524 Phil. 575
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
That on or about 08 August 2000 in the Municipality of Barobo, Surigao del Sur, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, BONIFACIO C. BALAHAY, then Mayor of the Municipality of Barobo, Surigao del Sur, a high ranking public official, with the use of his influence as such public official, committing the offense in relation to his office, together with JOCELYN CABO, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously receive and accept the amount of ONE HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SIXTY TWO PESOS AND 31/100 (P104,162.31) from said JOCELYN CABO, Business Manager of Orient Integrated Development Consultancy, Inc. (OIDCI), a consultancy group charged with conducting a feasibility study for the Community-Based Resource Management Project of the Municipality of Barobo, with accused Cabo giving and granting the said amount to accused Balahay in consideration of the said accused having officially intervened in the undertaking by the OIDCI of such contract for consultancy services with the Municipality of Barobo.Claiming that she was deprived of her right to a preliminary investigation as she never received any notice to submit a counter-affidavit or countervailing evidence to prove her innocence, petitioner filed a motion for reinvestigation[2] before the Fourth Division of the Sandiganbayan, where the case was raffled and docketed as Criminal Case No. 27959. The Sandiganbayan subsequently granted petitioner's motion on March 29, 2004 and directed the Office of the Special Prosecutor to conduct a reinvestigation insofar as petitioner is concerned.[3]
CONTRARY TO LAW.[1]
Acting on the Motion With Leave Of Court To Travel Abroad dated May 11, 2004 filed by accused Jocelyn E. Cabo through counsel, Atty. Tomas N. Prado, and considering the well-taken reason therein stated, the same is hereby GRANTED.Petitioner returned from abroad on May 24, 2004. Thereafter, the Special Prosecutor concluded its reinvestigation and found probable cause to charge her with violation of Section 3(b) of R.A. No. 3019.[6] Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration but the same was denied.[7] Thus, the Sandiganbayan set anew the arraignment of petitioner and her co-accused on October 12, 2004.[8]
However, considering that this case is still pending reinvestigation/review before the Office of the Special Prosecutor; considering further that the accused has not yet been arraigned by reason thereof; and considering finally that there is a need for the Court to preserve its authority to conduct trial in absentia should the accused fail to return to the Philippines, accused Jocelyn E. Cabo, with her express conformity, is hereby ordered arraigned conditionally. If upon such reinvestigation/review, it shall be found that there is no probable cause to proceed against said accused, the conditional arraignment this morning shall be with no force and effect. However, if it should be found that there is a need to amend the present indictment or to pave the way for the filing of some other indictment/s, then the accused shall waive her right to object under Section 14, Rule 110 of the 2000 Rules of Criminal Procedure and her constitutional right to be protected against double jeopardy.
When arraigned, the Information having been read in a language known and familiar to her, accused Jocelyn E. Cabo, duly assisted by her counsel, Atty. Tomas N. Prado, pleaded not guilty to the offense charged in the Information.
Accused Jocelyn E. Cabo, duly assisted by her counsel, shall affix her signature in the minutes of the proceedings to signify her conformity to her acceptance of the conditional arraignment and the legal consequences thereof as herein explained.
SO ORDERED.[5]
That on or about 08 August 2000, in the Municipality of Barobo, Surigao Del Sur, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused BONIFACIO C. BALAHAY, then Mayor of the Municipality of Barobo, Surigao Del Sur, a high ranking public official, in the performance of his official functions, taking advantage of his official position, with grave abuse of authority, and committing the offense in relation to his office, conspiring and confederating with JOCELYN CABO, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously receive and accept the amount of ONE HUNDRED FOUR THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SIXTY TWO PESOS AND 31/100 (P104,162.31) for his own benefit or use from said JOCELYN CABO, Business Manager of Orient Integrated Development Consultancy, Inc. (OIDC), a consultancy group charged with conducting a feasibility study for the Community-Based Resource Management Project of the Municipality of Barobo, with accused Cabo giving and granting said amount to accused Balahay in consideration of the contract for said feasibility study, which contract accused Balahay in his official capacity has to intervene under the law.Consequently, Balahay was sent a notice for his arraignment on the amended information. Petitioner was likewise notified of her re-arraignment which was set on April 14, 2005.[17] However, on April 11, 2005, petitioner filed a Motion to Cancel Second Arraignment[18] on the ground that the amended information pertained to Balahay alone. Petitioner claimed that she could no longer be re-arraigned on the amended information since substantial amendment of an information is not allowed after a plea had already been made thereon.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[16]
[T]he arraignment of accused Cabo on the original information was only conditional in nature and that the same was resorted to as a mere accommodation in her favor to enable her to travel abroad without this Court losing its ability to conduct trial in absentia in the event she decides to abscond. However, as clearly stated in the Court's Order of May 14, 2004, accused Cabo agreed with the condition that should there be a need to amend the information, she would thereby waive, not only her right to object to the amended information, but also her constitutional protection against double jeopardy. Now that the original information has been superseded by an amended information, which was specifically filed by the prosecution, and thereafter admitted by this Court, on the basis of Section 4, Rule 117 of the 2000 Rules of Criminal Procedure, accused Cabo is already estopped from raising any objection thereto.[19]Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration[20] from the foregoing resolution on the additional ground that double jeopardy had already set in. She asserted that her conditional arraignment under the original information had been validated or confirmed by her formal manifestation dated October 7, 2004, wherein she reiterated her plea of "not guilty." Thus, her arraignment on the original information was no longer conditional in nature such that double jeopardy would attach.
