persons and family case of the civil code

7/27/2019 Persons and family case of the civil code

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PERSONS 1st set of cases

Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURT

Manila

EN BANC

G.R. No. L-63915 April 24, 1985

LORENZO M. TAADA, ABRAHAM F. SARMIENTO, and MOVEMENT OF ATTORNEYS FORBROTHERHOOD, INTEGRITY AND NATIONALISM, INC. [MABINI], petitioners,vs.HON. JUAN C. TUVERA, in his capacity as Executive Assistant to the President, HON. JOAQUINVENUS, in his capacity as Deputy Executive Assistant to the President , MELQUIADES P. DE LACRUZ, in his capacity as Director, Malacaang Records Office, and FLORENDO S. PABLO, in hiscapacity as Director, Bureau of Printing, respondents.

ESCOLIN,J.:

Invoking the people's right to be informed on matters of public concern, a right recognized in Section 6,Article IV of the 1973 Philippine Constitution, 1 as well as the principle that laws to be valid and enforceablemust be published in the Official Gazette or otherwise effectively promulgated, petitioners seek a writ ofmandamus to compel respondent public officials to publish, and/or cause the publication in the OfficialGazette of various presidential decrees, letters of instructions, general orders, proclamations, executiveorders, letter of implementation and administrative orders.

Specifically, the publication of the following presidential issuances is sought:

a] Presidential Decrees Nos. 12, 22, 37, 38, 59, 64, 103, 171, 179, 184, 197, 200, 234, 265,286, 298, 303, 312, 324, 325, 326, 337, 355, 358, 359, 360, 361, 368, 404, 406, 415, 427,429, 445, 447, 473, 486, 491, 503, 504, 521, 528, 551, 566, 573, 574, 594, 599, 644, 658,

661, 718, 731, 733, 793, 800, 802, 835, 836, 923, 935, 961, 1017-1030, 1050, 1060-1061,1085, 1143, 1165, 1166, 1242, 1246, 1250, 1278, 1279, 1300, 1644, 1772, 1808, 1810,1813-1817, 1819-1826, 1829-1840, 1842-1847.

b] Letter of Instructions Nos.: 10, 39, 49, 72, 107, 108, 116, 130, 136, 141, 150, 153, 155,161, 173, 180, 187, 188, 192, 193, 199, 202, 204, 205, 209, 211-213, 215-224, 226-228,231-239, 241-245, 248, 251, 253-261, 263-269, 271-273, 275-283, 285-289, 291, 293, 297-299, 301-303, 309, 312-315, 325, 327, 343, 346, 349, 357, 358, 362, 367, 370, 382, 385,386, 396-397, 405, 438-440, 444- 445, 473, 486, 488, 498, 501, 399, 527, 561, 576, 587,594, 599, 600, 602, 609, 610, 611, 612, 615, 641, 642, 665, 702, 712-713, 726, 837-839,878-879, 881, 882, 939-940, 964,997,1149-1178,1180-1278.

c] General Orders Nos.: 14, 52, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64 & 65.

d] Proclamation Nos.: 1126, 1144, 1147, 1151, 1196, 1270, 1281, 1319-1526, 1529, 1532,1535, 1538, 1540-1547, 1550-1558, 1561-1588, 1590-1595, 1594-1600, 1606-1609, 1612-1628, 1630-1649, 1694-1695, 1697-1701, 1705-1723, 1731-1734, 1737-1742, 1744, 1746-1751, 1752, 1754, 1762, 1764-1787, 1789-1795, 1797, 1800, 1802-1804, 1806-1807, 1812-1814, 1816, 1825-1826, 1829, 1831-1832, 1835-1836, 1839-1840, 1843-1844, 1846-1847,1849, 1853-1858, 1860, 1866, 1868, 1870, 1876-1889, 1892, 1900, 1918, 1923, 1933,1952, 1963, 1965-1966, 1968-1984, 1986-2028, 2030-2044, 2046-2145, 2147-2161, 2163-2244.


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e] Executive Orders Nos.: 411, 413, 414, 427, 429-454, 457- 471, 474-492, 494-507, 509-510, 522, 524-528, 531-532, 536, 538, 543-544, 549, 551-553, 560, 563, 567-568, 570, 574,593, 594, 598-604, 609, 611- 647, 649-677, 679-703, 705-707, 712-786, 788-852, 854-857.

f] Letters of Implementation Nos.: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-22, 25-27, 39, 50, 51, 59, 76, 80-81, 92, 94,95, 107, 120, 122, 123.

g] Administrative Orders Nos.: 347, 348, 352-354, 360- 378, 380-433, 436-439.

