526 Phil. 594
CHICO-NAZARIO, J.:
On December 13, 1994, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Resolution (Annex "C", ibid.) in the preliminary investigation of the case, docketed as I.S. No. 94-557 finding probable cause against Messrs. Pedro Lim, Bonifacio Rojas, Capt. Alfredo Abad, Toto Mirasol, Venerando Ozores, Mariano Hizon, Eugenio Hizon and private respondents de los Santos and Ochoa for the kidnapping and murder of the late Atty. Eugene Tan and his driver, Eduardo Constantino. Petitioner and his wife, Patricia Lim-Yu, were also named respondents in I.S. No. 94-557. The charges against them however were dropped for lack of evidence to establish probable cause. Thereafter, an information was filed against several accused, namely private respondents Rodolfo Ochoa and Reynaldo de los Santos among others, before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 18, of Tagaytay City presided by respondent judge. On December 16 and 17, 1994 after the information was filed and while under custody of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC), private respondents Ochoa and de los Santos executed separate sworn statements (Annexes "D" and "E,", ibid.) implicating petitioner in the abduction and killing of Atty. Eugene Tan and Eduardo Constantino. The PACC re-filed the complaint docketed as I.S. No. 94-614 for murder and kidnapping against petitioner. During the preliminary investigation, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss the charges, citing that the sworn statements of private respondents were not only inadmissible in evidence but also failed to establish probable cause against him. On January 30, 1995, the DOJ investigating panel composed of Senior State Prosecutors Henrick Guingoyon and Ferdinand Abesamis denied petitioner's motion to dismiss (Annex "F", ibid.). Thereafter, three (3) separate informations were filed against petitioner before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 18, of Tagaytay City. Simultaneously, petitioner filed with the aforesaid court an omnibus motion to determine probable cause, to deny issuance of warrant of arrest and to quash information (Annex "G", ibid.).From the Order of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Tagaytay City, Branch 18 dated 6 March 1997, petitioner filed a Petition for Certiorari and prohibition before the Court of Appeals.[3] In a decision[4] dated 30 September 1999, the Court of Appeals dismissed the petition for lack of merit. The Motion for Reconsideration filed by petitioner was denied in a resolution dated 4 April 2000.[5]
On December 8, 1995, respondent judge issued a resolution (Annex "H," ibid.), the dispositive portion reads:x x x xBoth the prosecution and the petitioner filed their respective motions for reconsideration of the aforequoted resolution. The prosecution sought to maintain the original informations charging petitioner as principal, while the latter sought the dismissal of the cases against him for lack of probable cause. Both motions were denied in an order of the court a quo dated February 6, 1996 (Annex "I", ibid.).
"WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing, this Court finds that probable cause exists against accused Eugene Yu as an accomplice in the instant cases, and the prosecution is accordingly directed to amend the informations filed in these cases for the inclusion of the same accused as an accomplice within ten (10) days upon receipt of a copy hereof. As a consequence, let a warrant for the arrest of Eugene Yu be issued in these cases and bail for his provisional liberty is hereby fixed at P60,000.00 each in theses cases.
"x x x x
"SO ORDERED." (Rollo, pp. 6; 118-119)
In a petition for certiorari, docketed before the Supreme Court as G.R. No. 124380 entitled "People of the Philippines v. Hon. Eleuterio F. Guerrero, et al.," the prosecution impugned the Resolution dated December 8, 1995 and the Order dated February 6, 1996. The petition was dismissed by the Supreme Court in its Resolution dated May 14, 1996. The prosecution refiled the same titled petition before the Court of Appeals, docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 42208, "where it is currently pending, entitled: People of the Philippines vs. Hon. Eleuterio F. Guerrero, et al."
