |s opened, on Monday, he says, he w||| |eave by Monday.
1he resldenL says. "agod na pagod na ako. Ayoko na masyado nang masak|t. agod na ako sa red tape,
bureaucracy, |ntr|ga. (I am very t|red. I don't want any more of th|s - |t's too pa|nfu|. I'm t|red of the red tape,
the bureaucracy, the |ntr|gue.)
I [ust want to c|ear my name, then I w||| go."
[88]

Aga|n, th|s |s h|gh grade ev|dence that the pet|t|oner has res|gned. 1he lnLenL Lo reslgn ls clear when he sald x x
x Ayoko na masyado nang masaklL." Ayoko na" are words of res|gnat|on.
1he second round of negot|at|on resumed aL 7:30 a.m. Accordlng Lo Lhe Angara ulary, Lhe followlng
happened:
CpposlLlon's deal
7:30 a.m. - 8ene arrlves wlLh 8erL 8omulo and (Ms. Macapagal's spokesperson) 8ene Corona. lor Lhls round, l
am accompanled by uondon 8agaLslng and Macel.
8ene pulls ouL a documenL LlLled negoLlaLlng olnLs." lL reads:
'1. 1he resldenL shall slgn a reslgnaLlon documenL wlLhln Lhe day, 20 !anuary 2001, LhaL wlll be effecLlve on
Wednesday, 24 !anuary 2001, on whlch day Lhe vlce resldenL wlll assume Lhe resldency of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe
hlllpplnes.
2. 8eglnnlng Loday, 20 !anuary 2001, Lhe LranslLlon process for Lhe assumpLlon of Lhe new admlnlsLraLlon shall
commence, and persons deslgnaLed by Lhe vlce presldenL Lo varlous poslLlons and offlces of Lhe governmenL shall
sLarL Lhelr orlenLaLlon acLlvlLles ln coordlnaLlon wlLh Lhe lncumbenL offlclals concerned.
3. 1he Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes and Lhe hlllpplne naLlonal ollce shall funcLlon under Lhe vlce resldenL
as naLlonal mlllLary and pollce effecLlve lmmedlaLely.
4. 1he Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes, Lhrough lLs Chlef of SLaff, shall guaranLee Lhe securlLy of Lhe presldenL
and hls famlly as approved by Lhe naLlonal mlllLary and pollce auLhorlLy (vlce resldenL).
3. lL ls Lo be noLed LhaL Lhe SenaLe wlll open Lhe second envelope ln connecLlon wlLh Lhe alleged savlngs accounL
of Lhe resldenL ln Lhe LqulLable Cl 8ank ln accordance wlLh Lhe rules of Lhe SenaLe, pursuanL Lo Lhe requesL Lo
Lhe SenaLe resldenL.'
Cur deal
We brlng ouL, Loo, our dlscusslon drafL whlch reads:
1he underslgned parLles, for and ln behalf of Lhelr respecLlve prlnclpals, agree and underLake as follows:
'1. A LranslLlon wlll occur and Lake place on Wednesday, 24 !anuary 2001, aL whlch Llme resldenL !oseph L[erclLo
LsLrada wlll Lurn over Lhe presldency Lo vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo.
2. ln reLurn, resldenL LsLrada and hls famllles are guaranLeed securlLy and safeLy of Lhelr person and properLy
LhroughouL Lhelr naLural llfeLlmes. Llkewlse, resldenL LsLrada and hls famllles are guaranLeed freedom from
persecuLlon or reLallaLlon from governmenL and Lhe prlvaLe secLor LhroughouL Lhelr naLural llfeLlmes.
1hls commlLmenL shall be guaranLeed by Lhe Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes ('Al') Lhrough Lhe Chlef of SLaff, as
approved by Lhe naLlonal mlllLary and pollce auLhorlLles - vlce resldenL (Macapagal).
3. 8oLh parLles shall endeavor Lo ensure LhaL Lhe SenaLe slLlng as an lmpeachmenL courL wlll auLhorlze Lhe
openlng of Lhe second envelope ln Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlal as proof LhaL Lhe sub[ecL savlngs accounL does noL
belong Lo resldenL LsLrada.
4. uurlng Lhe flve-day LranslLlon perlod beLween 20 !anuary 2001 and 24 !anuary 2001 (Lhe 1ranslLlon erlod"),
Lhe lncomlng CablneL members shall recelve an approprlaLe brleflng from Lhe ouLgolng CablneL offlclals as parL of
Lhe orlenLaLlon program.
uurlng Lhe 1ranslLlon erlod, Lhe Al and Lhe hlllpplne naLlonal ollce ('n') shall funcLlon under vlce
resldenL (Macapagal) as naLlonal mlllLary and pollce auLhorlLles.
8oLh parLles hereLo agree LhaL Lhe Al chlef of sLaff and n dlrecLor general shall obLaln all Lhe necessary
slgnaLures as afflxed Lo Lhls agreemenL and lnsure falLhful lmplemenLaLlon and observance Lhereof.
vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo shall lssue a publlc sLaLemenL ln Lhe form and Lenor provlded for ln
'Annex A' hereLofore aLLached Lo Lhls agreemenL.'"
[89]

1he second round of negot|at|on cements the read|ng that the pet|t|oner has res|gned. It w||| be noted
that dur|ng th|s second round of negot|at|on, the res|gnat|on of the pet|t|oner was aga|n treated as a g|ven
fact. 1he on|y unsett|ed po|nts at that t|me were the measures to be undertaken by the part|es dur|ng and
after the trans|t|on per|od.
Accordlng Lo SecreLary Angara, Lhe draft agreement whlch was premlsed on Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe
peLlLloner was furLher ref|ned. It was then s|gned by the|r s|de and he was ready Lo fax lL Lo Ceneral 8eyes and
SenaLor lmenLel Lo awalL Lhe slgnaLure of Lhe unlLed CpposlLlon. nowever, the s|gn|ng by the party of the
respondent Arroyo was aborted by her oath-tak|ng. 1he Angara ulary narraLes Lhe faLeful evenLs, vlz:
[90]

x x x
11:00 a.m. - 8eLween Ceneral 8eyes and myself, Lhere ls a flrm agreemenL on Lhe flve polnLs Lo effecL a
peaceful LranslLlon. l can hear Lhe general clearlng all Lhese polnLs wlLh a group he ls wlLh. l hear volces ln
Lhe background.
AgreemenL
1he agreemenL sLarLs: 1. 1he resldenL shall reslgn Loday, 20 !anuary 2001, whlch reslgnaLlon shall be effecLlve
on 24 !anuary 2001, on whlch day Lhe vlce resldenL wlll assume Lhe presldency of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe
hlllpplnes.
x x x
1he resL of Lhe agreemenL follows:
2. 1he LranslLlon process for Lhe assumpLlon of Lhe new admlnlsLraLlon shall commence on 20 !anuary 2001,
whereln persons deslgnaLed by Lhe vlce resldenL Lo varlous governmenL poslLlons shall sLarL orlenLaLlon
acLlvlLles wlLh lncumbenL offlclals.
3. 1he Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes Lhrough lLs Chlef of SLaff, shall guaranLee Lhe safeLy and securlLy of Lhe
resldenL and hls famllles LhroughouL Lhelr naLural llfeLlmes as approved by Lhe naLlonal mlllLary and pollce
auLhorlLy - vlce resldenL.
4. 1he Al and Lhe hlllpplne naLlonal ollce ('n') shall funcLlon under Lhe vlce resldenL as naLlonal mlllLary
and pollce auLhorlLles.
3. 8oLh parLles requesL Lhe lmpeachmenL courL Lo open Lhe second envelope ln Lhe lmpeachmenL Lrlal, Lhe
conLenLs of whlch shall be offered as proof LhaL Lhe sub[ecL savlngs accounL does noL belong Lo Lhe resldenL.
1he vlce resldenL shall lssue a publlc sLaLemenL ln Lhe form and Lenor provlded for ln Annex '8' hereLofore
aLLached Lo Lhls agreemenL.
x x x
11:20 a.m. - l am all seL Lo fax Ceneral 8eyes and nene lmenLel our agreemenL, slgned by our slde and awalLlng
Lhe slgnaLure of Lhe unlLed CpposlLlon.
And Lhen lL happens. Ceneral 8eyes calls me Lo say LhaL Lhe Supreme CourL has declded LhaL Clorla Macapagal-
Arroyo ls resldenL and wlll be sworn ln aL 12 noon.
8oklt bloJl oomoo koyo ookoblotoy? loooo oo ooq oqteemeot (wby coolJot yoo wolt? wbot oboot tbe
oqteemeot)? l asked.
8eyes answered: 'wolo oo, slr (lL's over, slr).'
l asked hlm: 'ul yooq LranslLlon perlod, mooL and academlc na?'
And Ceneral 8eyes answer: 'Oo oqo, l-deleLe oo ootlo, slr (?es, we're deleLlng LhaL parL).'
ConLrary Lo subsequenL reporLs, l do noL reacL and say LhaL Lhere was a double cross.
8uL l lmmedlaLely lnsLrucL Macel Lo de|ete the f|rst prov|s|on on res|gnat|on s|nce th|s matter |s a|ready moot
and academ|c. WlLhln momenLs, Macel erases Lhe flrsL provlslon and faxes Lhe documenLs, whlch have been
slgned by myself, uondon and Macel Lo nene lmenLel and Ceneral 8eyes.
l dlrecL uemaree 8avel Lo rush Lhe orlglnal documenL Lo Ceneral 8eyes for Lhe slgnaLures of Lhe oLher slde, as |t |s
|mportant that the prov|s|on on secur|ty, at |east, shou|d be respected.
l Lhen advlse Lhe resldenL LhaL Lhe Supreme CourL has ruled LhaL Chlef !usLlce uavlde wlll admlnlsLer Lhe oaLh Lo
Clorla aL 12 noon.
1he presldenL ls Loo sLunned for words.
llnal meal
12 noon - Clorla Lakes her oaLh as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes.
12:20 p.m. - 1he SC dlsLrlbuLes flrearms Lo some people lnslde Lhe compound.
1he resldenL ls havlng hls flnal meal aL Lhe resldenLlal 8esldence wlLh Lhe few frlends and CablneL members
who have gaLhered.
8y Lhls Llme, demonsLraLors have already broken down Lhe flrsL llne of defense aL Mendlola. Cnly Lhe SC ls
Lhere Lo proLecL Lhe alace, slnce Lhe pollce and mlllLary have already wlLhdrawn Lhelr supporL for Lhe resldenL.
1 p.m. - 1he resldenL's personal sLaff ls rushlng Lo pack as many of Lhe LsLrada famlly's personal possesslons as
Lhey can.
uurlng lunch, 8onle uno menLlons LhaL Lhe resldenL needs Lo release a f|na| statement before |eav|ng
Ma|acaang.
1he statement reads: 'AL Lwelve o'clock noon Loday, vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo Look her oaLh as
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes. Whlle along wlLh many oLher legal mlnds of our counLry, l have
sLrong and serlous doubLs abouL Lhe legallLy and consLlLuLlonallLy of her proclamaLlon as presldenL, l do noL wlsh
Lo be a facLor LhaL wlll prevenL Lhe resLoraLlon of unlLy and order ln our clvll socleLy.
lL ls for Lhls reason LhaL l now leave Malacanang alace, Lhe seaL of Lhe presldency of Lhls counLry, for Lhe sake of
peace and ln order Lo begln Lhe heallng process of our naLlon. l leave Lhe alace of our people wlLh graLlLude for
Lhe opporLunlLles glven Lo me for servlce Lo our people. l wlll noL shrlk from any fuLure challenges LhaL may come
ahead ln Lhe same servlce of our counLry.
l call on all my supporLers and followers Lo [oln me ln Lhe promoLlon of a consLrucLlve naLlonal splrlL of
reconclllaLlon and solldarlLy.
May Lhe AlmlghLy bless our counLry and our beloved people.
MA8uPA?!'"
lL was curLaln Llme for Lhe peLlLloner.
ln sum, we hold LhaL Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner cannoL be doubLed. lL was conflrmed by hls leavlng
Malacanang. ln Lhe press release conLalnlng hls flnal sLaLemenL, (1) he acknow|edged the oath-tak|ng of the
respondent as res|dent of Lhe 8epubllc olbelt wlLh Lhe reservaLlon abouL lLs legallLy, (2) he emphaslzed he was
leavlng Lhe alace, Lhe seaL of Lhe presldency, for Lhe sake of peace and ln order Lo begln Lhe heallng process of
our naLlon. ne d|d not say he was |eav|ng the a|ace due to any k|nd of |nab|||ty and that he was go|ng to re-
assume the pres|dency as soon as the d|sab|||ty d|sappears, (3) he expressed hls graLlLude Lo Lhe people for Lhe
opporLunlLy Lo serve Lhem. WlLhouL doubL, he was referrlng Lo Lhe past opportun|ty glven hlm Lo serve Lhe
people as resldenL, (4) he assured LhaL he wlll noL shlrk from any future cha||enge LhaL may come ahead ln Lhe
same servlce of our counLry. eLlLloner's reference ls Lo a future cha||enge after occupy|ng the off|ce of the
pres|dent whlch he has glven up, and (3) he called on hls supporLers Lo [oln hlm ln Lhe promoLlon of a
consLrucLlve naLlonal splrlL of reconclllaLlon and solldarlLy. Certa|n|y, the nat|ona| sp|r|t of reconc|||at|on and
so||dar|ty cou|d not be atta|ned |f he d|d not g|ve up the pres|dency. 1he press release was peLlLloner's
valedlcLory, hls flnal acL of farewell. n|s pres|dency |s now |n the past tense.
It |s, however, urged that the pet|t|oner d|d not res|gn but on|y took a temporary |eave of absence due to
h|s |nab|||ty to govern. ln supporL of Lhls Lhesls, Lhe leLLer daLed !anuary 20, 2001 of Lhe peLlLloner senL Lo SenaLe
resldenL lmenLel and Speaker luenLebella ls clLed. Agaln, we refer Lo Lhe sald leLLer, vlz:
Slr
8y vlrLue of Lhe provlslons of SecLlon ll, ArLlcle vll of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, l am hereby LransmlLLlng Lhls declaraLlon
LhaL l am unable Lo exerclse Lhe powers and duLles of my offlce. 8y operaLlon of law and Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, Lhe
vlce resldenL shall be Lhe AcLlng resldenL.
(Sgd.) !oseph L[erclLo LsLrada"
1o say Lhe leasL, Lhe above |etter |s wrapped |n mystery.
[91]
1he pleadlngs flled by Lhe peLlLloner ln Lhe cases
aL bar dld noL dlscuss, nay even lnLlmaLe, Lhe clrcumsLances LhaL led Lo lLs preparaLlon. nelLher dld Lhe counsel of
Lhe peLlLloner reveal Lo Lhe CourL Lhese clrcumsLances durlng Lhe oral argumenL. It str|kes the Court as strange
that the |etter, desp|te |ts |ega| va|ue, was never referred to by the pet|t|oner dur|ng the week-|ong cr|s|s. 1o
be sure, Lhere was noL Lhe sllghLesL hlnL of lLs exlsLence when he lssued hls flnal press release. lL was all Loo easy
for hlm Lo Lell Lhe llllplno people ln hls press release LhaL he was Lemporarlly unable Lo govern and LhaL he was
leavlng Lhe relns of governmenL Lo respondenL Arroyo for Lhe Llme belng. Under any c|rcumstance, however,
the myster|ous |etter cannot negate the res|gnat|on of the pet|t|oner. lf lL was prepared before Lhe press
release of Lhe peLlLloner clearly showlng hls reslgnaLlon from Lhe presldency, Lhen Lhe reslgnaLlon musL prevall as
a laLer acL. lf, however, lL was prepared after Lhe press release, sLlll, lL commands scanL legal
slgnlflcance. et|t|oner's res|gnat|on from the pres|dency cannot be the sub[ect of a chang|ng capr|ce nor of a
wh|ms|ca| w||| espec|a||y |f the res|gnat|on |s the resu|t of h|s repud|at|on by the peop|e. 1here ls anoLher
reason why Lhls CourL cannoL glve any legal slgnlflcance Lo peLlLloner's leLLer and Lhls shall be dlscussed ln lssue
number lll of Lhls ueclslon.
After pet|t|oner contended that as a matter of fact he d|d not res|gn, he a|so argues that he cou|d not
res|gn as a matter of |aw. Pe relles on secLlon 12 of 8A no. 3019, oLherwlse known as Lhe AnLl-CrafL and CorrupL
racLlces AcL, whlch allegedly prohlblLs hls reslgnaLlon, vlz.
Sec. 12. no publlc offlcer shall be allowed Lo reslgn or reLlre pendlng an lnvesLlgaLlon, crlmlnal or admlnlsLraLlve,
or pendlng a prosecuLlon agalnsL hlm, for any offense under Lhls AcL or under Lhe provlslons of Lhe 8evlsed enal
Code on brlbery."
A readlng of Lhe |eg|s|at|ve h|story of kA No. 3019 wlll hardly provlde any comforL Lo Lhe peLlLloner. 8A no.
3019 orlglnaLed from SenaLe 8lll no. 293. 1he orlglnal drafL of Lhe blll, when lL was submlLLed Lo Lhe SenaLe, dld
noL conLaln a provlslon slmllar Lo secLlon 12 of Lhe law as lL now sLands. Powever, ln hls sponsorshlp speech,
SenaLor ArLuro 1olenLlno, Lhe auLhor of Lhe blll, reserved Lo propose durlng Lhe perlod of amendmenLs Lhe
lncluslon of a provlslon Lo Lhe effecL LhaL no publlc offlclal who ls under prosecuLlon for any acL of grafL or
corrupLlon, or ls under admlnlsLraLlve lnvesLlgaLlon, shall be allowed Lo volunLarlly reslgn or reLlre."
[92]
uurlng Lhe
perlod of amendmenLs, Lhe followlng provlslon was lnserLed as secLlon 13:
Sec. 13. 1ermlnaLlon of offlce - no publlc offlclal shall be allowed Lo reslgn or reLlre pendlng an lnvesLlgaLlon,
crlmlnal or admlnlsLraLlve, or pendlng a prosecuLlon agalnsL hlm, for any offense under Lhe AcL or under Lhe
provlslons of Lhe 8evlsed enal Code on brlbery.
1he separaLlon or cessaLlon of a publlc offlclal from offlce shall noL be a bar Lo hls prosecuLlon under Lhls AcL for
an offense commlLLed durlng hls lncumbency."
[93]

