462 Phil. 391
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
Before summons could be served, accused Narciso J. Jusay, Jr. (Owner), Rolando T. Amistoso (Boat Captain), of B-B Junida-J, requested the court for an immediate arraignment because they will plead guilty and pay the penalty of fine as first offenders of the above-mentioned charged for Violation of Section 86, 90 and 96, RA 8550.Surprised by such turn of events, the Sangguniang Bayan passed the aforementioned Resolution No. 2002-05-109 on May 20, 2002, and a copy thereof was received by the Office of the Chief Justice, Supreme Court on June 25, 2002. The same was referred to Deputy Court Administrator Zenaida N. Elepaño.
Accordingly, the Court conducted immediate arraignment of the said accused, and after they plead guilty, the Court sentences them to pay a fine in the total sum of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00), which is the fine imposable on first offenders of the above-mentioned charge.
WHEREFORE, let the persons of the accused Narciso J. Jusay, Jr. and Rolando T. Amistoso,[2] be released immediately from detention upon receipt of this order, and let also the fishing boat "B/B Junida-J, which was impounded by the Police authorities of Guindulman, Bohol, be turned-over to the boat owner.
SO ORDERED.
Guindulman, Bohol, Philippines, May 18, 2002MANUEL A. DE CASTRO
Acting MCTC Judge
Fine paid under O.R. No. 12390582
In the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00)
Dated May 18, 2002[3]
Now with the explanation of Judge Manuel de Castro, specific salient points/questions surfaced as follows:On November 19, 2002, Executive Judge Calibo, Jr. accordingly conducted an investigation. He ordered the police officers involved to appear before the court so as to shed additional light on the incident.
- Whether an immediate arraignment on a Saturday is appropriate for a case as major as illegal fishing;
- Whether the problem on subsistence of the accused is sufficient reason to conduct an immediate arraignment;
- Whether the alleged arraignment was proper even if the Chief of Police was not informed and his supposed representative was not authorized and the prosecution witnesses were not called to attend;
- The complaint as filed by SPO1 Henry Salada, PNP and approved by SPO4 Juanito Janiola, Acting Chief of Police, involved 3 principal accused and 9 accessories and yet only 2 accused pleaded guilty;
- There is no satisfactory reason in reducing the three violations of the accused as pointed out by the prosecution to only one; and
- In the transcript of the stenographic notes during the immediate arraignment, the representative of the prosecution seemed not to act as one.[6]
On April 8, 2003, this Court issued a Resolution noting Resolution No. 2002-05-109, dated May 20, 2002 of the Sangguniang Bayan and treating the same as an administrative complaint against respondent and directing him to file his Comment on the matters raised in said Resolution No. 2002-05-109.
- There seems to be a discrepancy between the claims of Judge de Castro and SPO1 Felicia. Judge de Castro's claim that it was SPO1 Felicia who informed him about the request of the accused for an early arraignment was denied by SPO1 Felicia who claims that it was the other way around, i.e., it was Judge de Castro who had him fetched to attend the arraignment;
- There is no mention in the affidavit of SPO1 Felicia (Annex "N") as well as in the joint affidavit of the municipal fish wardens (Annex "O") that Narciso Jusay, Jr., the registered fishing boat owner, was among those apprehended by the team; in fact, he is not even mentioned by SPO1 Felicia in his affidavit. Yet, all of a sudden, at 8 a.m. of that Saturday, he was suddenly in court and allegedly arraigned together with the boat captain (as the diesel mechanic was at large). There is no way of finding out if the one who appeared in court as Narciso Jusay, Jr. was in fact not an impostor as he and the boat captain were not required to sign the judgment;
- Judge de Castro should have issued a "Decision" not a mere "Order" (Annex "P");
- Although the "Order" mentions that the accused will plead guilty "as first offenders of the above-mentioned charged (sic) for Violation of Section 86, 90 and 96, R.A. 8550" (which involves three violations, and therefore, three separate sentences), he does not explain in his "Order" (actually, a Decision) why he imposes a total fine of only P5,000 for three offenses;
- There is nothing in the court record to show that the accused were duly informed about their constitutional right to counsel. The "Order" does not even mention if someone appeared for the prosecution;
- It was not correct for the judge to conclude in his "Order" that the sum of P5,000.00 "is the fine imposable on first offenders of the above-mentioned charge inasmuch as the amount arrived at was purely the result of judicial discretion;