The respondents, through the Solicitor General, would have this case dismissed outright on the groundthat petitioners have no legal personality or standing to bring the instant petition. The view is submittedthat in the absence of any showing that petitioners are personally and directly affected or prejudiced bythe alleged non-publication of the presidential issuances in question 2 said petitioners are without therequisite legal personality to institute this mandamus proceeding, they are not being "aggrieved parties"within the meaning of Section 3, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, which we quote:

SEC. 3. Petition for Mandamus.When any tribunal, corporation, board or person unlawfullyneglects the performance of an act which the law specifically enjoins as a duty resultingfrom an office, trust, or station, or unlawfully excludes another from the use a rd enjoymentof a right or office to which such other is entitled, and there is no other plain, speedy andadequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, the person aggrieved thereby may file averified petition in the proper court alleging the facts with certainty and praying that

judgment be rendered commanding the defendant, immediately or at some other specifiedtime, to do the act required to be done to Protect the rights of the petitioner, and to pay thedamages sustained by the petitioner by reason of the wrongful acts of the defendant.

Upon the other hand, petitioners maintain that since the subject of the petition concerns a public right andits object is to compel the performance of a public duty, they need not show any specific interest for theirpetition to be given due course.

The issue posed is not one of first impression. As early as the 1910 case ofSeverino vs. GovernorGeneral, 3 this Court held that while the general rule is that "a writ of mandamus would be granted to aprivate individual only in those cases where he has some private or particular interest to be subserved, orsome particular right to be protected, independent of that which he holds with the public at large," and "itis for the public officers exclusively to apply for the writ when public rights are to be subserved [Mithchellvs. Boardmen, 79 M.e., 469]," nevertheless, "when the question is one of public right and the object of themandamus is to procure the enforcement of a public duty, the people are regarded as the real party ininterest and the relator at whose instigation the proceedings are instituted need not show that he has anylegal or special interest in the result, it being sufficient to show that he is a citizen and as such interestedin the execution of the laws [High, Extraordinary Legal Remedies, 3rd ed., sec. 431].

Thus, in said case, this Court recognized the relator Lope Severino, a private individual, as a proper partyto the mandamus proceedings brought to compel the Governor General to call a special election for theposition of municipal president in the town of Silay, Negros Occidental. Speaking for this Court, Mr. JusticeGrant T. Trent said:

We are therefore of the opinion that the weight of authority supports the proposition that

the relator is a proper party to proceedings of this character when a public right is sought tobe enforced. If the general rule in America were otherwise, we think that it would not beapplicable to the case at bar for the reason 'that it is always dangerous to apply a generalrule to a particular case without keeping in mind the reason for the rule, because, if underthe particular circumstances the reason for the rule does not exist, the rule itself is notapplicable and reliance upon the rule may well lead to error'

No reason exists in the case at bar for applying the general rule insisted upon by counsel forthe respondent. The circumstances which surround this case are different from those in theUnited States, inasmuch as if the relator is not a proper party to these proceedings no otherperson could be, as we have seen that it is not the duty of the law officer of the Governmentto appear and represent the people in cases of this character.


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The reasons given by the Court in recognizing a private citizen's legal personality in the aforementionedcase apply squarely to the present petition. Clearly, the right sought to be enforced by petitioners herein isa public right recognized by no less than the fundamental law of the land. If petitioners were not allowed toinstitute this proceeding, it would indeed be difficult to conceive of any other person to initiate the same,considering that the Solicitor General, the government officer generally empowered to represent thepeople, has entered his appearance for respondents in this case.

Respondents further contend that publication in the Official Gazette is not a sine qua non requirement forthe effectivity of laws where the laws themselves provide for their own effectivity dates. It is thus

submitted that since the presidential issuances in question contain special provisions as to the date theyare to take effect, publication in the Official Gazette is not indispensable for their effectivity. The pointstressed is anchored on Article 2 of the Civil Code:

Art. 2. Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publicationin the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided, ...

The interpretation given by respondent is in accord with this Court's construction of said article. In a longline of decisions, 4 this Court has ruled that publication in the Official Gazette is necessary in those caseswhere the legislation itself does not provide for its effectivity date-for then the date of publication ismaterial for determining its date of effectivity, which is the fifteenth day following its publication-but notwhen the law itself provides for the date when it goes into effect.

Respondents' argument, however, is logically correct only insofar as it equates the effectivity of laws withthe fact of publication. Considered in the light of other statutes applicable to the issue at hand, theconclusion is easily reached that said Article 2 does not preclude the requirement of publication in theOfficial Gazette, even if the law itself provides for the date of its effectivity. Thus, Section 1 ofCommonwealth Act 638 provides as follows:

Section 1. There shall be published in the Official Gazette [1] all important legisiative actsand resolutions of a public nature of the, Congress of the Philippines; [2] all executive andadministrative orders and proclamations, except such as have no general applicability; [3]decisions or abstracts of decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals as may bedeemed by said courts of sufficient importance to be so published; [4] such documents orclasses of documents as may be required so to be published by law; and [5] such documentsor classes of documents as the President of the Philippines shall determine from time to time

to have general applicability and legal effect, or which he may authorize so to bepublished. ...

