February 16, 2011 (NAME AND ADDRESS OF ADDRESSEE) Re: Legal Opinion on the Civil Liability of the Deceased

Juan De La Cruz in relation to Graft Charges Currently Pending with the Ombudsman

Attention: Atty. Piolo Pascual Dear Atty. Pascual, THE LEGAL PROBLEM Relative to your query if ABC Corp., (the Corp.) thru its representative, Mr.Brad Pitt, can file a civil case against the estate of the late Commissioner Juan De La Cruz (Commissioner DLC) in relation to the case, titled ABC Corp. vs. Com. Juan de la Cruz docketed as OMB-09999, filed against him while he was still alive, which case was filed with the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman for violations of the Anti-Graft and Practices Act or RA 3019, the Securities Regulation Code and RA 6713, kindly note our opinion herein. Facts of the Case 1. This legal opinion is premised on the following facts and documents that you have furnished our office, to wit: A complaintaffidavit was filed by the Corp., thru its President, Brad Pitt, against the late Commissioner JDC and his other cohorts, for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices (RA 3019) Act and the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and RA 6713. While the case was pending with the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman he died. The case up to this date is still pending with the said office.

ASSESSMENT OF THE PROBLEM Extinguishment of Civil Liability 2. This issue has been settled in our jurisprudence, particularly in the case of Fonacier vs. The Hon. Sandiganbayan (G.R. No. L-50691, December 5, 1994) where it has been held that the civil liability of a respondent or accused arising from a crime, who dies during the pendency of his criminal case is automatically extinguished upon his death. 3. In application to the afore-mentioned case it is our humble opinion that the death of the late Com. JDC automatically extinguished not only his criminal liability but also his civil liability connected with the said case. 4. Likewise, the death of the late Com. JDC has extinguished both his criminal liability as well as his civil liability arising from the alleged crime as per the mandate of Rule 111, Sec. 4, of the Rules on Criminal Procedure. Sandiganbayans Joint Determination 5. Furthermore, in cases pending before the Sandiganbayan, the civil liability of the accused must be determined in the same cases. This is stated in Section 4, PD 1606 as amended by RA 8249. 6. In application, the civil liability of the late Com. JDC for his criminal acts can only be determined in the same action and by the same court where the case is pending, which could have been the Sandiganbayan. However, with the death of the late Com. Martinez there is no way anymore that the matter of his civil liability can be threshed out by the Sandiganbayan. Independent Civil Action 7. Parenthetically, it needs to be mentioned that a civil action may proceed independently of the criminal action but only by way of an exception and these are for cases falling under articles 32, 33, 34 and 2176 of our Civil Code. The civil actions in this context may be instituted against the estate or legal representative of the deceased. This is stated in Rule 111 section 3 of the Rules on Crimi Procedure.

8. The afore-cited law was applied in Elcano v. Hill (77 SCRA 98) where it was succinctly held by the Honorable Supreme Court that, whereas the civil liability for the same act considered as a quasi-delict only and not as a crime is not extinguished even by a declaration in the criminal case that the criminal act charged has not happened or has not been committed by the accused. 9. In the instant case, because the acts for which the late Commissioner JDC had been charged of do not fall under those exceptional cases under the New Civil Code, said doctrine in the case of Elcano finds no application to the case at bar. Summation 10. In sum therefore, it is our opinion that since the act(s) that the Corp. has alleged in the Complaint-Affidavit against the late Commissioner JDC and his cohorts and now currently pending with the Honorable Office of the Ombudsman are in the nature of a delict or crime and that because those acts do not fall under the exceptional rules where an independent action may be filed, his death therefore automatically carried with it the extinguishment of his criminal liability and the civil liability that could have arisen therefrom. RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION 11. Based on the premise above, we cannot recommend to you any positive action that you may take against the late of Com. JDC or his estate. However, since there are other co-respondents in the said case who are still alive, you may opt to file/institute your claim for civil liability against them using the guideposts stated above. We hope that this opinion has sufficiently answered your query. If you need further assistance or clarification on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you.