433 Phil. 226
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
WHEREFORE, Judgment is hereby rendered as follows:On the same date, August 24, 1995, petitioner filed an application for probation.[4] On September 18, 1995, however, petitioner filed a motion to withdraw her application for probation and simultaneously filed a notice of appeal.[5]
- In Criminal Case No. 5265, the Court finds and so holds the herein accused Lilia Vicoy y Jumagdao GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt for violation of City Ordinance No. 365-B for peddling fish outside the Agora Public Market, and accordingly sentences her to suffer the penalty of a fine of Fifty Pesos (P50.00) with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and to pay the costs;
- In Criminal Case No. 5307, the Court finds and so holds the herein accused Lilia Vicoy y Jumagdao GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Resistance and Serious Disobedience To Agents Of A Person In Authority, and accordingly sentences her to suffer the penalty of three (3) months of arresto mayor and to pay a fine of two Hundred Pesos (P200.00) without subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and to pay the costs.
SO ORDERED.[3]
From the reading of the petition that gave rise to this case, and of the memorandum of the petitioner, it is the considered opinion of this Court, and so holds, that the City Prosecutor of Tagbilaran be required to enter his appearance for the State in the light of the failure of respondent Judge Emma Enrico-Supremo to submit her reply to comment to the petition. Besides, the Court noticed that the People of the Philippines has been impleaded as one of the respondents.On February 9, 1998,[9] the Regional Trial Court rendered the assailed Order dismissing petitioner’s special civil action for certiorari for failure to comply with the aforequoted August 2, 1996 Order. A motion for reconsideration of the said order of dismissal was denied on February 25, 1999.[10]
PREMISES CONSIDERED, Atty. Dionisio A. Galido, counsel for the petitioner, is hereby directed to furnish the Office of the City Prosecutor of Tagbilaran copies of the questioned judgment and their memorandum, and for the City Prosecutor to submit within ten (10) days from receipt thereof, his memorandum or any pleading on the matter.[8]
Section 3. Dismissal due to fault of plaintiff. - If, for no justifiable cause, the plaintiff fails to appear on the date of the presentation of his evidence in chief on the complaint, or to prosecute his action for an unreasonable length of time, or to comply with these Rules or any order of the court, the complaint may be dismissed upon motion of the defendant or upon the court’s own motion, without prejudice to the right of the defendant to prosecute his counterclaim in the same or in a separate action. This dismissal shall have the effect of an adjudication on the merits, unless otherwise declared by the court. (Emphasis supplied)In the case at bar, the trial court categorically directed petitioner, in its August 2, 1996 Order, to furnish the City Prosecutor’s Office with a copy of her memorandum and of the assailed judgment. Petitioner’s counsel did not comply, prompting the court to dismiss the petition for certiorari on February 9, 1998. The fact that the City Prosecutor’s Office has not yet entered its appearance is no justification to petitioner’s adamant and continued insistence not to comply with a lawful order of the court. Every court has the power to enforce and compel obedience to its orders, judgments, and processes in all proceedings pending before it.[11] The Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of petitioner’s special civil action, therefore, was but a valid exercise of said power.