1he blll was veLoed by Lhen resldenL Carlos . Carcla who quesLloned Lhe legallLy of Lhe second paragraph
of Lhe provlslon and lnslsLed LhaL Lhe resldenL's lmmunlLy should exLend even afLer hls Lenure.
SenaLe 8lll no. 371, whlch was subsLanLlally slmllar Lo SenaLe 8lll no. 293, was LhereafLer passed. SecLlon 13
above became secLlon 13 under Lhe new blll, buL Lhe dellberaLlons on Lhls parLlcular provlslon malnly focused on
Lhe lmmunlLy of Lhe resldenL whlch was one of Lhe reasons for Lhe veLo of Lhe orlglnal blll. 1here was hardly any
debaLe on Lhe prohlblLlon agalnsL Lhe reslgnaLlon or reLlremenL of a publlc offlclal wlLh pendlng crlmlnal and
admlnlsLraLlve cases agalnsL hlm. 8e that as |t may, the |ntent of the |aw ought to be obv|ous. It |s to prevent
the act of res|gnat|on or ret|rement from be|ng used by a pub||c off|c|a| as a protect|ve sh|e|d to stop the
|nvest|gat|on of a pend|ng cr|m|na| or adm|n|strat|ve case aga|nst h|m and to prevent h|s prosecut|on under the
Ant|-Graft Law or prosecut|on for br|bery under the kev|sed ena| Code. 1o be sure, no person can be
compelled Lo render servlce for LhaL would be a vlolaLlon of hls consLlLuLlonal rlghL.
[94]
A publlc offlclal has Lhe
rlghL noL Lo serve lf he really wanLs Lo reLlre or reslgn. neverLheless, lf aL Lhe Llme he reslgns or reLlres, a publlc
offlclal ls faclng admlnlsLraLlve or crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlon or prosecuLlon, such reslgnaLlon or reLlremenL wlll noL
cause Lhe dlsmlssal of Lhe crlmlnal or admlnlsLraLlve proceedlngs agalnsL hlm. Pe cannoL use hls reslgnaLlon or
reLlremenL Lo avold prosecuLlon.
1here ls anoLher reason why peLlLloner's conLenLlon should be re[ecLed. ln Lhe cases aL bar, Lhe records
show LhaL when peLlLloner reslgned on !anuary 20, 2001, Lhe cases flled agalnsL hlm before Lhe Cmbudsman
were CM8 Case nos. 0-00-1629, 0-00-1733, 0-00-1736, 0-00-1737 and 0-00-1738. Whlle Lhese cases have been
flled, Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman refralned from conducLlng Lhe prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner for
Lhe reason LhaL as Lhe slLLlng resldenL Lhen, peLlLloner was lmmune from sulL. 1echnlcally, Lhe sald cases cannoL
be consldered as pendlng for Lhe Cmbudsman lacked [urlsdlcLlon Lo acL on Lhem. SecLlon 12 of 8A no. 3019
cannoL Lherefore be lnvoked by Lhe peLlLloner for lL conLemplaLes of cases whose lnvesLlgaLlon or prosecuLlon do
noL suffer from any lnsuperable legal obsLacle llke Lhe lmmunlLy from sulL of a slLLlng resldenL.
eLlLloner conLends LhaL Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlng ls an admlnlsLraLlve lnvesLlgaLlon LhaL, under secLlon
12 of 8A 3019, bars hlm from reslgnlng. We hold oLherwlse. 1he exacL naLure of an lmpeachmenL proceedlng ls
debaLable. 8uL even assumlng otqoeoJo LhaL lL ls an admlnlsLraLlve proceedlng, lL can noL be consldered pendlng
aL Lhe Llme peLlLloner reslgned because Lhe process already broke down when a ma[orlLy of Lhe senaLor-[udges
voLed agalnsL Lhe openlng of Lhe second envelope, Lhe publlc and prlvaLe prosecuLors walked ouL, Lhe publlc
prosecuLors flled Lhelr ManlfesLaLlon of WlLhdrawal of Appearance, and Lhe proceedlngs were posLponed
lndeflnlLely. 1here was, ln effecL, no lmpeachmenL case pendlng agalnsL peLlLloner when he reslgned.
III
Whether or not the pet|t|oner |s on|y temporar||y unab|e to act as res|dent.

We shall now Lackle Lhe conLenLlon of Lhe peLlLloner LhaL he ls merely Lemporarlly unable Lo perform Lhe
powers and duLles of Lhe presldency, and hence ls a resldenL on leave. As aforesLaLed, Lhe lnablllLy clalm ls
conLalned ln Lhe !anuary 20, 2001 leLLer of peLlLloner senL on Lhe same day Lo SenaLe resldenL lmenLel and
Speaker luenLebella.
eLlLloner posLulaLes LhaL respondenL Arroyo as vlce resldenL has no power Lo ad[udge Lhe lnablllLy of Lhe
peLlLloner Lo dlscharge Lhe powers and duLles of Lhe presldency. Pls slgnlflcanL submlLLal ls LhaL Congress has
Lhe ulLlmaLe auLhorlLy under Lhe ConsLlLuLlon Lo deLermlne wheLher Lhe resldenL ls lncapable of performlng hls
funcLlons ln Lhe manner provlded for ln secLlon 11 of ArLlcle vll."
[93]
1hls conLenLlon ls Lhe centerp|ece of
pet|t|oner's stance LhaL he ls a res|dent on |eave and respondenL Arroyo |s on|y an Act|ng res|dent.
An exam|nat|on of sect|on 11, Art|c|e VII |s |n order. lL provldes:
SLC. 11. Whenever Lhe resldenL LransmlL Lo Lhe resldenL of Lhe SenaLe and Lhe Speaker of Lhe Pouse of
8epresenLaLlves hls wrlLLen declaraLlon LhaL he ls unable Lo dlscharge Lhe powers and duLles of hls offlce, and
unLll he LransmlLs Lo Lhem a wrlLLen declaraLlon Lo Lhe conLrary, such powers and duLles shall be dlscharged by
Lhe vlce-resldenL as AcLlng resldenL.
Whenever a ma[orlLy of all Lhe Members of Lhe CablneL LransmlL Lo Lhe resldenL of Lhe SenaLe and Lo Lhe
Speaker of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves Lhelr wrlLLen declaraLlon LhaL Lhe resldenL ls unable Lo dlscharge Lhe
powers and duLles of hls offlce, Lhe vlce-resldenL shall lmmedlaLely assume Lhe powers and duLles of Lhe offlce
as AcLlng resldenL.
1hereafLer, when Lhe resldenL LransmlLs Lo Lhe resldenL of Lhe SenaLe and Lo Lhe Speaker of Lhe Pouse of
8epresenLaLlves hls wrlLLen declaraLlon LhaL no lnablllLy exlsLs, he shall reassume Lhe powers and duLles of hls
offlce. Meanwhlle, should a ma[orlLy of all Lhe Members of Lhe CablneL LransmlL wlLhln flve days Lo Lhe resldenL
of Lhe SenaLe and Lo Lhe Speaker of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves Lhelr wrlLLen declaraLlon LhaL Lhe resldenL ls
unable Lo dlscharge Lhe powers and duLles of hls offlce, Lhe Congress shall declde Lhe lssue. lor LhaL purpose, Lhe
Congress shall convene, lf lL ls noL ln sesslon, wlLhln forLy-elghL hours, ln accordance wlLh lLs rules and wlLhouL
need of call.
lf Lhe Congress, wlLhln Len days afLer recelpL of Lhe lasL wrlLLen declaraLlon, or, lf noL ln sesslon wlLhln Lwelve
days afLer lL ls requlred Lo assemble, deLermlnes by a Lwo-Lhlrds voLe of boLh Pouses, voLlng separaLely, LhaL Lhe
resldenL ls unable Lo dlscharge Lhe powers and duLles of hls offlce, Lhe vlce-resldenL shall acL as resldenL,
oLherwlse, Lhe resldenL shall conLlnue exerclslng Lhe powers and duLles of hls offlce."
1haL ls Lhe law. now Lhe operaLlve facLs:
(1) eLlLloner, on !anuary 20, 2001, senL Lhe above leLLer clalmlng lnablllLy Lo Lhe SenaLe resldenL and
Speaker of Lhe Pouse,
(2) unaware of Lhe leLLer, respondenL Arroyo Look her oaLh of offlce as resldenL on !anuary 20, 2001 aL
abouL 12:30 p.m.,
(3) Desp|te rece|pt of the |etter, Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlve passed on !anuary 24, 2001 nouse keso|ut|on
No. 17S,
[96]