The clear object of the above-quoted provision is to give the general public adequate notice of the variouslaws which are to regulate their actions and conduct as citizens. Without such notice and publication, therewould be no basis for the application of the maxim "ignorantia legis non excusat." It would be the height ofinjustice to punish or otherwise burden a citizen for the transgression of a law of which he had no noticewhatsoever, not even a constructive one.

Perhaps at no time since the establishment of the Philippine Republic has the publication of laws taken sovital significance that at this time when the people have bestowed upon the President a power heretoforeenjoyed solely by the legislature. While the people are kept abreast by the mass media of the debates and

deliberations in the Batasan Pambansaand for the diligent ones, ready access to the legislative recordsno such publicity accompanies the law-making process of the President. Thus, without publication, thepeople have no means of knowing what presidential decrees have actually been promulgated, much less adefinite way of informing themselves of the specific contents and texts of such decrees. As the SupremeCourt of Spain ruled: "Bajo la denominacion generica de leyes, se comprenden tambien los reglamentos,Reales decretos, Instrucciones, Circulares y Reales ordines dictadas de conformidad con las mismas por elGobierno en uso de su potestad. 5

The very first clause of Section I of Commonwealth Act 638 reads: "There shall be published in the OfficialGazette ... ." The word "shall" used therein imposes upon respondent officials an imperative duty. Thatduty must be enforced if the Constitutional right of the people to be informed on matters of public concernis to be given substance and reality. The law itself makes a list of what should be published in the Official


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Gazette. Such listing, to our mind, leaves respondents with no discretion whatsoever as to what must beincluded or excluded from such publication.

The publication of all presidential issuances "of a public nature" or "of general applicability" is mandatedby law. Obviously, presidential decrees that provide for fines, forfeitures or penalties for their violation orotherwise impose a burden or. the people, such as tax and revenue measures, fall within this category.Other presidential issuances which apply only to particular persons or class of persons such asadministrative and executive orders need not be published on the assumption that they have beencircularized to all concerned. 6

It is needless to add that the publication of presidential issuances "of a public nature" or "of generalapplicability" is a requirement of due process. It is a rule of law that before a person may be bound by law,he must first be officially and specifically informed of its contents. As Justice Claudio Teehankee saidin Peralta vs. COMELEC7:

In a time of proliferating decrees, orders and letters of instructions which all form part of thelaw of the land, the requirement of due process and the Rule of Law demand that the OfficialGazette as the official government repository promulgate and publish the texts of all suchdecrees, orders and instructions so that the people may know where to obtain their officialand specific contents.

The Court therefore declares that presidential issuances of general application, which have not been

published, shall have no force and effect. Some members of the Court, quite apprehensive about thepossible unsettling effect this decision might have on acts done in reliance of the validity of thosepresidential decrees which were published only during the pendency of this petition, have put the questionas to whether the Court's declaration of invalidity apply to P.D.s which had been enforced or implementedprior to their publication. The answer is all too familiar. In similar situations in the past this Court had takenthe pragmatic and realistic course set forth in Chicot County Drainage District vs. Baxter Bank8 to wit:

The courts below have proceeded on the theory that the Act of Congress, having been foundto be unconstitutional, was not a law; that it was inoperative, conferring no rights andimposing no duties, and hence affording no basis for the challenged decree. Norton v.Shelby County, 118 U.S. 425, 442; Chicago, 1. & L. Ry. Co. v. Hackett, 228 U.S. 559, 566. Itis quite clear, however, that such broad statements as to the effect of a determination ofunconstitutionality must be taken with qualifications. The actual existence of a statute, prior

to such a determination, is an operative fact and may have consequences which cannotjustly be ignored. The past cannot always be erased by a new judicial declaration. The effectof the subsequent ruling as to invalidity may have to be considered in various aspects-withrespect to particular conduct, private and official. Questions of rights claimed to havebecome vested, of status, of prior determinations deemed to have finality and acted uponaccordingly, of public policy in the light of the nature both of the statute and of its previousapplication, demand examination. These questions are among the most difficult of thosewhich have engaged the attention of courts, state and federal and it is manifest fromnumerous decisions that an all-inclusive statement of a principle of absolute retroactiveinvalidity cannot be justified.

Consistently with the above principle, this Court in Rutter vs. Esteban 9 sustained the right of a party underthe Moratorium Law, albeit said right had accrued in his favor before said law was declaredunconstitutional by this Court.