In the meantime, the prosecution filed a "Petition to Discharge as State Witnesses and Exclude from the Information accused Ochoa and de los Santos" on April 17, 1996 (Annex "J"). Petitioner opposed the motion. On March 6, 1997, respondent judge issued the impugned order, thus:"WHEREFORE, in the light of the foregoing premises and considerations, this Court hereby resolves to GRANT the Petition (to Discharge as State Witnesses & Exclude from the Information Accused Ochoa & de los Santos) filed by the prosecution for being impressed with merit, and, accordingly, the same accused are hereby ordered discharged and excluded from the information filed in these cases as State Witnesses.Petitioner, who is one of the accused in the aforementioned criminal cases, claims that the orders were issued by public respondent judge with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or in excess of jurisdiction, claiming that there is no legal basis or justification to discharge as state witnesses accused Rodolfo Ochoa and Reynaldo de los Santos (hereinafter referred to as private respondents).[2]
"SO ORDERED." (Annex "A", p. 31)
Petitioner maintains that since the private respondents were already charged along with the other accused including him (petitioner) before they were admitted to the WPSBP, their admission is a judicial prerogative which requires prior determination by the trial court of their qualification as state witnesses, in accordance with Section 17, Rule 119 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure.
- WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED WHEN IT HELD THAT THE DISCHARGE OF AN ACCUSED IS NOT A JUDICIAL FUNCTION.
- WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED WHEN IT DID NOT CONSIDER THAT THE TRIAL COURT GRAVELY ABUSED ITS DISCRETION WHEN IT DISCHARGED THE ACCUSED DESPITE THE FAILURE OF THE PROSECUTION TO PRESENT EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT THE PRIVATE RESPONDENTS ARE ENTITLED TO BE DISCHARGED AS STATE WITNESS.
SEC. 3. Admission into the Program. – Any person who has witnessed or has knowledge or information on the commission of a crime and has testified or is testifying or about to testify before any judicial or quasi-judicial body, or before any investigating authority, may be admitted into the Program:On the other hand, Rule 119, Section 17, of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, upon which petitioner relies reads:
Provided, That:
a) the offense in which his testimony will be used is a grave felony as defined under the Revised Penal Code, or its equivalent under special laws;
b) his testimony can be substantially corroborated in its material points;
c) he or any member of his family within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity is subjected to threats to his life or bodily injury or there is a likelihood that he will be killed, forced, intimidated, harassed or corrupted to prevent him from testifying, or to testify falsely, or evasively, because or on account of his testimony; and
d) he is not a law enforcement officer, even if he would be testifying against other law enforcement officers. In such a case, only the immediate members of his family may avail themselves of the protection provided for under this Act.
If the Department, after examination of said applicant and other relevant facts, is convinced that the requirements of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations have been complied with, it shall admit said applicant to the Program, require said witness to execute a sworn statement detailing his knowledge or information on the commission of the crime, and thereafter issue the proper certification. For purposes of this Act, any such person admitted to the Program shall be known as the Witness.
x x x x
SEC. 10. State Witness. – Any person who has participated in the commission of a crime and desires to be a witness for the State, can apply and, if qualified as determined in this Act and by the Department, shall be admitted into the Program whenever the following circumstances are present:
a) the offense in which his testimony will be used is a grave felony as defined under the Revised Penal Code or its equivalent under special laws;
b) there is absolute necessity for his testimony;
c) there is no other direct evidence available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed;
d) his testimony can be substantially corroborated on its material points;
e) he does not appear to be most guilty; and
f) he has not at any time been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude.
An accused discharged from an information or criminal complaint by the court in order that he may be a State Witness pursuant to Sections 9 and 10 of Rule 119 of the Revised Rules of Court may upon his petition be admitted to the Program if he complies with the other requirements of this Act. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the discharge of an accused, so that he can be used as a State Witness under Rule 119 of the Revised Rules of Court.