Cn the same date, Lhe Pouse of Lhe 8epresenLaLlves passed nouse keso|ut|on No. 176
[97]
whlch sLaLes:
8LSCLu1lCn Lx8LSSlnC 1PL SuC81 Cl 1PL PCuSL Cl 8L8LSLn1A1lvLS 1C 1PL ASSuM1lCn ln1C
ClllCL 8? vlCL 8LSluLn1 CLC8lA MACAACAL-A88C?C AS 8LSluLn1 Cl 1PL 8Lu8LlC Cl 1PL
PlLllnLS, Lx1LnulnC l1S CCnC8A1uLA1lCnS Anu Lx8LSSlnC l1S SuC81 lC8 PL8
AuMlnlS18A1lCn AS A A81nL8 ln 1PL A11AlnMLn1 Cl 1PL nA1lCn'S CCALS unuL8 1PL
CCnS1l1u1lCn
WPL8LAS, as a consequence of Lhe people's loss of confldence on Lhe ablllLy of former resldenL !oseph L[erclLo
LsLrada Lo effecLlvely govern, Lhe Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes, Lhe hlllpplne naLlonal ollce and ma[orlLy of
hls cablneL had wlLhdrawn supporL from hlm,
WPL8LAS, upon auLhorlLy of an eo booc resoluLlon of Lhe Supreme CourL, vlce resldenL Clorla Macapagal-
Arroyo was sworn ln as resldenL of Lhe hlllpplnes on 20 !anuary 2001 before Chlef !usLlce Pllarlo C. uavlde, !r.,
WPL8LAS, lmmedlaLely LhereafLer, members of Lhe lnLernaLlonal communlLy had exLended Lhelr recognlLlon Lo
Per Lxcellency, Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes,
WPL8LAS, Per Lxcellency, resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo has espoused a pollcy of naLlonal heallng and
reconclllaLlon wlLh [usLlce for Lhe purpose of naLlonal unlLy and developmenL,
WPL8LAS, lL ls axlomaLlc LhaL Lhe obllgaLlons of Lhe governmenL cannoL be achleved lf lL ls dlvlded, Lhus by
reason of Lhe consLlLuLlonal duLy of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves as an lnsLlLuLlon and LhaL of Lhe lndlvldual
members Lhereof of fealLy Lo Lhe supreme wlll of Lhe people, Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves musL ensure Lo Lhe
people a sLable, conLlnulng governmenL and Lherefore musL remove all obsLacles Lo Lhe aLLalnmenL Lhereof,
WPL8LAS, lL ls a concomlLanL duLy of Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves Lo exerL all efforLs Lo unlfy Lhe naLlon, Lo
ellmlnaLe fracLlous Lenslon, Lo heal soclal and pollLlcal wounds, and Lo be an lnsLrumenL of naLlonal reconclllaLlon
and solldarlLy as lL ls a dlrecL represenLaLlve of Lhe varlous segmenLs of Lhe whole naLlon,
WPL8LAS, wlLhouL surrenderlng lLs lndependence, lL ls vlLal for Lhe aLLalnmenL of all Lhe foregolng, for Lhe Pouse
of 8epresenLaLlves Lo exLend lLs supporL and collaboraLlon Lo Lhe admlnlsLraLlon of Per Lxcellency, resldenL
Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo, and Lo be a consLrucLlve parLner ln naLlon-bulldlng, Lhe naLlonal lnLeresL demandlng no
less: now, Lherefore, be lL
kesolveJ by tbe noose of kepteseototlves, 1o express lLs supporL Lo Lhe assumpLlon lnLo offlce by vlce resldenL
Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo as resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes, Lo exLend lLs congraLulaLlons and Lo
express lLs supporL for her admlnlsLraLlon as a parLner ln Lhe aLLalnmenL of Lhe naLlon's goals under Lhe
ConsLlLuLlon.
AdopLed,
(Sgd.) lLLlClAnC 8LLMCn1L !8.
Speaker
1hls 8esoluLlon was adopLed by Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves on !anuary 24, 2001.
(Sgd.) 8C8L81C . nAZA8LnC
SecreLary Ceneral"
Cn Iebruary 7, 2001, Lhe Pouse of Lhe 8epresenLaLlves passed nouse keso|ut|on No. 178
[98]
whlch sLaLes:
8LSCLu1lCn CCnll8MlnC 8LSluLn1 CLC8lA MACAACAL-A88C?C'S nCMlnA1lCn Cl SLnA1C8
1LCllS1C 1. CulnCCnA, !8. AS vlCL 8LSluLn1 Cl 1PL 8Lu8LlC Cl 1PL PlLllnLS
WPL8LAS, Lhere ls a vacancy ln Lhe Cfflce of Lhe vlce resldenL due Lo Lhe assumpLlon Lo Lhe resldency of vlce
resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo,
WPL8LAS, pursuanL Lo SecLlon 9, ArLlcle vll of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, Lhe resldenL ln Lhe evenL of such vacancy shall
nomlnaLe a vlce resldenL from among Lhe members of Lhe SenaLe and Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves who shall
assume offlce upon conflrmaLlon by a ma[orlLy voLe of all members of boLh Pouses voLlng separaLely,
WPL8LAS, Per Lxcellency, resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo has nomlnaLed SenaLe MlnorlLy Leader 1eoflsLo 1.
Culngona !r., Lo Lhe poslLlon of vlce resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes,
WPL8LAS, SenaLor 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona !r., ls a publlc servanL endowed wlLh lnLegrlLy, compeLence and courage,
who has served Lhe llllplno people wlLh dedlcaLed responslblllLy and paLrloLlsm,
WPL8LAS, SenaLor 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r. possesses sLerllng quallLles of Lrue sLaLesmanshlp, havlng served Lhe
governmenL ln varlous capaclLles, among oLhers, as uelegaLe Lo Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal ConvenLlon, Chalrman of Lhe
Commlsslon on AudlL, LxecuLlve SecreLary, SecreLary of !usLlce, SenaLor of Lhe hlllpplnes - quallLles whlch merlL
hls nomlnaLlon Lo Lhe poslLlon of vlce resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc: now, Lherefore, be lL
kesolveJ os lt ls beteby tesolveJ by tbe noose of kepteseototlves, 1haL Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves conflrms Lhe
nomlnaLlon of SenaLor 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r. as Lhe vlce resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes.
AdopLed,
(Sgd) lLLlClAnC 8LLMCn1L !8.
Speaker
1hls 8esoluLlon was adopLed by Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves on lebruary 7, 2001.
(Sgd.) 8C8L81C . nAZA8LnC
SecreLary Ceneral"
(4) Also, desp|te rece|pt of pet|t|oner's |etter clalmlng lnablllLy, some twe|ve (12) members of the
Senate slgned Lhe followlng:
8LSCLu1lCn
WPL8LAS, Lhe recenL LranslLlon ln governmenL offers Lhe naLlon an opporLunlLy for meanlngful change and
challenge,
WPL8LAS, Lo aLLaln deslred changes and overcome awesome challenges Lhe naLlon needs unlLy of purpose and
resoluLe coheslve resoluLe (slc) wlll,
WPL8LAS, Lhe SenaLe of Lhe hlllpplnes has been Lhe forum for vlLal leglslaLlve measures ln unlLy desplLe
dlverslLles ln perspecLlves,
WPL8LlC8L, we recognlze and express supporL Lo Lhe new governmenL of resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo
and resolve Lo dlscharge our duLles Lo aLLaln deslred changes and overcome Lhe naLlon's challenges."
[99]

Cn Iebruary 7, Lhe Senate also passed Senate keso|ut|on No. 82
[100]
whlch sLaLes:
8LSCLu1lCn CCnll8MlnC 8LSluLn1 CLC8lA MACAACAL-A88C?C'S nCMlnA1lCn Cl SLn.
1LCllS1C 1. CulnCCnA, !8. AS vlCL 8LSluLn1 Cl 1PL 8Lu8LlC Cl 1PL PlLllnLS
WPL8LAS, Lhere ls lL vacancy ln Lhe Cfflce of Lhe vlce-resldenL due Lo Lhe assumpLlon Lo Lhe resldency of vlce
resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo,
WPL8LAS, pursuanL Lo SecLlon 9 ArLlcle vll of Lhe ConsLlLuLlon, Lhe resldenL ln Lhe evenL of such vacancy shall
nomlnaLe a vlce resldenL from among Lhe members of Lhe SenaLe and Lhe Pouse of 8epresenLaLlves who shall
assume offlce upon conflrmaLlon by a ma[orlLy voLe of all members of boLh Pouses voLlng separaLely,
WPL8LAS, Per Lxcellency, resldenL Clorla Macapagal-Arroyo has nomlnaLed SenaLe MlnorlLy Leader 1eoflsLo 1.
Culngona, !r. Lo Lhe poslLlon of vlce resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hllllpplnes,
WPL8LAS, Sen. 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r. ls a publlc servanL endowed wlLh lnLegrlLy, compeLence, and courage,
who has served Lhe llllplno people wlLh dedlcaLed responslblllLy and paLrloLlsm,
WPL8LAS, Sen. 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r. possesses sLerllng quallLles of Lrue sLaLesmanshlp, havlng served Lhe
governmenL ln varlous capaclLles, among oLhers, as uelegaLe Lo Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal ConvenLlon, Chalrman of Lhe
Commlsslon on AudlL, LxecuLlve SecreLary, SecreLary of !usLlce. SenaLor of Lhe land - whlch quallLles merlL hls
nomlnaLlon Lo Lhe poslLlon of vlce resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc: now, Lherefore, be lL
kesolveJ, os lt ls beteby tesolveJ, 1haL Lhe SenaLe conflrm Lhe nomlnaLlon of Sen. 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r. as vlce
resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc of Lhe hlllpplnes.
AdopLed,
(Sgd.) ACulLlnC C. lMLn1LL !8.
resldenL of Lhe SenaLe
1hls 8esoluLlon was adopLed by Lhe SenaLe on lebruary 7, 2001.
(Sgd.) Lu1CA8uC 8. 8A88C
SecreLary of Lhe SenaLe"
Cn Lhe same daLe, lebruary 7, Lhe Senate llkewlse passed Senate keso|ut|on No. 83
[101]
whlch sLaLes:
8LSCLu1lCn 8LCCCnlZlnC 1PA1 1PL lMLACPMLn1 CCu81 lS luNc1u5 OlllclO
kesolveJ, os lt ls beteby tesolveJ. 1haL Lhe SenaLe recognlze LhaL Lhe lmpeachmenL CourL ls fooctos offlclo and
has been LermlnaLed.
kesolveJ, fottbet, 1haL Lhe !ournals of Lhe lmpeachmenL CourL of Monday, !anuary 13, 1uesday, !anuary 16 and
Wednesday, !anuary 17, 2001 be consldered approved.
kesolveJ, fottbet, 1haL Lhe records of Lhe lmpeachmenL CourL lncludlng Lhe 'second envelope' be Lransferred Lo
Lhe Archlves of Lhe SenaLe for proper safekeeplng and preservaLlon ln accordance wlLh Lhe 8ules of Lhe
SenaLe. ulsposlLlon and reLrleval Lhereof shall be made only upon wrlLLen approval of Lhe SenaLe resldenL.
kesolveJ, floolly. 1haL all parLles concerned be furnlshed coples of Lhls 8esoluLlon.
AdopLed,
(Sgd.) ACulLlnC C. lMLn1LL, !8.
resldenL of Lhe SenaLe
1hls 8esoluLlon was adopLed by Lhe SenaLe on lebruary 7, 2001.
(Sgd.) Lu1CA8uC 8. 8A88C
SecreLary of Lhe SenaLe"
(3) Cn lebruary 8, Lhe SenaLe also passed keso|ut|on No. 84 cerLlfylng Lo Lhe exlsLence of a vacancy ln Lhe
SenaLe and calllng on Lhe CCMLLLC Lo flll up such vacancy Lhrough elecLlon Lo be held slmulLaneously wlLh Lhe
regular elecLlon on May 14, 2001 and Lhe senaLorlal candldaLe garnerlng Lhe LhlrLeenLh (13
Lh
) hlghesL number of
voLes shall serve only for Lhe unexplred Lerm of SenaLor 1eoflsLo 1. Culngona, !r."
(6) 8oth houses of Congress sLarLed sendlng b|||s to be s|gned |nto |aw by respondenL Arroyo as
res|dent.
(7) Desp|te the |apse of t|me and sLlll wlLhouL any funcLlonlng CablneL, wlLhouL any recognlLlon from
any secLor of governmenL, and wlLhouL any supporL from Lhe Armed lorces of Lhe hlllpplnes and Lhe hlllpplne
naLlonal ollce, Lhe peLlLloner conLlnues Lo clalm LhaL hls lnablllLy Lo govern ls only momenLary.
What |eaps to the eye from these |rrefutab|e facts |s that both houses of Congress have recogn|zed
respondent Arroyo as the res|dent. Imp||c|t|y c|ear |n that recogn|t|on |s the prem|se that the |nab|||ty of
pet|t|oner Lstrada |s no |onger temporary. Congress has c|ear|y re[ected pet|t|oner's c|a|m of |nab|||ty.
1he quest|on |s whether th|s Court has [ur|sd|ct|on to rev|ew the c|a|m of temporary |nab|||ty of pet|t|oner
Lstrada and LhereafLer rev|se the dec|s|on of both nouses of Congress recognlzlng respondenL Arroyo as
resldenL of Lhe hlllpplnes. lollowlng 1aada v. Cuenco,
[102]
we hold LhaL Lhls CourL cannoL exerclse lLs [udlclal
power for Lhls ls an lssue ln regard Lo whlch foll Jlsctetloooty ootbotlty has been delegaLed Lo Lhe LeglslaLlve x x
x branch of Lhe governmenL." Cr Lo use Lhe language ln 8aker vs. Carr,
[103]
Lhere ls a LexLually demonsLrable
consLlLuLlonal commlLmenL of Lhe lssue Lo a coordlnaLe pollLlcal deparLmenL or a lack of [udlclally dlscoverable
and manageable sLandards for resolvlng lL." Clearly, Lhe CourL cannoL pass upon peLlLloner's clalm of lnablllLy Lo
dlscharge Lhe powers and duLles of Lhe presldency. 1he quest|on |s po||t|ca| |n nature and addressed so|e|y to
Congress by const|tut|ona| f|at. lL ls a pollLlcal lssue whlch cannoL be declded by Lhls CourL wlLhouL Lransgresslng
Lhe prlnclple of separaLlon of powers.
ln flne, even lf Lhe peLlLloner can prove LhaL he dld noL reslgn, sLlll, he cannoL successfully clalm LhaL he ls a
resldenL on leave on Lhe ground LhaL he ls merely unable Lo govern Lemporarlly. 1haL clalm has been lald Lo resL
by Congress and Lhe declslon LhaL respondenL Arroyo ls Lhe Je jote resldenL made by a co-equal branch of
governmenL cannoL be revlewed by Lhls CourL.
IV
Whether or not the pet|t|oner en[oys |mmun|ty from su|t. Assum|ng he en[oys |mmun|ty, the extent of the |mmun|ty