- The judge may have exaggerated the right of the accused to a speedy trial and negated the equally important right of the prosecution to their day in court and to due process. He could have given the prosecution a chance to amend its complaint, e.g. to expressly specify the violations committed under Sections 86 and 96 of R.A. 8550. For that matter, he could have waited for SPO1 Salada (whom he knows to be the police investigator-prosecutor of PNP-Guindulman and the one who prepared the complaint) to report on Monday. After all, as he pointed out, the arraignment would not take too much time and he can afford to be a little late in the other sala he has to attend to. In other words, his actuations did make him look like he was acting more like the counsel for the accused;
- The Provincial Legal Officer, Atty. Angel Ucat, notes in his Comments (Annex "L") that the earlier copy (Annex "Q") of the questioned Order (Annex "P") which his staff procured from the 9th MCTC (following the SB request to investigate the incident) does not contain the alleged superimposition of the name Rolando T. Amistoso in Annex "P" submitted by Judge de Castro to the undersigned;
- Curiously, Judge de Castro states in his Order ". . . Let the fishing boat . . . which was impounded by the police authorities of Guindulman, Bohol, be turned over to the boat owner." Actually, as SPO4 Janiola, SPO1 Salada, and SPO1 Felicia admitted, the fishing boat was never impounded as it disappeared after the incident;
- Finally, and what could probably be the blatant and undeniable irregularity in the questioned Order is why the respondent judge chose to impose only Penalty No. 2 (the fine) and ignore the Penalty Nos. 1 and 3 of Section 90, R.A. No. 8550. . . . . . . . . .
. . .
In other words, the non-imposition[11] of Penalty Nos. 1 and 3 is expressly provided by law; hence, not included in the discretion of the judge. Accordingly, the boat captain should have been slapped a penalty of imprisonment; only the owner should have been fined, not the boat captain; and the Order should have included the confiscation and forfeiture of the fish catch.[12]
. . .
recommending that respondent judge be fined in the amount of P20,000.00 for Gross Ignorance of the Law or Procedure with a stern warning that commission of similar acts in the future will be dealt with more severely.
a) Violation of Administrative Circular No. 3-99 dated 15 January 1999 when he arraigned the accused on a Saturday. The aforesaid circular provides that court sessions should be held on Mondays to Fridays;b) Violation of Sec. 1(f), Rule 116 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure which requires the presence of the private offended party at the arraignment for purposes of plea bargaining, determination of civil liability and other matters requiring his presence;c) Imposing a penalty of fine to the boat captain, who should have been meted the penalty of imprisonment of two (2) years to six (6) years, as provided in R.A. No. 8550; andd) Committing undue haste in conducting the arraignment of the accused, thus giving the impression that he is partial in favor of the accused.[13]
(f) The private offended party shall be required to appear at the arraignment for purposes of plea bargaining, determination of civil liability, and other matters requiring his presence. In case of failure of the offended party to appear despite due notice, the court may allow the accused to enter a plea of guilty to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged with the conformity of the trial prosecutor alone.Considering that the offended party is the State, its representative, in this case, are the deputized Municipal Fish Wardens.[14] Respondent had no justifiable reason why he failed to notify them. Their names are mentioned at the bottom portion of the complaint. By setting the arraignment on a Saturday and failing to notify them, respondent eroded public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary, clearly in violation of Rule 2.01 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which provides:
A judge should behave at all times as to promote public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.Absent a written notice duly sent to all parties concerned necessarily produces an impression of partiality of the court in favor of the accused. Respondent must know that it is not only the accused who has rights. The prosecution likewise has the right to a fair trial. Thus, in Dimatulac vs. Hon. Villon,[15] we held:
. . . The judge's action must not impair the substantial rights of the accused, nor the right of the State and offended party to due process of law.Furthermore, the indecent undue haste with which the accused were arraigned, the arbitrary imposition of penalties on the accused, the consequent release of the accused and termination of the case, constitute a patent denial of the prosecution of the opportunity to fully protect the interest of the State.