Similarly, the implementation/enforcement of presidential decrees prior to their publication in the OfficialGazette is "an operative fact which may have consequences which cannot be justly ignored. The pastcannot always be erased by a new judicial declaration ... that an all-inclusive statement of a principle ofabsolute retroactive invalidity cannot be justified."

From the report submitted to the Court by the Clerk of Court, it appears that of the presidential decreessought by petitioners to be published in the Official Gazette, only Presidential Decrees Nos. 1019 to 1030,inclusive, 1278, and 1937 to 1939, inclusive, have not been so published. 10Neither the subject mattersnor the texts of these PDs can be ascertained since no copies thereof are available. But whatever theirsubject matter may be, it is undisputed that none of these unpublished PDs has ever been implemented or


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enforced by the government. InPesigan vs. Angeles, 11 the Court, through Justice Ramon Aquino, ruled that"publication is necessary to apprise the public of the contents of [penal] regulations and make the saidpenalties binding on the persons affected thereby. " The cogency of this holding is apparently recognizedby respondent officials considering the manifestation in their comment that "the government, as a matterof policy, refrains from prosecuting violations of criminal laws until the same shall have been published inthe Official Gazette or in some other publication, even though some criminal laws provide that they shalltake effect immediately.

WHEREFORE, the Court hereby orders respondents to publish in the Official Gazette all unpublished

presidential issuances which are of general application, and unless so published, they shall have nobinding force and effect.

SO ORDERED.

he Court shall discuss the issue of prejudicial question to emphasize the guarding and controllingprecepts and rules.[20]

A prejudicial question has been defined as one based on a fact distinct and separate from the crimebut so intimately connected with it that it determines the guilt or innocence of the accused, and for it tosuspend the criminal action, it must appear not only that said case involves facts intimately related tothose upon which the criminal prosecution would be based but also that in the resolution of the issue orissues raised in the civil case, the guilt or innocence of the accused would necessarily be determined[21]

The rationale behind the principle of suspending a criminal case in view of a prejudicial question is toavoid two conflicting decisions.[22]

The Court of Appeals did not err when it ruled that the pendency of the civil case for annulment ofmarriage filed by petitioner against private respondent did not pose a prejudicial question which wouldnecessitate that the criminal case for bigamy be suspended until said civil case is terminated.

The outcome of the civil case for annulment of petitioners marriage to private respondent had nobearing upon the determination of petitioners innocence or guilt in the criminal case for bigamy, becauseall that is required for the charge of bigamy to prosper is that the first marriage be subsisting at the timethe second marriage is contracted.[23] Petitioners argument that the nullity of his marriage to privaterespondent had to be resolved first in the civil case before the criminal proceedings could continue,because a declaration that their marriage was void ab initiowould necessarily absolve him from criminaliability, is untenable. The ruling in People vs. Mendoza[24]and People vs. Aragon[25]cited by petitioner that

no judicial decree is necessary to establish the invalidity of a marriage which is void ab initio has beenoverturned. The prevailing rule is found in Article 40 of the Family Code, which was already in effect at thetime of petitioners marriage to private respondent in September 1988. Said article states that theabsolute nullity of a previous marriage may not be invoked for purposes of remarriage unless there is afinal judgment declaring such previous marriage void. Thus, under the law, a marriage, even one which isvoid or voidable, shall be deemed valid until declared otherwise in a judicial proceeding. [26]In Landicho vs.Relova,[27] we held that:

Parties to a marriage should not be permitted to judge for themselves its nullity, for this must besubmitted to the judgment of competent courts and only when the nullity of a marriage is so declared canit be held as void, and so long as there is no such declaration the presumption of marriage exists.[28]

It is clear from the foregoing that the pendency of the civil case for annulment of petitioners marriage

to private respondent did not give rise to a prejudicial question which warranted the suspension of theproceedings in the criminal case for bigamy since at the time of the alleged commission of the crime, theirmarriage was, under the law, still valid and subsisting.

Neither did the filing of said civil case for annulment necessitate the suspension of the administrativeproceedings before the PRC Board. As discussed above, the concept of prejudicial question involves a civiand a criminal case. We have previously ruled that there is no prejudicial question where one case isadministrative and the other is civil.[29]

Furthermore, Section 32 of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice ofProfessionals of the PRC Board expressly provides that the administrative proceedings before it shall notbe suspended notwithstanding the existence of a criminal and/or civil case against the respondentinvolving the same facts as the administrative case:
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The filing or pendency of a criminal and/or civil cases in the courts or an administrative case in anotherjudicial body against an examinee or registered professional involving the same facts as in theadministrative case filed or to be filed before the Board shall neither suspend nor bar the proceeding of thelatter case. The Board shall proceed independently with the investigation of the case and shall rendertherein its decision without awaiting for the final decision of the courts or quasi-judicial body.