eLlLloner LsLrada makes Lwo submlsslons: f|rst, Lhe cases flled agalnsL hlm before Lhe respondenL
Cmbudsman should be prohlblLed because he has noL been convlcLed ln Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlngs agalnsL
hlm, and second, he en[oys |mmun|ty from a|| klnds of sulL, wheLher crlmlnal or clvll.
8efore resolvlng peLlLloner's conLenLlons, a revlslL of our legal hlsLory on execuLlve lmmunlLy wlll be mosL
enllghLenlng. 1he docLrlne of execuLlve lmmunlLy ln Lhls [urlsdlcLlon emerged as a case |aw. ln Lhe 1910 case
of Iorbes, etc. vs. Chuoco t|aco and Crossf|e|d,
[104]
Lhe respondenL 1laco, a Chlnese clLlzen, sued peLlLloner W.
Cameron lorbes, Covernor-Ceneral of Lhe hlllpplne lslands, !.L. Pardlng and C.8. 1rowbrldge, Chlef of ollce and
Chlef of Lhe SecreL Servlce of Lhe ClLy of Manlla, respecLlvely, for damages for allegedly consplrlng Lo deporL hlm
Lo Chlna. ln granLlng a wrlL of prohlblLlon, Lhls CourL, speaklng Lhru Mr. !usLlce !ohnson, held:
1he prlnclple of nonllablllLy, as hereln enunclaLed, does noL mean LhaL Lhe [udlclary has no auLhorlLy Lo Louch
Lhe acLs of Lhe Covernor-Ceneral, LhaL he may, under cover of hls offlce, do whaL he wlll, unlmpeded and
unresLralned. Such a consLrucLlon would mean LhaL Lyranny, under Lhe gulse of Lhe execuLlon of Lhe law, could
walk deflanLly abroad, desLroylng rlghLs of person and of properLy, wholly free from lnLerference of courLs or
leglslaLures. 1hls does noL mean, elLher, LhaL a person ln[ured by Lhe execuLlve auLhorlLy by an acL un[usLlflable
under Lhe law has no remedy, buL musL submlL ln sllence. Cn Lhe conLrary, lL means, slmply, LhaL Lhe Covernor-
Ceneral, llke Lhe [udges of Lhe courLs and Lhe members of Lhe LeglslaLure, may noL be personally mulcLed ln clvll
damages for Lhe consequences of an acL execuLed ln Lhe performance of hls offlclal duLles. 1he [udlclary has full
power Lo, and wlll, when Lhe maLLer ls properly presenLed Lo lL and Lhe occaslon [usLly warranLs lL, declare an acL
of Lhe Covernor-Ceneral lllegal and vold and place as nearly as posslble ln stotos poo any person who has been
deprlved hls llberLy or hls properLy by such acL. 1hls remedy ls assured Lo every person, however humble or of
whaLever counLry, when hls personal or properLy rlghLs have been lnvaded, even by Lhe hlghesL auLhorlLy of Lhe
sLaLe. 1he Lhlng whlch Lhe [udlclary can noL do ls mulcL Lhe Covernor-Ceneral personally ln damages whlch
resulL from Lhe performance of hls offlclal duLy, any more LhaL lL can a member of Lhe hlllpplne Commlsslon or
Lhe hlllpplne Assembly. ubllc pollcy forblds lL.
nelLher does Lhls prlnclple of nonllablllLy mean LhaL Lhe chlef execuLlve may noL be personally sued aL all ln
relaLlon Lo acLs whlch he clalms Lo perform as such offlclal. Cn Lhe conLrary, lL clearly appears from Lhe
dlscusslon hereLofore had, parLlcularly LhaL porLlon whlch Louched Lhe llablllLy of [udges and drew an analogy
beLween such llablllLy and LhaL of Lhe Covernor-Ceneral, LhaL Lhe laLLer ls llable when he acLs ln a case so plalnly
ouLslde of hls power and auLhorlLy LhaL he can noL be sald Lo have exerclse dlscreLlon ln deLermlnlng wheLher or
noL he had Lhe rlghL Lo acL. WhaL ls held here ls LhaL he wlll be proLecLed from personal llablllLy for damages noL
only when he acLs wlLhln hls auLhorlLy, buL also when he ls wlLhouL auLhorlLy, provlded he acLually used
dlscreLlon and [udgmenL, LhaL ls, Lhe [udlclal faculLy, ln deLermlnlng wheLher he had auLhorlLy Lo acL or noL. ln
oLher words, he ls enLlLled Lo proLecLlon lo Jetetmloloq tbe poestloo of bls ootbotlty. lf he declde wrongly, he ls
sLlll proLecLed provlded Lhe quesLlon of hls auLhorlLy was one over whlch Lwo men, reasonably quallfled for LhaL
poslLlon, mlghL honesLly dlffer, buL he ls noL proLecLed lf Lhe lack of auLhorlLy Lo acL ls so plaln LhaL Lwo such men
could noL honesLly dlffer over lLs deLermlnaLlon. ln such case, he acLs, noL as Covernor-Ceneral buL as a prlvaLe
lndlvldual, and, as such, musL answer for Lhe consequences of hls acL."
Mr. !usLlce !ohnson underscored Lhe consequences lf Lhe Chlef LxecuLlve was noL granLed lmmunlLy from
sulL, vlz: x x x. AcLlon upon lmporLanL maLLers of sLaLe delayed, Lhe Llme and subsLance of Lhe chlef execuLlve
spenL ln wrangllng llLlgaLlon, dlsrespecL engendered for Lhe person of one of Lhe hlghesL offlclals of Lhe SLaLe and
for Lhe offlce he occuples, a Lendency Lo unresL and dlsorder, resulLlng ln a way, ln a dlsLrusL as Lo Lhe lnLegrlLy of
governmenL lLself."
[103]

Cur 193S Const|tut|on Look effecL buL lL d|d not conta|n any spec|f|c prov|s|on on execut|ve
|mmun|ty. 1hen came Lhe LumulL of Lhe marLlal law years under Lhe laLe resldenL lerdlnand L. Marcos and
Lhe 1973 Const|tut|on was born. ln 1981, lL was amended and one of the amendments |nvo|ved execut|ve
|mmun|ty. SecLlon 17, ArLlcle vll sLaLed:
1he resldenL shall be lmmune from sulL durlng hls Lenure. 1hereafLer, no sulL whaLsoever shall lle for offlclal
acLs done by hlm or by oLhers pursuanL Lo hls speclflc orders durlng hls Lenure.
1he lmmunlLles hereln provlded shall apply Lo Lhe lncumbenL resldenL referred Lo ln ArLlcle xvll of Lhls
ConsLlLuLlon."
ln hls second vlcenLe C. Slnco rofesslonal Chalr LecLure enLlLled, resldenLlal lmmunlLy And All 1he klng's
Men: 1he Law Cf rlvllege As A uefense 1o AcLlons lor uamages,"
[106]
peLlLloner's learned counsel, former uean
of Lhe u college of Law, ALLy. aclflco Agabln, brlghLllned Lhe modlflcaLlons effecLed by Lhls consLlLuLlonal
amendmenL on Lhe exlsLlng law on execuLlve prlvllege. 1o quoLe hls dlsqulslLlon:
ln Lhe hlllpplnes, Lhough, we soughL Lo do Lhe Amerlcans one beLLer by enlarglng and forLlfylng Lhe absoluLe
lmmunlLy concepL. llrsL, we exLended lL Lo shleld Lhe resldenL noL only from clvll clalms buL also from crlmlnal
cases and oLher clalms. Second, we enlarged lLs scope so LhaL lL would cover even acLs of Lhe resldenL ouLslde
Lhe scope of offlclal duLles. And Lhlrd, we broadened lLs coverage so as Lo lnclude noL only Lhe resldenL buL also
oLher persons, be Lhey governmenL offlclals or prlvaLe lndlvlduals, who acLed upon orders of Lhe resldenL. lL can
be sald LhaL aL LhaL polnL mosL of us were sufferlng from AluS (or absoluLe lmmunlLy defense syndrome)."
1he Cppos|t|on |n the then 8atasan ambansa sought the repea| of th|s Marcos|an concept of execut|ve
|mmun|ty |n the 1973 Const|tut|on. 1he move was led by Lhen Member of arllamenL, now SecreLary of llnance,
AlberLo 8omulo, who argued LhaL Lhe after |ncumbency |mmun|ty granLed Lo resldenL Marcos vlolaLed Lhe
prlnclple LhaL a publlc offlce ls a publlc LrusL. Pe denounced Lhe lmmunlLy as a reLurn Lo Lhe anachronlsm Lhe
klng can do no wrong."
[107]
1he efforL falled.
1he 1973 ConsLlLuLlon ceased Lo exlsL when resldenL Marcos was ousLed from offlce by Lhe eople ower
revoluLlon ln 1986. When Lhe 1987 Const|tut|on was crafLed, |ts framers d|d not reenact Lhe execuLlve lmmunlLy
provlslon of Lhe 1973 ConsLlLuLlon. 1he followlng exp|anat|on was glven by delegaLe !. 8ernas, vlz:
[108]

Mr. Suarez. 1hank you.
1he lasL quesLlon ls wlLh reference Lo Lhe commlLLee's omlLLlng ln Lhe drafL proposal Lhe lmmunlLy provlslon for
Lhe resldenL. l agree wlLh Commlssloner nolledo LhaL Lhe CommlLLee dld very well ln sLrlklng ouL Lhls second
senLence, aL Lhe very leasL, of Lhe orlglnal provlslon on lmmunlLy from sulL under Lhe 1973 ConsLlLuLlon. 8uL
would Lhe CommlLLee members noL agree Lo a resLoraLlon of aL leasL Lhe flrsL senLence LhaL Lhe resldenL shall be
lmmune from sulL durlng hls Lenure, conslderlng LhaL lf we do noL provlde hlm LhaL klnd of an lmmunlLy, he mlghL
be spendlng all hls Llme faclng llLlgaLlons, as Lhe resldenL-ln-exlle ln Pawall ls now faclng llLlgaLlons almosL dally?
lr. 8ernas. 1he reason for Lhe omlsslon ls LhaL we conslder lL undersLood ln presenL [urlsprudence LhaL durlng hls
Lenure he ls lmmune from sulL.
Mr. Suarez. So Lhere ls no need Lo express lL here.
lr. 8ernas. 1here ls no need. lL was LhaL way before. 1he only lnnovaLlon made by Lhe 1973 ConsLlLuLlon was Lo
make LhaL expllclL and Lo add oLher Lhlngs.
Mr. Suarez. Cn LhaL undersLandlng, l wlll noL press for any more query, Madam resldenL.
l Lhank Lhe Commlssloner for Lhe clarlflcaLlon."
We shall now rule on Lhe conLenLlons of peLlLloner ln Lhe llghL of Lhls hlsLory. We re[ecL hls argumenL LhaL
he cannoL be prosecuLed for Lhe reason LhaL he musL flrsL be convlcLed ln Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlngs. 1he
lmpeachmenL Lrlal of peLlLloner LsLrada was aborLed by Lhe walkouL of Lhe prosecuLors and by Lhe evenLs LhaL led
Lo hls loss of Lhe presldency. lndeed, on lebruary 7, 2001, Lhe SenaLe passed SenaLe 8esoluLlon no. 83
8ecognlzlng LhaL Lhe lmpeachmenL CourL ls looctos Offlclo."
[109]
Slnce Lhe lmpeachmenL CourL ls now fooctos
offlclo, lL ls unLenable for peLlLloner Lo demand LhaL he should flrsL be lmpeached and Lhen convlcLed before he
can be prosecuLed. 1he plea lf granLed, would puL a perpeLual bar agalnsL hls prosecuLlon. Such a submlsslon has
noLhlng Lo commend lLself for lL wlll place hlm ln a beLLer slLuaLlon Lhan a non-slLLlng resldenL who has noL been
sub[ecLed Lo lmpeachmenL proceedlngs and yeL can be Lhe ob[ecL of a crlmlnal prosecuLlon. 1o be sure, Lhe
debaLes ln Lhe ConsLlLuLlonal Commlsslon make lL clear LhaL when lmpeachmenL proceedlngs have become mooL
due Lo Lhe reslgnaLlon of Lhe resldenL, Lhe proper crlmlnal and clvll cases may already be flled agalnsL
hlm, vlz:
[110]