Indeed, for justice to prevail, the scales must balance; justice is not to be dispensed for the accused alone. The interest of society and the offended parties which have been wronged must be equally considered. Verily, a verdict of conviction is not necessarily a denial of justice; and an acquittal is not necessarily a triumph of justice, for, to the society offended and the party wronged, it could also mean injustice. Justice then must be rendered even-handedly to both the accused, on one hand, and the State and offended party, on the other.[16]
SEC. 14. Amendment. – The information or complaint may be amended, in substance or form, without leave of court, at any time before the accused pleads; and thereafter and during the trial as to all matters of form, by leave and at the discretion of the court, when the same can be done without prejudice to the rights of the accused.Finally, the penalty of only a fine of P5,000.00 imposed by respondent on both accused in the subject criminal case reflects his gross ignorance or absolute disregard of the provisions of Republic Act No. 8550.
. . .
If it appears at any time before judgment that a mistake has been named 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 19, Rule 119, provided the accused would not be placed thereby in double jeopardy and may also require the witnesses to give bail for their appearance at the trial.
This Court has repeatedly and uniformly ruled that a judge may not be held administratively accountable for every erroneous order or decision he renders. To hold otherwise would be nothing short of harassment and would make his position doubly unbearable, for no one called upon to try the facts or interpret the law in the process of administering justice can be infallible in his judgment. The error must be gross or patent, deliberate and malicious, or incurred with evident bad faith; it is only in these cases that administrative sanctions are called for as an imperative duty of the Supreme Court.[18]In the instant case, the complained acts of the respondent judge are gross, deliberate and patently prejudicial to the interest of the judiciary.
To reiterate, observance of the law, which he is bound to know is required of every judge. When the law is sufficiently basic, a judge owes it to his office to simply apply it; anything less than that would be constitutive of gross ignorance of the law. A judge should be the embodiment of competence, integrity and independence. It is a pressing responsibility of judges to keep abreast with the law and the changes therein for ignorance of the law, which everyone is bound to know, excuses no one, not even judges. Indeed, it has been said that -- when the inefficiency springs from a failure to consider so basic and elemental a rule, a law or a principle in the discharge of his duties, a judge is either too incompetent and undeserving of the position and the title he holds or is too viscious that the oversight or omission was deliberately done in bad faith and in grave abuse of judicial authority.[20] (Emphasis supplied)And although a judge may not always be subjected to disciplinary action for every erroneous order or decision he renders, that selective immunity is not a license to be negligent or abusive and arbitrary in performing his adjudicatory prerogative.[21] In the present case, respondent impudently misused his authority to impose the penalty under the law which we cannot countenance. If judges wantonly misuse the powers vested in them by law, there will not only be confusion in the administration of justice but even also oppressive disregard of the basic requirements of due process.[22]
SEC. 11. Sanctions. – A. If the respondent is guilty of a serious charge, any of the following sanctions may be imposed:However, we note that there is nothing on record to show that respondent had been administratively charged with any wrongdoing in the past. Considering that this is his first offense and in the absence of proof that the acts were committed for monetary consideration, the Court finds it proper to temper the penalty to be meted out and extend liberality to respondent by imposing the penalty of fine of P40,000.00.
- Dismissal from the service, forfeiture of all or part of the benefits as the Court may determine, and disqualification from reinstatement or appointment to any public office, including government-owned or controlled corporations. Provided, however, That the forfeiture of benefits shall in no case include accrued leave credits;
- Suspension from office without salary and other benefits for more than three (3) but not exceeding six (6) months; or
- A fine of more than P20,000.00 but not exceeding P40,000.00.
(1) | The boat captain and master fisherman of the vessels who participated in the violation shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment from two (2) years to six (6) years; |
(2) | The owner/operator of the vessel shall be fined from Two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) to Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000.00) upon the discretion of the court. |
If the owner/operator is a corporation, the penalty shall be imposed on the chief executive officer of the corporation. | |
If the owner/operator is a partnership the penalty shall be imposed on the managing partner; | |
(3) | The catch shall be confiscated and forfeited. |