It must also be noted that the allegations in the administrative complaint before the PRC Board are notconfined to the issue of the alleged bigamous marriage contracted by petitioner and Santella. Petitioner isalso charged with immoral conduct for continued failure to perform his obligations as husband to private

respondent and as father to their child, and for cohabiting with Santella without the benefit of marriage.[30] The existence of these other charges justified the continuation of the proceedings before the PRCBoard.

Petitioner also contends that the Court of Appeals erred in upholding the trial courts denial of hisdemurrer to evidence in the criminal case for bigamy, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish theexistence of both the first and second marriages beyond reasonable doubt. Petitioner claims that theoriginal copy of marriage contract between him and private respondent was not presented, the signaturestherein were not properly identified and there was no showing that the requisites of a valid marriage werecomplied with. He alleges further that the original copy of the marriage contract between him andSantella was not presented, that no proof that he signed said contract was adduced, and that there was nowitness presented to show that a second marriage ceremony participated in by him ever took place.[31]

We are not persuaded. The grant or denial of a demurrer to evidence is left to the sound discretion of

the trial court, and its ruling on the matter shall not be disturbed in the absence of a grave abuse of suchdiscretion.[32] In this case, the Court of Appeals did not find any grave abuse of discretion on the part of thetrial court, which based its denial of the demurrer on two grounds: first, the prosecution establishedaprima facie case for bigamy against the petitioner; and second, petitioners allegations in the demurrerwere insufficient to justify the grant of the same. It has been held that the appellate court will not reviewin a special civil action for certiorari the prosecutions evidence and decide in advance that such evidencehas or has not yet established the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. [33] In view of the triacourts finding that aprima facie case against petitioner exists, his proper recourse is to adduce evidencein his defense.[34]

The Court also finds it necessary to correct petitioners misimpression that by denying his demurrer toevidence in view of the existence of aprima facie case against him, the trial court was already making apronouncement that he is liable for the offense charged. As correctly held by the Court of Appeals, theorder of the RTC denying the demurrer was not an adjudication on the merits but merely an evaluation of

the sufficiency of the prosecutions evidence to determine whether or not a full-blown trial would benecessary to resolve the case.[35] The RTCs observation that there was aprima facie case againstpetitioner only meant that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to sustain its proposition thatpetitioner had committed the offense of bigamy, and unless petitioner presents evidence to rebut thesame, such would be the conclusion.[36] Said declaration by the RTC should not be construed as apronouncement of petitioners guilt. It was precisely because of such finding that the trial court denied thedemurrer, in order that petitioner may present evidence in his defense and allow said court to resolve thecase based on the evidence adduced by both parties.

Lastly, petitioner contends that his motion to inhibit Judge Peralejo in Criminal Case No. Q-90-14409should have been granted since said judge exhibited partiality and bias against him in severainstances. First, when petitioner manifested that he would file a motion for reconsideration of the denial ofhis motion to suspend the proceedings in said case, the judge said such motion was dilatory and would be

denied even though the motion for reconsideration had not yet been filed. Second, when petitionerscounsel manifested that he had just recovered from an accident and was not physically fit for trial, the

judge commented that counsel was merely trying to delay the case and required said counsel to produce amedical certificate to support his statement. Third, when petitioner manifested that he was going to file ademurrer to evidence, the judge characterized the same as dilatory and declared that he would deny thesame. According to petitioner, the judges hostile attitude towards petitioners counsel as shown in theforegoing instances justified the grant of his motion to inhibit.

We agree with the appellate court that the grounds raised by petitioner against Judge Peralejo did notconclusively show that the latter was biased and had prejudged the case. [37] In People of the Philippines vs.Court of Appeals,[38] this Court held that while bias and prejudice have been recognized as valid reasons forthe voluntary inhibition of a judge under Section 1, Rule 137, the rudimentary rule is that the mere
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suspicion that a judge is partial is not enough. There should be clear and convincing evidence to prove thecharge of bias and partiality.[39]

Furthermore, since the grounds raised by petitioner in his motion to inhibit are not among thoseexpressly mentioned in Section 1, Rule 137 of the Revised Rules of Court, the decision to inhibit himself laywithin the sound discretion of Judge Peralejo. Said provision of law states:

Section 1. Disqualification of judges. No judge or judicial officer shall sit in any case in which he, or hiswife or child, is pecuniarily interested as heir, legatee, creditor or otherwise, or in which he is related toeither party within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity, or to counsel within the fourth degree,

computed according to the rules of the civil law, or in which he has been executor, administrator,guardian, trustee or counsel, or in which he has presided in any inferior court when his ruling or decision isthe subject of review, without the written consent of all parties in interest, signed by them and enteredupon the record.