x x x
Mr. Aqulno. Cn anoLher polnL, lf an lmpeachmenL proceedlng has been flled agalnsL Lhe resldenL, for
example, and Lhe resldenL reslgns before [udgmenL of convlcLlon has been rendered by Lhe lmpeachmenL
courL or by Lhe body, how does lL affecL Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlng? Wlll lL be necessarlly dropped?
Mr. 8omulo. lf we declde Lhe purpose of lmpeachmenL Lo remove one from offlce, Lhen hls reslgnaLlon
would render Lhe case mooL and academlc. Powever, as Lhe provlslon says, Lhe crlmlnal and clvll aspecLs of
lL may conLlnue ln Lhe ordlnary courLs."
1hls ls ln accord wlLh our rullng ln In re: Saturn|no 8ermudez
[111]
LhaL lncumbenL resldenLs are lmmune
from sulL or from belng broughL Lo courL durlng Lhe perlod of Lhelr lncumbency and Lenure"but not
beyond. Conslderlng Lhe pecullar clrcumsLance LhaL Lhe lmpeachmenL process agalnsL Lhe peLlLloner has been
aborLed and LhereafLer he losL Lhe presldency, peLlLloner LsLrada cannoL demand as a condlLlon sloe poo ooo Lo
hls crlmlnal prosecuLlon before Lhe Cmbudsman LhaL he be convlcLed ln Lhe lmpeachmenL proceedlngs. Pls
rellance ln Lhe case of Lecaroz vs. Sand|ganbayan
[112]
and relaLed cases
[113]
are lnapropos for Lhey have a dlfferenL
facLual mllleu.
We now come Lo Lhe scope of |mmun|ty LhaL can be clalmed by peLlLloner as a non-slLLlng
resldenL. 1he cases flled agalnsL peLlLloner LsLrada are cr|m|na| |n character. 1hey |nvo|ve p|under, br|bery and
graft and corrupt|on. 8y no sLreLch of Lhe lmaglnaLlon can Lhese crlmes, especlally plunder whlch carrles Lhe
deaLh penalLy, be covered by Lhe allege manLle of lmmunlLy of a non-slLLlng presldenL. eLlLloner cannoL clLe any
declslon of Lhls CourL llcenslng Lhe resldenL Lo commlL crlmlnal acLs and wrapplng hlm wlLh posL-Lenure
lmmunlLy from llablllLy. It w||| be anoma|ous to ho|d that |mmun|ty |s an |nocu|at|on from ||ab|||ty for un|awfu|
acts and om|ss|ons. 1he rule ls LhaL unlawful acLs of publlc offlclals are noL acLs of Lhe SLaLe and Lhe offlcer who
acLs lllegally ls noL acLlng as such buL sLands ln Lhe same fooLlng as any oLher Lrespasser.
[114]
lndeed, a crlLlcal
readlng of currenL llLeraLure on execuLlve lmmunlLy wlll reveal a [ud|c|a| d|s|nc||nat|on to expand the
pr|v||ege especlally when |t |mpedes the search for truth or |mpa|rs the v|nd|cat|on of a r|ght. ln Lhe 1974 case
of US v. N|xon,
[113]
uS resldenL 8lchard nlxon, a s|tt|ng res|dent, was subpoenaed Lo produce cerLaln
recordlngs and documenLs relaLlng Lo hls conversaLlons wlLh alds and advlsers. Seven advlsers of resldenL
nlxon's assoclaLes were faclng charges of consplracy Lo obsLrucL [usLlce and oLher offenses whlch were
commlLLed ln a burglary of Lhe uemocraLlc naLlonal PeadquarLers ln WashlngLon's WaLergaLe PoLel durlng Lhe
1972 presldenLlal campalgn. resldenL nlxon hlmself was named an unlndlcLed co-consplraLor. resldenL nlxon
moved Lo quash Lhe subpoena on Lhe ground, among oLhers, LhaL Lhe resldenL was noL sub[ecL Lo [udlclal
process and LhaL he should flrsL be lmpeached and removed from offlce before he could be made amenable Lo
[udlclal proceedlngs. 1he clalm was re[ecLed by Lhe uS Supreme CourL. lL concluded LhaL when Lhe ground for
asserLlng prlvllege as Lo subpoenaed maLerlals soughL for use ln a crlmlnal Lrlal ls based only on Lhe generallzed
lnLeresL ln confldenLlallLy, lL cannoL prevall over Lhe fundamenLal demands of due process of law ln Lhe falr
admlnlsLraLlon of crlmlnal [usLlce." ln Lhe1982 case of N|xon v. I|tzgera|d,
[116]
Lhe uS Supreme CourL furLher held
LhaL Lhe lmmunlLy of Lhe resldenL from c|v|| damages covers on|y "off|c|a| acts." 8ecenLly, Lhe uS Supreme
CourL had Lhe occaslon Lo relLeraLe Lhls docLrlne ln Lhe case of C||nton v. Iones
[117]
where lL held LhaL Lhe uS
resldenL's lmmunlLy from sulLs for money damages arlslng ouL of Lhelr offlclal acLs ls lnappllcable Lo unofflclal
conducL.
1here are more reasons not to be sympathet|c to appea|s to stretch the scope of execut|ve |mmun|ty |n
our [ur|sd|ct|on. Cne of Lhe greaL Lhemes of Lhe 1987 ConsLlLuLlon ls LhaL a pub||c off|ce |s a pub||c trust.
[118]
lL
declared as a sLaLe pollcy LhaL (L)he SLaLe shall malnLaln honesLy and lnLegrlLy ln Lhe publlc servlce and Lake
poslLlve and effecLlve measures agalnsL grafL and corrupLlon."
[119]
lL ordalned LhaL (p)ubllc offlcers and
employees musL aL all Llmes be accounLable Lo Lhe people, serve Lhem wlLh uLmosL responslblllLy, lnLegrlLy,
loyalLy, and efflclency, acL wlLh paLrloLlsm and [usLlce, and lead modesL llves."
[120]
lL seL Lhe rule LhaL (L)he rlghL
of Lhe SLaLe Lo recover properLles unlawfully acqulred by publlc offlclals or employees, from Lhem or from Lhelr
nomlnees or Lransferees, shall noL be barred by prescrlpLlon, laches or esLoppel."
[121]
lL malnLalned Lhe
Sandlganbayan as an anLl-grafL courL.
[122]
lL creaLed Lhe offlce of Lhe Cmbudsman and endowed lL wlLh enormous
powers, among whlch ls Lo "(l)nvesLlgaLe on lLs own, or on complalnL by any person, any acL or omlsslon of any
publlc offlclal, employee, offlce or agency, when such acL or omlsslon appears Lo be lllegal, un[usL, lmproper, or
lnefflclenL."
[123]
1he Cfflce of Lhe Cmbudsman was also glven flscal auLonomy.
[124]
1hese const|tut|ona| po||c|es
w||| be deva|ued |f we susta|n pet|t|oner's c|a|m that a non-s|tt|ng pres|dent en[oys |mmun|ty from su|t for
cr|m|na| acts comm|tted dur|ng h|s |ncumbency.
V
Whether or not the prosecut|on of pet|t|oner Lstrada shou|d be en[o|ned due to pre[ud|c|a| pub||c|ty

eLlLloner also conLends LhaL Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman should be sLopped from conducLlng Lhe
lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhe cases flled agalnsL hlm due Lo Lhe barrage of pre[udlclal publlclLy on hls gullL. Pe submlLs LhaL
Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman has developed blas and ls all seL Lo flle Lhe crlmlnal cases ln vlolaLlon of hls rlghL Lo
due process.
1here are Lwo (2) prlnclpal legal and phllosophlcal schools of LhoughL on how Lo deal wlLh Lhe raln of
unresLralned publlclLy durlng Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon and Lrlal of hlgh proflle cases.
[123]
1he 8r|t|sh approach Lhe
problem wlLh Lhe presumpt|on LhaL publlclLy wlll pre[udlce a [ury. 1hus, Lngllsh courLs readlly sLay and sLop
crlmlnal Lrlals when Lhe rlghL of an accused Lo falr Lrlal suffers a LhreaL.
[126]
1heAmer|can approach ls
dlfferenL. uS courLs assume a skept|ca| approach abouL Lhe poLenLlal effecL of pervaslve publlclLy on Lhe rlghL of
an accused Lo a falr Lrlal. 1hey have developed dlfferenL sLralns of LesLs Lo resolve Lhls lssue, l.e., subsLanLlal
probablllLy of lrreparable harm, sLrong llkellhood, clear and presenL danger, eLc.
1hls ls not the f|rst t|me Lhe lssue of Lrlal by publlclLy has been ralsed ln Lhls CourL Lo sLop Lhe Lrlals or annul
convlcLlons ln hlgh proflle crlmlnal cases.
[127]
ln eop|e vs. 1eehankee, Ir.,
[128]
laLer relLeraLed ln Lhe case
of Larranaga vs. Court of Appea|s, et a|.,
[129]
we lald down Lhe docLrlne LhaL:
We cannoL susLaln appellanL's clalm LhaL he was denled Lhe rlghL Lo lmparLlal Lrlal due Lo pre[udlclal publlclLy. lL
ls Lrue LhaL Lhe prlnL and broadcasL medla gave Lhe case aL bar pervaslve publlclLy, [usL llke all hlgh proflle and
hlgh sLake crlmlnal Lrlals. 1beo ooJ oow, we oow tole tbot tbe tlqbt of oo occoseJ to o folt ttlol ls oot
locompotlble to o ftee ptess. 1o be sure, responslble reporLlng enhances an accused's rlghL Lo a falr Lrlal for, as
well polnLed ouL, a responslble press has always been regarded as Lhe handmalden of effecLlve [udlclal
admlnlsLraLlon, especlally ln Lhe crlmlnal fleld x x x. 1he press does noL slmply publlsh lnformaLlon abouL Lrlals
buL guards agalnsL Lhe mlscarrlage of [usLlce by sub[ecLlng Lhe pollce, prosecuLors, and [udlclal processes Lo
exLenslve publlc scruLlny and crlLlclsm.
ervaslve publlclLy ls noL pet se pre[udlclal Lo Lhe rlghL of an accused Lo falr Lrlal. 1he mere facL LhaL Lhe Lrlal of
appellanL was glven a day-Lo-day, gavel-Lo-gavel coverage does noL by ltself prove LhaL Lhe publlclLy so
permeaLed Lhe mlnd of Lhe Lrlal [udge and lmpalred hls lmparLlallLy. lor one, lL ls lmposslble Lo seal Lhe mlnds of
members of Lhe bench from pre-Lrlal and oLher off-courL publlclLy of sensaLlonal crlmlnal cases. 1he sLaLe of Lhe
arL of our communlcaLlon sysLem brlngs news as Lhey happen sLralghL Lo our breakfasL Lables and rlghL Lo our
bedrooms. 1hese news form parL of our everyday menu of Lhe facLs and flcLlons of llfe. lor anoLher, our ldea of
a falr and lmparLlal [udge ls noL LhaL of a hermlL who ls ouL of Louch wlLh Lhe world. We have noL lnsLalled Lhe
[ury sysLem whose members are overly proLecLed from publlclLy lesL Lhey lose Lhelr lmparLlallLy. x x x x x
x x x x. Cur [udges are learned ln Lhe law and Lralned Lo dlsregard off-courL evldence and on-camera
performances of parLles Lo a llLlgaLlon. 1helr mere exposure Lo publlcaLlons and publlclLy sLunLs does noL pet
se faLally lnfecL Lhelr lmparLlallLy.
AL besL, appellanL can only con[ure posslblllty of ptejoJlce on Lhe parL of Lhe Lrlal [udge due Lo Lhe barrage of
publlclLy LhaL characLerlzed Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon and Lrlal of Lhe case. ln Mottelloo, et ol. v. AlejooJto, et ol., we
re[ecLed Lhls sLandard of posslblllLy of pre[udlce and adopLed Lhe LesL of octool ptejoJlce as we ruled LhaL Lo
warranL a flndlng of pre[udlclal publlclLy, Lhere musL be allegaLlon and proof LhaL Lhe [udges have been unduly
lnfluenced, noL slmply LhaL Lhey mlghL be, by Lhe barrage of publlclLy. ln Lhe case aL bar, Lhe records do noL show
LhaL Lhe Lrlal [udge developed octool blos agalnsL appellanL as a consequence of Lhe exLenslve medla coverage of
Lhe pre-Lrlal and Lrlal of hls case. 1he totollty of cltcomstooces of tbe cose does noL prove LhaL Lhe Lrlal [udge
acqulred a flxeJ oplnlon as a resulL of pre[udlclal publlclLy whlch ls lncapable lf change even by evldence
presenLed durlng Lhe Lrlal. AppellanL has Lhe burden Lo prove Lhls acLual blas and he has noL dlscharged Lhe
burden."
We expounded furLher on Lhls docLrlne ln Lhe subsequenL case of Webb vs. non. kau| de Leon, etc.
[130]
and
lLs companlon cases. vlz..
Agaln, peLlLloners ralse Lhe effecL of pre[udlclal publlclLy on Lhelr rlghL Lo due process whlle undergolng
prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon. We flnd no procedural lmpedlmenL Lo lLs early lnvocaLlon conslderlng Lhe subsLanLlal
rlsk Lo Lhelr llberLy whlle undergolng a prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon.
x x x
1he democraLlc seLLlngs, medla coverage of Lrlals of sensaLlonal cases cannoL be avolded and ofLenLlmes, lLs
excesslveness has been aggravaLed by klneLlc developmenLs ln Lhe LelecommunlcaLlons lndusLry. lor sure, few
cases can maLch Lhe hlgh volume and hlgh veloclLy of publlclLy LhaL aLLended Lhe prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhe
case aL bar. Cur dally dleL of facLs and flcLlon abouL Lhe case conLlnues unabaLed even Loday. CommenLaLors sLlll
bombard Lhe publlc wlLh vlews noL Loo many of whlch are sober and subllme. lndeed, even Lhe prlnclpal acLors ln
Lhe case - Lhe n8l, Lhe respondenLs, Lhelr lawyers and Lhelr sympaLhlzers - have parLlclpaLed ln Lhls medla
bllLz. 1he posslblllLy of medla abuses and Lhelr LhreaL Lo a falr Lrlal noLwlLhsLandlng, crlmlnal Lrlals cannoL be
compleLely closed Lo Lhe press and publlc. lnn Lhe semlnal case of klcbmooJ Newspopets, loc. v. vltqlolo, lL was
wlsely held:
'x x x
(a) 1he hlsLorlcal evldence of Lhe evoluLlon of Lhe crlmlnal Lrlal ln Anglo-Amerlcan [usLlce demonsLraLes
concluslvely LhaL Lhe Llme Lhls naLlon's organlc laws were adopLed, crlmlnal Lrlals boLh here and ln Lngland had
long been presumpLlvely open, Lhus glvlng assurance LhaL Lhe proceedlngs were conducLed falrly Lo all concerned
and dlscouraglng per[ury, Lhe mlsconducL of parLlclpanLs, or declslons based on secreL blas or parLlallLy. ln
addlLlon, Lhe slgnlflcanL communlLy LherapeuLlc value of publlc Lrlals was recognlzed: when a shocklng crlme
occurs, a communlLy reacLlon of ouLrage and publlc proLesL ofLen follows, and LhereafLer Lhe open processes of
[usLlce serve an lmporLanL prophylacLlc purpose, provldlng an ouLleL for communlLy concern, hosLlllLy, and
emoLlon. 1o work effecLlvely, lL ls lmporLanL LhaL socleLy's crlmlnal process 'saLlsfy Lhe appearance of [usLlce,'
CffuLL v. unlLed SLaLes, 348 uS 11, 14, 99 L Ld 11, 73 S CL 11, whlch can besL be provlded by allowlng people Lo
observe such process. lrom Lhls unbroken, unconLradlcLed hlsLory, supporLed by reasons as valld Loday as ln
cenLurles pasL, lL musL be concluded LhaL a presumpLlon of openness lnheres ln Lhe very naLure of a crlmlnal Lrlal
under Lhls naLlon's sysLem of [usLlce, Cf., e.g., Levlne v. unlLed SLaLes, 362 uS 610, 4 L Ld 2d 989, 80 S CL 1038.
(b) 1he freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, expressly guaranLeed by Lhe llrsL AmendmenL, share a
common core purpose of assurlng freedom of communlcaLlon on maLLers relaLlng Lo Lhe funcLlonlng of
governmenL. ln guaranLeelng freedoms such as Lhose of speech and press, Lhe llrsL AmendmenL can be read as
proLecLlng Lhe rlghL of everyone Lo aLLend Lrlals so as glve meanlng Lo Lhose expllclL guaranLees, Lhe llrsL
AmendmenL rlghL Lo recelve lnformaLlon and ldeas means, ln Lhe conLexL of Lrlals, LhaL Lhe guaranLees of speech
and press, sLandlng alone, prohlblL governmenL from summarlly closlng courLroom doors whlch had long been
open Lo Lhe publlc aL Lhe Llme Lhe llrsL AmendmenL was adopLed. Moreover, Lhe rlghL of assembly ls also
relevanL, havlng been regarded noL only as an lndependenL rlghL buL also as a caLalysL Lo augmenL Lhe free
exerclse of Lhe oLher llrsL AmendmenL rlghLs wlLh whlch lL was dellberaLely llnked by Lhe drafLsmen. A Lrlal
courLroom ls a publlc place where Lhe people generally - and represenLaLlves of Lhe medla - have a rlghL Lo be
presenL, and where Lhelr presence hlsLorlcally has been LhoughL Lo enhance Lhe lnLegrlLy and quallLy of whaL
Lakes place.
(c) Lven Lhough Lhe ConsLlLuLlon conLalns no provlslon whlch by lLs Lerms guaranLees Lo Lhe publlc Lhe rlghL Lo
aLLend crlmlnal Lrlals, varlous fundamenLal rlghLs, noL expressly guaranLeed, have been recognlzed as
lndlspensable Lo Lhe en[oymenL of enumeraLed rlghLs. 1he rlghL Lo aLLend crlmlnal Lrlal ls lmpllclL ln Lhe
guaranLees of Lhe llrsL AmendmenL: wlLhouL Lhe freedom Lo aLLend such Lrlals, whlch people have exerclsed for
cenLurles, lmporLanL aspecLs of freedom of speech and of Lhe press could be evlsceraLed.'
8e LhaL as lL may, we recognlze LhaL pervaslve and pre[udlclal publlclLy under cerLaln clrcumsLances can deprlve
an accused of hls due process rlghL Lo falr Lrlal. 1hus, ln Mottelloo, et ol. vs. AlejooJto, et ol.,we held LhaL Lo
warranL a flndlng of pre[udlclal publlclLy Lhere musL be 011&20'()* 0*/ %+))3 LhaL Lhe [udges have been unduly
lnfluenced, noL slmply LhaL Lhey mlghL be, by Lhe barrage of publlclLy. ln Lhe case aL bar, we flnd noLhlng ln Lhe
records LhaL wlll prove LhaL Lhe Lone and conLenL of Lhe publlclLy LhaL aLLended Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon of peLlLloners
faLally lnfecLed Lhe falrness and lmparLlallLy of Lhe uC! anel. eLlLloners cannoL [usL rely on Lhe subllmlnal
effecLs of publlclLy on Lhe sense of falrness of Lhe uC! anel, for Lhese are baslcally unbeknown and beyond
knowlng. 1o be sure, Lhe uC! anel ls composed of an AsslsLanL Chlef SLaLe rosecuLor and Senlor SLaLe
rosecuLors. 1helr long experlence ln crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlon ls a facLor Lo conslder ln deLermlnlng wheLher Lhey
can easlly be bllnded by Lhe klleg llghLs of publlclLy. lndeed, Lhelr 26-page 8esoluLlon carrles no lndublLable
lndlcla of blas for lL does noL appear LhaL Lhey consldered any exLra-record evldence excepL evldence properly
adduced by Lhe parLles. 1he lengLh of Llme Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon was conducLed desplLe lLs summary naLure and Lhe
generoslLy wlLh whlch Lhey accommodaLed Lhe dlscovery moLlons of peLlLloners speak well of Lhelr falrness. AL no
lnsLance, we noLe, dld peLlLloners seek Lhe dlsquallflcaLlon of any member of Lhe uC! anel on Lhe ground of blas
resulLlng from Lhelr bombardmenL of pre[udlclal publlclLy." (emphasls supplled)
Applylng Lhe above rullng, we hold LhaL there |s not enough ev|dence Lo warrant th|s Court to en[o|n the
pre||m|nary |nvest|gat|on of the pet|t|oner by the respondent Cmbudsman. eLlLloner needs Lo offer more Lhan
hosLlle headllnes Lo dlscharge hls burden of proof.
[131]
Pe needs Lo show more welghLy soclal sclence evldence Lo
successfully prove Lhe lmpalred capaclLy of a [udge Lo render a blas-free declslon. Well Lo noLe, Lhe cases agalnsL
Lhe peLlLloner are st||| undergo|ng prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon by a speclal panel of prosecuLors ln Lhe offlce of Lhe
respondenL Cmbudsman. no allegaLlon whaLsoever has been made by Lhe peLlLloner LhaL Lhe mlnds of Lhe
members of Lhls speclal panel have already been lnfecLed by blas because of Lhe pervaslve pre[udlclal publlclLy
agalnsL hlm. lndeed, Lhe speclal panel has yeL Lo come ouL wlLh lLs flndlngs and Lhe CourL cannoL second guess
wheLher lLs recommendaLlon wlll be unfavorable Lo Lhe peLlLloner.
1he records show LhaL peLlLloner has lnsLead charged respondenL Cmbudsman hlmself wlLh blas. 1o quoLe
peLlLloner's submlsslon, Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman has been lnfluenced by Lhe barrage of slanLed news
reporLs, and he has buckled Lo Lhe LhreaLs and pressures dlrecLed aL hlm by Lhe mobs."
[132]
news reporLs have
also been quoLed Lo esLabllsh LhaL Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman has already pre[udged Lhe cases of Lhe
peLlLloner
[133]
and lL ls posLulaLed LhaL Lhe prosecuLors lnvesLlgaLlng Lhe peLlLloner wlll be lnfluenced by Lhls blas of
Lhelr superlor.
Agaln, we hold LhaL Lhe ev|dence proffered by Lhe peLlLloner ls |nsubstant|a|. 1he accuracy of Lhe news
reporLs referred Lo by Lhe peLlLloner cannoL be Lhe sub[ecL of [udlclal noLlce by Lhls CourL especlally ln llghL of Lhe
denlals of Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman as Lo hls alleged pre[udlce and Lhe presumpLlon of good falLh and
regularlLy ln Lhe performance of offlclal duLy Lo whlch he ls enLlLled. Nor can we adopt the theory of der|vat|ve
pre[ud|ce of pet|t|oner, |.e., that the pre[ud|ce of respondent Cmbudsman f|ows to h|s subord|nates. ln LruLh,
our 8evlsed 8ules of Crlmlnal rocedure, glve lnvesLlgaLlng prosecuLors Lhe lndependence Lo make Lhelr own
flndlngs and recommendaLlons albelL Lhey are revlewable by Lhelr superlors.
[134]
1hey can be reversed buL Lhey
can noL be compelled Lo change Lhelr recommendaLlons nor can Lhey be compelled Lo prosecuLe cases whlch
Lhey belleve deserve dlsmlssal. ln oLher words, lnvesLlgaLlng prosecuLors should noL be LreaLed llke unLhlnklng
sloL machlnes. Moreover, lf Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman resolves Lo flle Lhe cases agalnsL Lhe peLlLloner and Lhe
laLLer belleves LhaL Lhe flndlng of probable cause agalnsL hlm ls Lhe resulL of blas, he sLlll has Lhe remedy of
assalllng lL before Lhe proper courL.
VI.
Lp||ogue

