PEOPLE v.

MARIANO
71 SCRA 600

MUNOZ PALMA, J.:

TOPIC: JURISDICTION

FACTS:
Hermogenes Mariano is an appointed Liaison officer by Mayor Constantino Nolasco of San Jose del
Monte, Bulacan. Mariano is authorized to receive and be receipted for US excess property of
USAID/NEC. Mariano, instead of delivering it to the Office of the Mayor, misappropriated, misapply
and converteed the said items for his personal benefit. Hence, the Office of Provinsial Fiscal of
Bulacan filed an Information accusing private reponsdent Mariano of Estafa. Mariano filed a motion
to quash thee information. He claimed that the items which were the subject matter of the Information
against him were the same items for which Mayor Nolasco was indicted before a Military Commission
under a charge of malversation of public property. The judge of RTC granted the motion to quash on
the ground of lack of jurisction. It held that it had already taken cognizance of the malversation case
against Mayor Nolasco involving the same subject matter, as such the court has without the
jurisdiction to pass upon anew the same subject matter.

ISSUE:
Whether or not civil courts and military commissions exercise concurrent jurisdiction over the offense
of estafa of goods allegedly committed by a civilian.

RULING:
Sec. 44 of Judicary Act of 1948 provides that:
xxx CFI shall have original jurisdiction in all criminal cases in which the penalty provided by law is
imprisonment for more than six months xxx

The offense charged against Mariano is penalized with arresto mayor in its minimum and prision
correccional in its maximum period. Thus, Mariano falls under the original jurisdiction of the CFI.

In a previous case decided by SC, it ruled that the jurisdiction of a court is determined by the statute
in force at the time of the commencement of the action. In the case at bar, the law in force vesting
jurisdiction upon CFI was the Judiciary Act of 1948.

SC also made it clear that Estafa and Malversation are two and separate distinct offenses.

Lastly, Military Commission is without power or authority to hear and determine the particular offense
charged against respondent
Mariano. Estafa falls within the sole exclusive jurisdiction of civil courts.

PREMISES CONSIDERED, the appealed Order dated March 14, 1975, is set aside and respondent
Judge is directed to proceed with the trial of Criminal Case No. SM-649 without further delay.

SO ORDERED.