A judge may, in the exercise of his sound discretion, disqualify himself from sitting in the case, for just andvalid reasons other than those mentioned above.

Thus, it was not mandatory that the judge inhibit himself from hearing and deciding the case.

This Court does not find any abuse of discretion by respondent judge in denying petitioners motion toinhibit. The test for determining the propriety of the denial of said motion is whether petitioner wasdeprived a fair and impartial trial. [40] The instances when Judge Peralejo allegedly exhibited antagonism

and partiality against petitioner and/or his counsel did not deprive him of a fair and impartial trial. Asdiscussed earlier, the denial by the judge of petitioners motion to suspend the criminal proceeding andthe demurrer to evidence are in accord with law and jurisprudence. Neither was there anythingunreasonable in the requirement that petitioners counsel submit a medical certificate to support his claimthat he suffered an accident which rendered him unprepared for trial. Such requirement was evidentlyimposed upon petitioners counsel to ensure that the resolution of the case was not hampered byunnecessary and unjustified delays, in keeping with the judges duty to disposing of the courts businesspromptly.[41]

WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby DENIED for lack of merit.

SO ORDERED.

Davide, Jr., C.J., (Chairman), Puno, Pardo, and Ynares-Santiago, JJ., concur.

SECOND DIVISION

[G.R. No. 172060 : September 13, 2010]

JOSELITO R. PIMENTEL, PETITIONER, VS. MARIA CHRYSANTINE L. PIMENTEL AND PEOPLE OFTHE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENTS.

D E C I S I O N

CARPIO,J.

The Case

Before the Court is a petition for review[1] assailing the Decision[2] of the Court of Appeals, promulgated on20 March 2006, in CA-G.R. SP No. 91867.

The Antecedent Facts

The facts are stated in the Court of Appeals' decision:

On 25 October 2004, Maria Chrysantine Pimentel y Lacap (private respondent) filed an action forfrustrated parricide against Joselito R. Pimentel (petitioner), docketed as Criminal Case No. Q-04-130415,before the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, which was raffled to Branch 223 (RTC Quezon City).
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On 7 February 2005, petitioner received summons to appear before the Regional Trial Court of AntipoloCity, Branch 72 (RTC Antipolo) for the pre-trial and trial of Civil Case No. 04-7392 (Maria ChrysantineLorenza L. Pimentel v. Joselito Pimentel) for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage under Section 36 of theFamily Code on the ground of psychological incapacity.

On 11 February 2005, petitioner filed an urgent motion to suspend the proceedings before the RTC QuezonCity on the ground of the existence of a prejudicial question. Petitioner asserted that since the relationshipbetween the offender and the victim is a key element in parricide, the outcome of Civil Case No. 04-7392would have a bearing in the criminal case filed against him before the RTC Quezon City.

The Decision of the Trial Court

The RTC Quezon City issued an Order dated 13 May 2005[3] holding that the pendency of the case beforethe RTC Antipolo is not a prejudicial question that warrants the suspension of the criminal case before it.

The RTC Quezon City held that the issues in Criminal Case No. Q-04-130415 are the injuries sustained byrespondent and whether the case could be tried even if the validity of petitioner's marriage withrespondent is in question. The RTC Quezon City ruled:

WHEREFORE, on the basis of the foregoing, the Motion to Suspend Proceedings On the [Ground] of theExistence of a Prejudicial Question is, for lack of merit, DENIED.

SO ORDERED.[4]

Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration. In its 22 August 2005 Order,[5] the RTC Quezon City deniedthe motion.

Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari with application for a writ of preliminary injunction and/or temporaryrestraining order before the Court of Appeals, assailing the 13 May 2005 and 22 August 2005 Orders of theRTC Quezon City.

The Decision of the Court of Appeals

In its 20 March 2006 Decision, the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition. The Court of Appeals ruled thatin the criminal case for frustrated parricide, the issue is whether the offender commenced the commissionof the crime of parricide directly by overt acts and did not perform all the acts of execution by reason ofsome cause or accident other than his own spontaneous desistance. On the other hand, the issue in thecivil action for annulment of marriage is whether petitioner is psychologically incapacitated to comply withthe essential marital obligations. The Court of Appeals ruled that even if the marriage between petitionerand respondent would be declared void, it would be immaterial to the criminal case because prior to thedeclaration of nullity, the alleged acts constituting the crime of frustrated parricide had already beencommitted. The Court of Appeals ruled that all that is required for the charge of frustrated parricide is thatat the time of the commission of the crime, the marriage is still subsisting.