A word of cauLlon Lo Lhe hooLlng Lhrong." 1he cases agalnsL Lhe peLlLloner wlll now acqulre a dlfferenL
dlmenslon and Lhen move Lo a new sLage - - - Lhe Cfflce of Lhe Cmbudsman. redlcLably, Lhe call from Lhe
ma[orlLy for lnsLanL [usLlce wlll hlL a hlgher declbel whlle Lhe gnashlng of LeeLh of Lhe mlnorlLy wlll be more
LhreaLenlng. lL ls Lhe sacred duLy of Lhe respondenL Cmbudsman Lo balance Lhe rlghL of Lhe SLaLe Lo prosecuLe
Lhe gullLy and Lhe rlghL of an accused Lo a falr lnvesLlgaLlon and Lrlal whlch has been caLegorlzed as Lhe mosL
fundamenLal of all freedoms."
[133]
1o be sure, Lhe duLy of a prosecuLor ls more Lo do [usLlce and less Lo prosecuLe.
Pls ls Lhe obllgaLlon Lo lnsure LhaL Lhe prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon of Lhe peLlLloner shall have a clrcus-free
aLmosphere. Pe has Lo provlde Lhe resLralnL agalnsL whaL Lord 8ryce calls Lhe lmpaLlenL vehemence of Lhe
ma[orlLy." 8lghLs ln a democracy are noL declded by Lhe mob whose [udgmenL ls dlcLaLed by rage and noL by
reason. nor are rlghLs necessarlly resolved by Lhe power of number for ln a democracy, Lhe dogmaLlsm of Lhe
ma[orlLy ls noL and should never be Lhe deflnlLlon of Lhe rule of law. lf democracy has proved Lo be Lhe besL form
of governmenL, lL ls because lL has respecLed Lhe rlghL of Lhe mlnorlLy Lo convlnce Lhe ma[orlLy LhaL lL ls wrong.
1olerance of mulLlformlLy of LhoughLs, however offenslve Lhey may be, ls Lhe key Lo man's progress from Lhe cave
Lo clvlllzaLlon. LeL us noL Lhrow away LhaL key [usL Lo pander Lo some people's pre[udlce.
IN VILW WnLkLCI, Lhe peLlLlons of !oseph L[erclLo LsLrada challenglng Lhe respondenL Clorla Macapagal-
Arroyo as Lhe Je jote 14Lh resldenL of Lhe 8epubllc are ulSMlSSLu.
SC CkDLkLD.
G.k. No. 96697 March 26, 1992
1nL LCLL CI 1nL nILIINLS, plalnLlff-appellee,
vs.
IAIML CCML1LN1L and ILSUS CCML1LN1L, accused-appellanLs.

MLLLNCIC-nLkkLkA, !"#
1he "flesLa" of 8arangay 8ano, 1lwl, Albay, on 13 May 1986, was marred by Lhe deaLh of nesLor uaclr, a 8arangay
1anod. Charged wlLh Murder for havlng sLrangled and sLabbed hlm Lo deaLh were acccused-appellanLs !esus
CompeLenLe and !alme CompeLenLe, faLher and son, respecLlvely. 1hey were alleged Lo have consplred and
helped each oLher ln Lreacherously aLLacklng sald vlcLlm. Cn Lhelr plea of "noL gullLy," Lhey were Lrled and
convlcLed Lo suffer teclosloo petpetoo and Lo lndemnlfy Lhe deceased's helrs ln Lhe sum of 30.000.00 as
compensaLory damages. 1hey are now before Lhls CourL appeallng LhaL verdlcL of 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of 1obacco,
Albay.
1