Section 17. Discharge of accused to be state witness. – When two or more persons are jointly charged with the commission of any offense, upon motion of the prosecution before resting its case, the court may direct one or more of the accused to be discharged with their consent so that they may be witnesses for the state when, after requiring the prosecution to present evidence and the sworn statement of each proposed state witness at a hearing in support of the discharge, the court is satisfied that:The discharge of an accused under Republic Act No. 6981 as availed of by the prosecution in favor of the private respondents, is distinct and separate from the discharge of an accused under Section 17, Rule 119 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure.(a) There is absolute necessity for the testimony of the accused whose discharge is requested;
(b) There is no other direct evidence available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed, except the testimony of said accused;
(c) The testimony of said accused can be substantially corroborated in its material points;
(d) Said accused does not appear to be the most guilty; and
(e) Said accused has not at any time been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.
Evidence adduced in support of the discharge shall automatically form part of the trial. If the court denies the motion for discharge of the accused as state witness, his sworn statement shall be inadmissible in evidence.
An amendment of the information made before plea which excludes some or one of the accused must be made only upon motion by the prosecutor, with notice to the offended party and with leave of court in compliance with Section 14, Rule 110. Section 14, Rule 110 does not qualify the grounds for the exclusion of the accused. Thus, said provision applies in equal force when the exclusion is sought on the usual ground of lack of probable cause, or when it is for utilization of the accused as state witness, as in this case, or on some other ground.In this connection, Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6981[13] provides that the issuance of a certification of admission into the program shall be given full faith by the provincial or city prosecutor who is required not to include the witness in the criminal complaint or information, and if included, to petition for his discharge in order that he can be utilized as a state witness. This provision justifies the regularity of the procedure adopted by the prosecution for the discharge of the private respondents.
At this level, the procedural requirements of Section 17, Rule 119 on the need for the prosecution to present evidence and the sworn statement of each state witness at a hearing in support of the discharge do not yet come into play. This is because, as correctly pointed out by the Court of Appeals, the determination of who should be criminally charged in court is essentially an executive function, not a judicial one. x x x. (Underscoring supplied.)
Petitioner's argument lacks appeal for it lies on the faulty assumption that the decision whom to prosecute is a judicial function, the sole prerogative of courts and beyond executive and legislative interference. In truth, the prosecution of crimes appertains to the executive department of government whose principal power and responsibility is to see that our laws are faithfully executed. A necessary component of this power to execute our laws is the right to prosecute their violators. The right to prosecute vests the prosecutor with a wide range of discretion – the discretion of whether, what and whom to charge, the exercise of which depends on a smorgasbord of factors which are best appreciated by prosecutors. We thus hold that it is not constitutionally impermissible for Congress to enact R.A. No. 6981 vesting in the Department of Justice the power to determine who can qualify as a witness in the program and who shall be granted immunity from prosecution. Section 9 of Rule 119 does not support the proposition that the power to choose who shall be a state witness is an inherent judicial prerogative. Under this provision, the court is given the power to discharge a state witness only because it has already acquired jurisdiction over the crime and the accused. The discharge of an accused is part of the exercise of jurisdiction but is not a recognition of an inherent judicial function. Moreover, the Rules of Court have never been interpreted to be beyond change by legislation designed to improve the administration of our justice system. R.A. No. 6981 is one of the much sought penal reform laws to help government in its uphill fight against crime, one certain cause of which is the reticence of witnesses to testify. The rationale for the law is well put by the Department of Justice, viz: "Witnesses, for fear of reprisal and economic disclocation, usually refuse to appear and testify in the investigation/prosecution of criminal complaints/cases. Because of such refusal, criminal complaints/cases have been dismissed for insufficiency and/or lack of evidence. For a more effective administration of criminal justice, there was a necessity to pass a law protecting witnesses and granting them certain rights and benefits to ensure their appearance in investigative bodies/courts. Petitioner Webb's challenge to the validity of R.A. No. 6981 cannot therefore succeed.Anent the second issue, petitioner argues that the petition to discharge is not supported by any proof or evidence. He claims that the prosecution did not establish that the private respondents have complied with the requisites of Republic Act No. 6981 because the certificate of admission from the DOJ showing that the private respondents were qualified, and the memorandum of agreement between the DOJ and private respondents, as required by Section 5[16] of Republic Act No. 6981, were not presented before the trial court.