Petitioner filed a petition for review before this Court assailing the Court of Appeals' decision.

The Issue

The only issue in this case is whether the resolution of the action for annulment of marriage is a prejudicialquestion that warrants the suspension of the criminal case for frustrated parricide against petitioner.

The Ruling of this Court

The petition has no merit.

Civil Case Must be InstitutedBefore the Criminal Case

Section 7, Rule 111 of the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure[6] provides:

Section 7. Elements of Prejudicial Question. - The elements of a prejudicial question are: (a) the previouslyinstituted civil action involves an issue similar or intimately related to the issue raised in the subsequent


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criminal action and (b) the resolution of such issue determines whether or not the criminal action mayproceed.

The rule is clear that the civil action must be instituted first before the filing of the criminal action. In thiscase, the Information[7] for Frustrated Parricide was dated 30 August 2004. It was raffled to RTC QuezonCity on 25 October 2004 as per the stamped date of receipt on the Information. The RTC Quezon City setCriminal Case No. Q-04-130415 for pre-trial and trial on 14 February 2005. Petitioner was servedsummons in Civil Case No. 04-7392 on 7 February 2005.[8] Respondent's petition[9] in Civil Case No. 04-7392 was dated 4 November 2004 and was filed on 5 November 2004. Clearly, the civil case forannulment was filed after the filing of the criminal case for frustrated parricide. As such, the requirementof Section 7, Rule 111 of the 2000 Rules on Criminal Procedure was not met since the civil action was filedsubsequent to the filing of the criminal action.

Annulment of Marriage is not a Prejudicial Questionin Criminal Case for Parricide

Further, the resolution of the civil action is not a prejudicial question that would warrant the suspension ofthe criminal action.

There is a prejudicial question when a civil action and a criminal action are both pending, and there existsin the civil action an issue which must be preemptively resolved before the criminal action may proceedbecause howsoever the issue raised in the civil action is resolved would be determinative of the guilt orinnocence of the accused in the criminal case.[10] A prejudicial question is defined as:

x x x one that arises in a case the resolution of which is a logical antecedent of the issue involved therein,and the cognizance of which pertains to another tribunal. It is a question based on a fact distinct andseparate from the crime but so intimately connected with it that it determines the guilt or innocence of theaccused, and for it to suspend the criminal action, it must appear not only that said case involves factsintimately related to those upon which the criminal prosecution would be based but also that in theresolution of the issue or issues raised in the civil case, the guilt or innocence of the accused wouldnecessarily be determined.[11]

The relationship between the offender and the victim is a key element in the crime of parricide,[12]whichpunishes any person "who shall kill his father, mother, or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any ofhis ascendants or descendants, or his spouse."[13] The relationship between the offender and the victimdistinguishes the crime of parricide from murder[14] or homicide.[15] However, the issue in the annulment of

marriage is not similar or intimately related to the issue in the criminal case for parricide. Further, therelationship between the offender and the victim is not determinative of the guilt or innocence of theaccused.

The issue in the civil case for annulment of marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code is whetherpetitioner is psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations. The issue inparricide is whether the accused killed the victim. In this case, since petitioner was charged withfrustrated parricide, the issue is whether he performed all the acts of execution which would have killedrespondent as a consequence but which, nevertheless, did not produce it by reason of causes independentof petitioner's will.[16] At the time of the commission of the alleged crime, petitioner and respondent weremarried. The subsequent dissolution of their marriage, in case the petition in Civil Case No. 04-7392 isgranted, will have no effect on the alleged crime that was committed at the time of the subsistence of themarriage. In short, even if the marriage between petitioner and respondent is annulled, petitioner could

still be held criminally liable since at the time of the commission of the alleged crime, he was still marriedto respondent.

We cannot accept petitioner's reliance on Tenebro v. Court of Appeals[17] that "the judicial declaration ofthe nullity of a marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity retroacts to the date of the celebrationof the marriage insofar as the vinculum between the spouses is concerned x x x." First, the issuein Tenebro is the effect of the judicial declaration of nullity of a second or subsequent marriage on theground of psychological incapacity on a criminal liability for bigamy. There was no issue of prejudicialquestion in that case. Second, the Court ruled in Tenebro that "[t]here is x x x a recognition written intothe law itselfthat such a marriage, although void ab initio, may still produce legal consequences."[18] Infact, the Court declared in that case that "a declaration of the nullity of the second marriage on the groundof psychological incapacity is of absolutely no moment insofar as the State's penal laws are concerned."[19]


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In view of the foregoing, the Court upholds the decision of the Court of Appeals. The trial in Criminal CaseNo. Q-04-130415 may proceed as the resolution of the issue in Civil Case No. 04-7392 is not determinativeof the guilt or innocence of petitioner in the criminal case.