rosecuLlon eyewlLnesses, 8oslLa Calan, Sonny uaclr, Lhe vlcLlm's 8-years old son, and AnLonlo Calmada, narraLed
Lhe occurrence more or less ln Lhe followlng Lenor: 1he houses of Lhe vlcLlm, Lhe CompeLenLes, and one Lddle
CuLlerrez, ln 8arangay 8ano, are near one anoLher. Cn 13 May 1986, 8oslLa wenL Lo Lddle CuLlerrez' house aL
8arangay 8ano Lo aLLend Lhe flesLa. 1he laLLer ls her broLher-ln-law. She knows accused-appellanLs, Lhey belng
nelghbors of her broLher-ln law. She llkewlse knew Lhe vlcLlm, belng her broLher-ln-law's frlend. AL abouL 1:00
o'clock .M. of 13 May 1986, aL 8arangay 8ano, whlle she was aLLendlng Lo Lddle CuLlerrez' chlldren ln Lhe fronL
yard, she heard Lhe vlcLlm's house sLoned Lhrlce by four men, whom she falled Lo ldenLlfy. 1he vlcLlm wenL ouL Lo
verlfy and saw Lhe perpeLraLors run Lowards Lhe house of Lhe CompeLenLes. 1he vlcLlm followed Lhem. As Lhe
laLLer was approachlng, 8oslLa and AnLonlo Calmada heard appellanL-faLher (!esus), who was Lhen aL Lhelr yard,
say "Pere he ls, here he ls." As faLe would have lL, Lhe vlcLlm Lrlpped and fell flaL on hls face. lmmedlaLely, Lhe
appellanL-faLher saL asLrlde Lhe vlcLlm's back and sLrangled hlm on Lhe neck. Suddenly, Lhe appellanL-son (!alme)
arrlved aL Lhe scene and poslLlonlng hlmself behlnd hls faLher, sLabbed Lhe vlcLlm wlLh a klLchen knlfe on Lhe rlghL
slde of hls body, sllghLly above Lhe hlp bone. 1he son hurrledly reLreaLed Lo Lhelr house buL Lhe faLher conLlnued
sLrangllng Lhe vlcLlm unLll hls wlfe, Aurora, Lold hlm: "!esus, !esus Lama na, nakadamay na ang aqul mo" (!esus,
!esus, LhaL ls enough, your son ls already lnvolved). Cnly Lhen dld appellanL-faLher release hls hold on Lhe vlcLlm's
neck. Aurora also confronLed her son as Lo why he had Lo [oln hls faLher. rosecuLlon wlLness AnLonlo Calmada
saw Lhe sLrangllng of Lhe vlcLlm by appellanL-faLher buL dld noL see Lhe sLabblng.
Seelng Lhe lncldenL, 8oslLa Calan shouLed and screamed for help. Lddle CuLlerrez and AnLonlo Calmada
responded and seelng Lhe vlcLlm flaL on hls face and bloodled, puL hlm on a Lrlcycle and Look hlm Lo Lhe hosplLal
where he dled upon arrlval.
AppellanLs-faLher-and-son denled Lhe charges agalnsL Lhem clalmlng LhaL one lellclano 8acho was Lhe culprlL,
LhaL Lhe laLLer had admlLLed Lhe commlsslon of Lhe crlme, and was accordlngly charged wlLh Pomlclde ln Crlmlnal
Case no. 2493.
AppellanL-faLher conLended LhaL aL abouL 1:00 o'clock .M. on Lhe day of Lhe flesLa, whlle he was ln Lhe "sala,"
LmerlLa Collna, one of hls vlslLors, sLood and sald "Lhere ls a quarrel ouLslde Lhe house." LmerlLa wenL ouL and
sald "Ay, nesLor was sLabbed by 8acho." Pe wenL ouL of hls house saw Lhe vlcLlm chaslng 8acho. When he sensed
LhaL Lhe vlcLlm was approachlng hls house, he wenL lnslde and closed Lhe door. 1he vlcLlm Lapped on Lhe door
and asked LhaL he be allowed lnslde Lhlnklng LhaL 8acho was also Lhereln. Pe opened Lhe door and pushed hlm
ouL buL Lhe vlcLlm, ln Lurn, pushed hlm ln. Pe Lhen advlsed Lhe vlcLlm Lo go Lo Lhe hosplLal. uefense wlLness
LoreLo 8odrlgueza corroboraLed Lhe foregolng verslon.
/SgL. Wllfredo 8ermas also declared LhaL ln Lhe course of Lhe lnvesLlgaLlon he had conducLed, 8acho conflded Lo
hlm LhaL he had sLabbed Lhe vlcLlm. AppellanL-son, for hls parL, clalmed LhaL afLer Lhe bapLlsm of hls chlld, he had
a drlnklng spree wlLh Lhe laLLer's sponsor. Pe goL drunk and fell asleep aL abouL 11:30 ln Lhe mornlng and afLer he
woke up aL around 3:30 ln Lhe afLernoon he heard LhaL Lhe vlcLlm was sLabbed by 8acho.
Assesslng Lhe dlfferenL verslons, Lhe CourL o poo accorded more credence Lo LhaL of Lhe prosecuLlon and, as
lnlLlally sLaLed, rendered a verdlcL of gullL.
1he errors LhaL accused-appellanLs faulL Lhe 1rlal CourL wlLh cenLer on Lhe lssue of credlblllLy, as well as on Lhe
flndlng LhaL Lhe clrcumsLances of evldenL premedlLaLlon, Lreachery and superlor sLrengLh aLLended Lhe
commlsslon of Lhe offense.
We flnd no room for reversal.
1he defense lnslsLs LhaL lL was lellclano 8acho who commlLLed Lhe crlme. lL sLresses LhaL Lhe vlcLlm's wlfe,
1ereslLa uaclr, even cooperaLed wlLh Lhe ln 1lwl ollce ln flllng Crlmlnal Case no. 2496 for Pomlclde agalnsL
8acho eL als., only Lo change her mlnd afLer Lhe prellmlnary lnvesLlgaLlon had been conducLed and LhereafLer
plnpolnLlng faLher and son lnsLead.
1he records dlsclose, however, LhaL ln her AffldavlL, Laken on 16 May 1986 (Lxh. 3), or Lhe day afLer Lhe faLal
lncldenL, she had already dlsclosed:
6. C: Who were Lhose person or persons responslble Lo (slc) Lhe deaLh of your
husband, lf you know?
A: l am suspecLlng !LSuS CCML1Ln1L and hls son, !AlML CCML1Ln1L as
l've wlLnessed nLS1C8 uACl8 sLrangled on hls neck by !LSuS CCML1Ln1L,
and hls companlons who (slc) l do noL know Lhelr names.
8. C: Why dld you happen Lo suspecL !LSuS CCML1Ln1L and hls son !AlML
Lo be Lhe suspecL ln Lhls parLlcular case Lo lnclude Lhelr companlons?
A: 8ecause l have seen !LSuS CCML1Ln1L sLrangle my husband. Whlle
!AlML CCML1Ln1L was also Lhere and several oLhers.
10. C: Showlng Lo you, persons ln Lhe name (slc) of lLLlClAnC 8ACPC, !LSuS
8ACPC, !uS1lnlAnC 8ACPC and uAnn? CCML1Ln1L, whaL can you say
abouL Lhem?
A: 1hey were Lhe same persons who sLoned our house.
LvldenLly, Lherefore, even Lhe day afLer Lhe faLeful occurrence, Lhe vlcLlm's wlfe had already ldenLlfled accused-
appellanLs as Lhe assallanLs of Lhe husband and lellclano 8acho as one who had sLoned Lhe vlcLlm's house.
Moreover, ln Lhe 8e-lnvesLlgaLlon of Crlm. Case no. M1-2493 agalnsL lellclano 8acho, and l.S. no. 86-1924
agalnsL faLher and son, Lhe rovlnclal llscal concluded, ln a 8esoluLlon daLed 28 november 1986, LhaL he was
"flrmly convlnced LhaL lellclano 8acho was noL Lhe one who sLabbed nesLor uaclr, desplLe hls demonsLraLlon and
exLra-[udlclal confesslon." Pe Lhen ordered Lhe case agalnsL 8acho dlsmlssed and "LhaL an lnformaLlon for murder
be flled agalnsL !esus CompeLenLe and !alme CompeLenLe wlLh Lhe 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of 1abaco, Albay (Crlglnal
records, pp. 38-61).
1haL should seLLle Lhe maLLer of 8acho's culpablllLy lrrespecLlve of Lhe asseveraLlons of Lhe defense Lo Lhe
conLrary and Lhe alleged "change of mlnd" of Lhe vlcLlm's wldow.
LyewlLness 8oslLa Calan's fallure Lo reporL Lhe lncldenL unLll 18 May 1986 because she dld noL wanL Lo be
lnvolved ls noL a sufflclenL basls for re[ecLlng her LesLlmony. 1he lnlLlal relucLance of wlLnesses and Lhelr
unwllllngness Lo be lnvolved ln crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlons, are common and have been [udlclally declared noL Lo
affecL credlblllLy (eople v. acla, no. 69343, 14 !une 1990, 186 SC8A 329).
1he defense furLher assalls 8oslLa Calan's LesLlmony LhaL aL abouL 1:00 .M. she was aLLendlng Lo Lhe CuLlerrez
chlldren aL Lhe fronL yard of Lhe laLLer's resldence as belng lnconslsLenL wlLh physlcal facLs ln LhaL lL was very hoL
aL Lhe Llme. 1haL ls noL necessarlly so, however, as Lhere were Lrees ln Lhe area (Lxh. u, p. 48, orlglnal record).
Accused-appellanLs also aLLack as hearsay 8oslLa's LesLlmony LhaL when Lhe vlcLlm was approachlng, she heard
appellanL-faLher say "here he ls, here he ls" and heard Aurora CompeLenLe confronL her son !alme "why do you
have Lo [oln your faLher?" lor one, however, Lhe fallure of accused-appellanLs Lo ob[ecL Lo hearsay evldence,
consLlLuLes a walver of Lhe rlghL Lo cross-examlne Lhe acLual wlLness Lo Lhe occurrence, Lhereby renderlng Lhe
evldence admlsslble (eople v. Carcla, L-44364, 27 Aprll 1979, 89 SC8A 440). lor anoLher, Lhe LesLlmonles
aforesald were offered Lo prove Lhe facL of uLLerances regardless of Lhelr LruLh and, Lherefore, were noL hearsay.
ln any case, Lhe uLLerances can be consldered as parL of Lhe tes qestoe, havlng been made durlng Lhe lncldenL
(8ule 130, sec. 36, 8ules of CourL).
ursulng Lhelr aLLack on Lhe credlblllLy of prosecuLlon wlLnesses, accused-appellanLs furLher aver LhaL Lhe
LesLlmony of Lhe vlcLlm's elghL (8)-year-old-son, Sonny uaclr, ls unrellable because of hls fallure Lo lmmedlaLely
reveal Lo hls moLher Lhe ldenLlLy of hls faLher's assallanLs, whlch ls allegedly conLrary Lo human conducL. 1he facL
remalns, however, LhaL Lhe knew LhaL hls moLher had wlLnessed Lhe lncldenL herself. And lf he dld noL Lell Lhe
pollce or Lhe barangay auLhorlLles, lL was because Lhey dld noL ask hlm any quesLlons.
AddlLlonally, Lhe defense furLher clalms LhaL Lhe prosecuLlon falled Lo esLabllsh Lhe moLlve behlnd Lhe lncldenL.
1he accepLed dlcLum ls, however, LhaL moLlve ls noL essenLlal Lo convlcLlon when Lhe accused as ln Lhls case, are
poslLlvely ldenLlfled and Lhere ls no doubL as Lo Lhelr ldenLlLy (Andaya v. eople, C.8. no. 73930, 8 !une 1990, 186
SC8A 410).
We Lurn now Lo Lhe LesLlmonles of accused-appellanLs and Lhelr wlLnesses whlch, accordlng Lo Lhe defense, were
lncorrecLly re[ecLed by Lhe 1rlal CourL. 1he records do noL bear Lhls ouL.
1he mere denlal by appellanL-faLher of Lhe acL of sLrangllng Lhe vlcLlm can noL prevall over Lhe poslLlve
ldenLlflcaLlon of hlm by prosecuLlon wlLnesses. Moreover, Lhe auLopsy flndlngs conflrm LhaL facL of sLrangulaLlon.
1o quoLe:
l - LxLernal -
1. neck aL Lhe level of Lhe Adam's Apple 8lghL - Wounds, superflclal, near each oLher, 6 ln
number, 3 of whlch are abraded and 3 are scraLches.
LefL - Abraslon 3 ln number, near each oLher.
1haL auLopsy reporL also supporLs Lhe rovlnclal llscal's concluslon LhaL 8acho could noL have been Lhe culprlL as
Lhe laLLer never menLloned Lhe sLrangllng ln hls demonsLraLlon conLrary Lo Lhe physlcal flndlng of Lhe examlnlng
physlclan. Cf noLe as well ls Lhe clrcumsLance LhaL appellanL-faLher's verslon of Lhe lncldenL ls conLrary Lo human
experlence. AfLer havlng been sLabbed, Lhe vlcLlm could noL be expecLed Lo sLlll run afLer 8acho, who was Lhen
allegedly armed wlLh a klLchen knlfe, and Lo knock on Lhe door of Lhe CompeLenLe house. Sald vlcLlm was so
badly wounded LhaL he dled soon afLer arrlval aL Lhe hosplLal. Pe was ln no poslLlon, Lherefore, Lo run afLer hls
alleged assallanL.
AppellanLs-son's defense of allbl conLalns no semblance of LruLh. Aslde from Lhe facL LhaL lL can noL prevall over
poslLlve ldenLlflcaLlon, lL has been held LhaL allbl ls weak lf esLabllshed merely by Lhe accused Lhemselves and
Lhelr relaLlves and noL by credlble persons (eople v. Solls, C.8. no. 93629, 18 March 1991, 193 SC8A 403). lL also
Laxes credullLy LhaL appellanL-son would have slepL from 11:30 A.M. Lo 3:00 .M. whlle Lhelr guesLs were
celebraLlng Lhe bapLlsm of hls son and aL Lhe helghL of Lhe barangay "flesLa."
CorrecLly re[ecLed by Lhe 1rlal CourL, Loo, were Lhe LesLlmonles of Lhe oLher defense wlLnesses. 1hus, Lhe
LesLlmony of 8oberLo Cope LhaL he saw eyewlLness 8oslLa Calan ln Lhe house of her faLher-ln-law uloscoro Calan
aL nearby 8arangay Sugod from 11:00 A.M. Lo 12:00 .M. can hardly be glven welghL. 1he flesLa was ln 8arangay
8ano noL ln 8arangay Sugod. 8esldes, lL ls sLrange for 8oberLo Lo have kepL waLch on Lhe exacL whereabouLs of
8oslLa from 11:00 A.M. Lo 2:00 .M.
1he LesLlmonles of LoreLo 8odrlgueza, LmerlLa Collna and uomlngo uacoco, !r. echo appellanL-faLher's verslon
LhaL lL was 8acho who had sLabbed Lhe vlcLlm and can nelLher be appreclaLed ln Lhe llghL of Lhe flndlngs of Lhe
rovlnclal llscal. 1here ls Lhe added conslderaLlon LhaL mosL of Lhem are close relaLlons of accused-appellanLs
who can normally be expecLed Lo be blased ln Lhelr favor, absenL credlble lndlcaLlons Lo Lhe conLrary.
nor can Lhe LesLlmony of /SgL. Wllfredo 8ermas be LreaLed dlfferenLly. Pe sLaLed LhaL lL was 8acho, noL Lhe
CompeLenLes, who was Lhe culprlL, LhaL when he lnvesLlgaLed 8acho, Lhe laLLer conflded Lo hlm LhaL he had kllled
Lhe vlcLlm, and LhaL a crlmlnal complalnL was flled agalnsL 8acho, whlch complalnL dld noL lnclude appellanL-
faLher-and-son, subsequenLly, Lhough, Lhey were lncluded because of Lhe lnslsLence of Lhe vlcLlm's wlfe.
Powever, conslderlng Lhe resulL of Lhe re-lnvesLlgaLlon by Lhe rovlnclal llscal, lL ls clear LhaL /SgL. 8ermas'
lnvesLlgaLlon was hasLy and Lhe complalnL he flled Lhe nexL day afLer Lhe lncldenL unrellable. 1he re-lnvesLlgaLlon
reporL llkewlse rebuLs Lhe presumpLlon LhaL /SgL. 8ermas performed hls duLles ln a regular manner.
1he clrcumsLance LhaL Lhe !udge who rendered Lhe [udgmenL was noL Lhe one who heard Lhe wlLnesses, does noL
deLracL from Lhe valldlLy of Lhe verdlcL of convlcLlon. Lven a cursory perusal of Lhe ueclslon would show LhaL lL
was based on Lhe evldence presenLed durlng Lrlal and LhaL lL was carefully sLudled, wlLh LesLlmonles on dlrecL and
cross examlnaLlon as well as quesLlons from Lhe CourL carefully passed upon.
We agree wlLh Lhe defense, however, LhaL evldenL premedlLaLlon was lncorrecLly consldered by Lhe 1rlal CourL as
a generlc aggravaLlng clrcumsLance. 1here ls lnsufflclenL showlng LhaL Lhe faLher and son had prevlously
concelved of Lhe commlsslon of Lhe crlme and had manlfesLly lndlcaLed LhaL Lhey had clung Lo Lhelr
deLermlnaLlon. ln facL, Lhe evldence ls hazy as Lo wheLher or noL Lhey had Laken parL ln Lhe sLonlng.
8uL Lreachery was, lndeed, presenL. AppellanL-son's acL of sLabblng Lhe vlcLlm whlle hls faLher was sLrangllng Lhe
laLLer who was lylng face down flaL on Lhe ground lndlcaLes LhaL boLh faLher and son had employed means
Lendlng Lo as lL dld lnsure Lhe execuLlon of Lhe acL of kllllng wlLhouL rlsk Lo Lhemselves whlch could have arlsen
from Lhe defense whlch Lhe vlcLlm could have made. Pavlng Lrlpped and fallen flaL on hls face on Lhe ground, Lhe
vlcLlm was ln no poslLlon Lo defend hlmself. Apropos lL ls Lo recall LhaL Lhe vlcLlm was hlL on Lhe back above hls
rlghL hlp bone. 1he crlme has been correcLly caLegorlzed, Lherefore, as Murder.
[G.k. No. 138084. Apr|| 10, 2002]
MALAAN INSUkANCL CC., INC., %&'('()*&+, -." nILIINL NAILS AND WIkLS CCkCkA1ICN, +&.%)*/&*'.
D L C I S I C N
UISUM8ING, !.:
1hls peLlLlon for revlew seeks Lhe reversal of Lhe declslon daLed SepLember 30, 1998, of Lhe CourL of
Appeals ln CA-C.8. Cv no. 43347, afflrmlng Lhe declslon daLed uecember 10, 1993, of Lhe 8eglonal 1rlal CourL of
aslg, MeLro Manlla, 8ranch 163, and Lhe resoluLlon daLed March 23, 1999, of Lhe CourL of Appeals denylng Lhe
peLlLloner's moLlon for reconslderaLlon.
[1]