SEC. 4. Amendment of complaint or information.- If the motion to quash is based on an alleged defect of the complaint or information which can be cured by amendment, the court shall order that an amendment be made.The Sandiganbayan correctly applied the foregoing provision when petitioner's co-accused filed a motion to quash the original information on the ground that the same does not charge an offense. Contrary to petitioner's submission, the original information can be cured by amendment even after she had pleaded thereto, since the amendments ordered by the court below were only as to matters of form and not of substance. The amendment ordered by the Sandiganbayan did not violate the first paragraph of Section 14, Rule 110, which provides:
If it is based on the ground that the facts charged do not constitute an offense, the prosecution shall be given by the court an opportunity to correct the defect by amendment. The motion shall be granted if the prosecution fails to make the amendment, or the complaint or information still suffers from the same defect despite the amendment. (Emphasis supplied)
SEC. 14. Amendment or substitution. - A complaint or information may be amended, in form or in substance, without leave court, at any time before the accused enters his plea. After the plea and during the trial, a formal amendment may only be made with leave of court and when it can be done without causing prejudice to the rights of the accused.In Poblete v. Sandoval,[26] the Court explained that an amendment is only in form when it merely adds specifications to eliminate vagueness in the information and does not introduce new and material facts. Amendment of an information after the accused has pleaded thereto is allowed, if the amended information merely states with additional precision something which is already contained in the original information and which, therefore, adds nothing essential for conviction for the crime charged.
x x x x
The test as to whether a defendant is prejudiced by the amendment of an information has been said to be whether a defense under the information as it originally stood would be available after the amendment is made, and whether any evidence defendant might have would be equally applicable to the information in the one form as in the other. A look into Our jurisprudence on the matter shows that an amendment to an information introduced after the accused has pleaded not guilty thereto, which does not change the nature of the crime alleged therein, does not expose the accused to a charge which could call for a higher penalty, does not affect the essence of the offense or cause surprise or deprive the accused of an opportunity to meet the new averment had each been held to be one of form and not of substance - not prejudicial to the accused and, therefore, not prohibited by Section 13 (now Section 14), Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Court.Likewise, it is not necessary, as petitioner suggests, to dismiss the original complaint under the last paragraph of Section 14, Rule 110, which states:
x x x xThe afore-cited rule is inapplicable to the case at bar for the simple reason that there was no mistake in charging the proper offense in the original information. As correctly observed by the Sandiganbayan:
If it appears at any time before judgment that a mistake has been made in charging the proper offense, the court shall dismiss the original complaint or information upon the filing of a new one charging the proper offense in accordance with section 11, Rule 119, provided the accused would not be placed in double jeopardy. The court may require the witnesses to give bail for their appearance at the trial.
[I]t is hardly necessary for this Court to order the dismissal of the original information and then direct the filing of a new one "charging the proper offense". The reason for this is obvious. The prosecution did not commit a mistake in charging the proper offense; rather, it merely failed to file an information sufficient to charge the offense it intended to charge, namely, violation of Section 3(b) of R.A. No. 3019. Section 14, Rule 110 of the 2000 Rules of Criminal Procedure apparently relied upon by accused Cabo contemplates a situation where the accused will be charged with an offense different from or is otherwise not necessarily included in the offense charged in the information to be dismissed by the Court. In the case at bar, however, accused Cabo will not be charged with a different offense or with an offense that is not necessarily included in the offense charged in the original information, but with the very same offense that the prosecution intended to charge her in the first place, that is, violation of Section 3(b) of R.A. No. 3019.[28]All told, the Sandiganbayan did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it ordered the re-arraignment of petitioner on the amended information. Double jeopardy did not attach by virtue of petitioner's "conditional arraignment" on the first information. It is well-settled that for a claim of double jeopardy to prosper, the following requisites must concur: (1) there is a complaint or information or other formal charge sufficient in form and substance to sustain a conviction; (2) the same is filed before a court of competent jurisdiction; (3) there is a valid arraignment or plea to the charges; and (4) the accused is convicted or acquitted or the case is otherwise dismissed or terminated without his express consent.[29] The first and fourth requisites are not present in the case at bar.