WHEREFORE, we DENYthe petition. We AFFIRM the 20 March 2006 Decision of the Court of Appeals inCA-G.R. SP No. 91867.

SO ORDERED.

Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURT

Manila

EN BANC

G.R. No. L-22759 March 29, 1968

MANUEL R. JIMENEZ, petitioner,vs.HON. ALBERTO V. AVERIA, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Cavite and OFELIA V. TANGand ESTEPANIA DE LA CRUZ OLANDAY, respondents.

David F. Barrera for petitioner.Alfredo I. Raya and Raul A. Manalo for respondents.Jimenez vs. Averia.

DIZON,J.:

In Criminal Case No. TM-235 of the Court of First Instance of Cavite respondents Ofelia V. Tang andEstefania de la Cruz Olanday were charged with estafa, the information filed alleging that, having receivedfrom Manuel Jimenez the sum of P20,000.00 with which to purchase for him a fishing boat known as"Basnig", with the obligation on their part to return the money on January, 30, 1963 in case they should fail

to buy the fishing boat, they misappropriated the amount aforesaid, to the damage and prejudice ofJimenez.

Before arraignment, the accused filed Civil Case No. 6636 against Jimenez in the Court of FirstInstance of Quezon contesting the validity of a certain receipt signed by them on October 26, 1962 (Annex"A" of the present petition) wherein they acknowledged having received from him the sum of P20,000.00with which to purchase for him a fishing boat and its accessories, and the further sum of P240.00 asagent's commission, with the obligation, on their part, to return the aforesaid amounts on January 30, 1963in case they were unable to buy the fishing boat. Their complaint alleged that they had never received anyamount from Jimenez and that their signatures on the questioned receipt were secured by means of fraud,deceit and intimidation employed by him. Several days later, they filed a motion in the aforementionedcriminal action to suspend proceedings therein on the ground that the determination of the issue involvedin Civil Case No. 6636 of the Court of First Instance of Quezon was a prejudicial question. The respondent

judge granted the motion in an order dated October 18, 1963.

The petition now before Us is one for certiorari predicated upon the proposition that in issuing theorder just mentioned, the respondent judge committed a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of

jurisdiction. Properly, however, the action is for the issuance of a writ of mandamus, the relief prayedbeing for this Court "to order the Hon. Court of Cavite Province to proceed with the case and to order theHon. Court at Quezon Province to dismiss the civil case".

The issue to be decided is whether the determination of the issue raised in the civil case mentionedheretofore is a prejudicial question, in the sense that it must be first resolved before the proceedings in thecriminal case for estafa may proceed.


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A prejudicial question has been define to be one which arises in a case, the resolution of which,(question ) is a logical antecedent of the issued involved in said case, and the cognizance of which pertainsto another tribunal (Encyclopedia Juridical Espaola, p. 228). In People vs. Aragon, G.R. No. L-5930,February 17, 1954, We held in connection with this subject that the question claimed to be prejudicial innature must be determinative of the case before the court, and that jurisdiction to try and resolve saidquestion must be lodged in another tribunal.

Applying the above considerations to the instance case, it will be readily seen that the allegedprejudicial question is not determinative of the guilt or innocence of the parties charged with estafa,

because even on the assumption that the execution of the receipt whose annulment they sought in thecivil case was vitiated by fraud, duress or intimidation, their guilt could still be established by otherevidence showing, to the degree required by law, that they had actually received from the complaint thesum of P20,000.00 with which to buy for him a fishing boat, and that, instead of doing so, theymisappropriated the money and refused or otherwise failed to return it to him upon demand. Thecontention of the private respondents herein would be tenable had they been charged with falsification ofthe same receipt involved in the civil action.

Were We to sanction the theory advanced by the respondents Tang and De la Cruz Olanday andadopted by the respondent judge, there would hardly be a case for estafa that could be prosecutedspeedily, it being the easiest thing for the accused to block the proceedings by the simple expedient offiling an independent civil action against the complainant, raising therein the issue that he had notreceived from the latter the amount alleged to have been misappropriated. A claim to this effect is

properly a matter of defense to be interposed by the party charged in the criminal proceeding.

WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered ordering the respondent Court of First Instance of Caviteto proceed without undue delay with the trial of Criminal Case No. TM-235, with the result that the ordercomplained of suspending the proceedings therein until after Civil Case No. 6636 of the Court of FirstInstance of Quezon has been resolved is hereby set aside. With cost against the respondent except therespondent judge.

Reyes, J.B.L., Makalintal, Bengzon, J .P., Zaldivar, Sanchez, Angeles and Fernando, JJ., concur.Castro, J., took no part.

persons and family case of the civil code

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