8espondenL hlllpplne nalls and Wlres CorporaLlon lnsured agalnsL all rlsks lLs shlpmenL of 10,033.400
meLrlc Lons of sLeel bllleLs valued aL 67,136,300 wlLh peLlLloner Malayan lnsurance Company lnc. 1he shlpmenL
dellvered was shorL by 377.168 meLrlc Lons. lor Lhls shorLage, respondenL clalmed lnsurance for 2,698,637.04,
represenLlng Lhe value of undellvered sLeel bllleLs, plus cusLoms duLles, Laxes and oLher charges pald by
respondenL. eLlLloner refused Lo pay.
Cn !uly 28, 1993, respondenL flled a complalnL agalnsL peLlLloner for sum of money wlLh Lhe 81C of aslg
represenLlng sald losL and/or undellvered cargo. eLlLloner moved Lo dlsmlss Lhe complalnL on Lhe grounds LhaL
lL falled Lo sLaLe a cause of acLlon, and LhaL lL was flled ln Lhe wrong venue. 1he moLlon was denled. lL Lhus flled
a peLlLlon for prohlblLlon wlLh Lhe CourL of Appeals. 1hls was also denled. upon moLlon for reconslderaLlon, Lhe
peLlLlon was relnsLaLed. Powever, lL was evenLually dlsmlssed by Lhe CourL of Appeals, and lLs dlsmlssal became
flnal and execuLory.
Cn SepLember 8, 1993, respondenL flled a moLlon Lo admlL an amended complalnL whlch Lhe Lrlal courL
granLed. lL senL peLlLloner summons and a copy of Lhe complalnL on CcLober 13, 1993 and also gave peLlLloner
unLll CcLober 31, 1993 Lo flle lLs answer.
Cn november 4, 1993, respondenL moved Lo declare peLlLloner ln defaulL. 1he Lrlal courL granLed and
allowed Lhe presenLaLlon of evldence ex potte before Lhe branch clerk of courL. 8espondenL presenLed lLs lone
wlLness, !eanne klng.
Cn november 11, 1993, peLlLloner flled lLs answer wlLh compulsory counLerclalm. upon moLlon by Lhe
respondenL, Lhe Lrlal courL expunged from Lhe records Lhe answer for laLe flllng.
Cn uecember 10, 1993, Lhe Lrlal courL rendered a [udgmenL by defaulL whlch reads:
WPL8LlC8L, premlses consldered, !udgmenL ls hereby rendered ln favor of plalnLlff and agalnsL defendanL,
orderlng Lhe laLLer Lo pay Lhe followlng:
1. 2,332,926.33 represenLlng Lhe lnsured value of Lhe losL and/or noL dellvered 377.168 meLrlc Lons of sLeel
bllleLs plus legal raLe of lnLeresL from daLe of flllng of Lhls complalnL unLll fully pald,
2. llfLeen (13) percenL of Lhe amounL awarded Lo plalnLlff as aLLorney's fees, and
3. CosL of sulL.
SC C8uL8Lu.
[2]

8espondenL moved Lo execuLe [udgmenL pendlng appeal. 1he Lrlal courL granLed Lhe moLlon. Meanwhlle,
peLlLloner flled lLs noLlce of appeal whlch was glven due course.
ursuanL Lo Lhe granL of Lhe moLlon for execuLlon, Lhe Lrlal courL lssued Lhe correspondlng wrlL. eLlLloner
flled a peLlLlon for cerLlorarl wlLh prayer for a Lemporary resLralnlng order Lo en[oln Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of Lhe
wrlL. 1he CourL of Appeals granLed Lhe prayer for Lhe Lemporary resLralnlng order. 1he wrlL of execuLlon was
llkewlse sLayed by Lhe Lrlal courL whlch favorably consldered peLlLloner's urgenL moLlon Lo sLay execuLlon
pendlng appeal and Lo approve Lhe supersedeas bond.
ursuanL Lo Lhe noLlce of appeal, Lhe enLlre records of Lhe case were elevaLed Lo Lhe CourL of Appeals,
where peLlLloner argued LhaL Lhe Lrlal courL erred ln renderlng [udgmenL by defaulL noLwlLhsLandlng LhaL lssues
were [olned by peLlLloner's flllng of an answer, ln awardlng damages Lo respondenL based on unauLhenLlcaLed
documenLary evldence and hearsay, and ln admlLLlng documenLary evldence whlch ls lrregular ln naLure and noL
ln accordance wlLh Lhe 8ules of CourL.
1he CourL of Appeals concurred wlLh Lhe Lrlal courL and dlsposed Lhe case Lhus:
WPL8LlC8L, premlses consldered, Lhere belng no reverslble error commlLLed by Lhe lower courL, Lhe [udgmenL
appealed from ls hereby Alll8MLu ln LoLo.
[3]

1he CourL of Appeals held LhaL Lhe Lrlal courL dld noL abuse lLs dlscreLlon nor err when lL expunged Lhe
answer from Lhe records because peLlLloner answered way beyond Lhe prescrlbed perlod. lL furLher held LhaL
respondenL's wlLness, !eanne klng, was a compeLenL wlLness because she personally prepared Lhe documenLary
evldence and had personal knowledge of Lhe allegaLlons ln Lhe complalnL. ln addlLlon, Lhe appellaLe courL sald
LhaL concluslons and flndlngs of facL of Lhe Lrlal courLs were enLlLled Lo greaL welghL on appeal and should noL be
dlsLurbed unless for sLrong and cogenL reasons, whlch were noL presenL ln Lhls case. LasLly, Lhe absence of a
wrlLLen reporL by Lhe branch clerk of courL on Lhe ex potte proceedlngs dld noL necessarlly deny peLlLloner due
process. noLhlng ln Lhe 8ules of CourL sLaLed LhaL Lhe absence of Lhe commlssloner's wrlLLen reporL nulllfled a
[udgmenL by defaulL. 1he appellaLe courL observed LhaL lf Lhere was a defecL, such was only procedural LhaL can
be walved. 8esldes, peLlLloner was declared ln defaulL because of lLs own fallure Lo answer wlLhln Lhe prescrlbed
perlod. lL cannoL clalm denlal of due process because lL was glven Lhe opporLunlLy Lo be heard.
eLlLloner's moLlon for reconslderaLlon was denled, hence, Lhls peLlLlon alleglng LhaL Lhe CourL of Appeals
erred and acLed conLrary Lo exlsLlng law and [urlsprudence ln:
l. .ClvlnC 8C8A1lvL vALuL 1C 1PL u8LL? PLA8SA? 1LS1lMCn? Cl 8LSCnuLn1'S SCLL Wl1nLSS.
ll. .Alll8MlnC 1PL uLClSlCn Cl 1PL 18lAL CCu81 WPlCP WAS 8ASLu Cn uCCuMLn1A8? LvluLnCL
AuMl11Lu Wl1PCu1 8LlnC 8CL8L? Au1PLn1lCA1Lu.
[4]

lor resoluLlon now are Lhe followlng lssues: Was !eanne klng's LesLlmony hearsay, Lhus wlLhouL any
probaLlve value? Should respondenL auLhenLlcaLe Lhe documenLary evldence lL submlLLed aL Lhe Lrlal?
Cn Lhe flrsL lssue, peLlLloner Malayan lnsurance Co., lnc., conLends LhaL !eanne klng's LesLlmony was
hearsay because she had no personal knowledge of Lhe execuLlon of Lhe documenLs supporLlng respondenL's
cause of acLlon, such as Lhe sales conLracL, lnvolce, packlng llsL, blll of ladlng, SCS 8eporL, and Lhe Marlne Cargo
ollcy. eLlLloner avers LhaL even Lhough klng was personally asslgned Lo handle and monlLor Lhe lmporLaLlon of
hlllpplne nalls and Wlres CorporaLlon, hereln respondenL, Lhls cannoL be equaLed wlLh personal knowledge of
Lhe facLs whlch gave rlse Lo respondenL's cause of acLlon. lurLher, peLlLloner asserLs, even Lhough she personally
prepared Lhe summary of welghL of sLeel bllleLs recelved by respondenL, she dld noL have personal knowledge of
Lhe welghL of sLeel bllleLs acLually shlpped and dellvered.
AL Lhe ouLseL, we musL sLress LhaL respondenL's cause of acLlon ls founded on breach of lnsurance conLracL
coverlng cargo conslsLlng of lmporLed sLeel bllleLs. 1o hold peLlLloner llable, respondenL has Lo prove, flrsL, lLs
lmporLaLlon of 10,033.400 meLrlc Lons of sLeel bllleLs valued aL 67,136,300.00, and second, Lhe acLual sLeel
bllleLs dellvered Lo and recelved by Lhe lmporLer, namely Lhe respondenL. WlLness !eanne klng, who was
asslgned Lo handle respondenL's lmporLaLlons, lncludlng Lhelr lnsurance coverage, has personal knowledge of Lhe
volume of sLeel bllleLs belng lmporLed, and Lherefore compeLenL Lo LesLlfy Lhereon. Per LesLlmony ls noL hearsay,
as Lhls docLrlne ls deflned ln SecLlon 36, 8ule 130 of Lhe 8ules of CourL.
[3]

Powever, she ls noL quallfled Lo LesLlfy on Lhe shorLage ln Lhe dellvery of Lhe lmporLed sLeel bllleLs. She dld
noL have personal knowledge of Lhe acLual sLeel bllleLs recelved. Lven Lhough she prepared Lhe summary of Lhe
recelved sLeel bllleLs, she based Lhe summary only on Lhe recelpLs prepared by oLher persons. Per LesLlmony on
sLeel bllleLs recelved was hearsay. lL has no probaLlve value even lf noL ob[ecLed Lo aL Lhe Lrlal.
[6]

Cn Lhe second lssue, peLlLloner avers LhaL klng falled Lo properly auLhenLlcaLe respondenL's documenLary
evldence. under SecLlon 20, 8ule 132, 8ules of CourL,
[7]
before a prlvaLe documenL ls admlLLed ln evldence, lL
musL be auLhenLlcaLed elLher by Lhe person who execuLed lL, Lhe person before whom lLs execuLlon was
acknowledged, any person who was presenL and saw lL execuLed, or who afLer lLs execuLlon, saw lL and
recognlzed Lhe slgnaLures, or Lhe person Lo whom Lhe parLles Lo Lhe lnsLrumenLs had prevlously confessed
execuLlon Lhereof. ln Lhls case, respondenL admlLs LhaL klng was none of Lhe aforemenLloned persons. She
merely made Lhe summary of Lhe welghL of sLeel bllleLs based on Lhe unauLhenLlcaLed blll of ladlng and Lhe SCS
reporL. 1hus, Lhe summary of sLeel bllleLs acLually recelved had no proven real basls, and klng's LesLlmony on Lhls
polnL could noL be Laken aL face value.
eLlLloner conLends LhaL Lhe CourL of Appeals erred ln glvlng lmprlmaLur Lo Lhe Lrlal courL's rullng wlLh
regard Lo Lhe admlsslon of documenLary evldence submlLLed by respondenL. Cn Lhls score, we flnd peLlLloner's
conLenLlon merlLorlous. under Lhe rules on evldence, documenLs are elLher publlc or prlvaLe. rlvaLe documenLs
are Lhose LhaL do noL fall under any of Lhe enumeraLlons ln SecLlon 19, 8ule 132 of Lhe 8ules of CourL.
[8]
SecLlon
20
[9]
of Lhe same law, ln Lurn, provldes LhaL before any prlvaLe documenL ls recelved ln evldence, lLs due
execuLlon and auLhenLlclLy musL be proved elLher by anyone who saw Lhe documenL execuLed or wrlLLen, or by
evldence of Lhe genulneness of Lhe slgnaLure or handwrlLlng of Lhe maker. Pere, respondenL's documenLary
exhlblLs are prlvaLe documenLs. 1hey are noL among Lhose enumeraLed ln SecLlon 19, Lhus, Lhelr due execuLlon
and auLhenLlclLy need Lo be proved before Lhey can be admlLLed ln evldence. WlLh Lhe excepLlon concernlng Lhe
summary of Lhe welghL of Lhe sLeel bllleLs lmporLed, respondenL presenLed no supporLlng evldence concernlng
Lhelr auLhenLlclLy.
[10]
ConsequenLly, Lhey cannoL be uLlllzed Lo prove less of Lhe lnsured cargo and/or Lhe shorL
dellvery of Lhe lmporLed sLeel bllleLs. ln sum, we flnd no sufflclenL compeLenL evldence Lo prove peLlLloner's
llablllLy.
WnLkLICkL, Lhe peLlLlon ls C8An1Lu. 1he declslon of Lhe CourL of Appeals daLed SepLember 30, 1998 and
lLs resoluLlon on March 23, 1999 ln CA-C.8. Cv no. 43347 are 8LvL8SLu and SL1 ASluL. ln lleo Lhereof, Clvll Case
no. 63443 ls hereby ordered ulSMlSSLu.
no pronouncemenL as Lo cosLs.
SC CkDLkLD.