379 Phil. 125
PANGANIBAN, J.:
"Petitioners Rogelio Juan, Barangay Chairman and Pedro de Jesus, Delfin Carreon, and Antonio Galguerra, Barangay Kagawads, of Barangay Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City, were separately accused in Criminal Cases Q-96-64564 to 66, for violation of Section 261-(o) of the Omnibus Election Code, before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 96, National Capital Judicial Region, Quezon City. Barangay Chairman Juan, and Bgy. Kagawad De Jesus were charged [with] willful and unlawful use of VHF radio transceiver, an equipment or apparatus owned by the barangay government of Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City, for election campaign or for partisan political activity. And Barangay Kagawads Carreon and Galguerra were charged with willful and unlawful use of a tricycle owned by the same barangay government in their political campaigns.
"Rodolfo Cayubit and Ricardo Galguerra, representing themselves as "witnesses/private complainants," assisted by Atty. Leonides S. Bernabe, Jr., representing himself as "Private Prosecutor," filed a "Motion for Removal from Office," dated December 5, 1996, for the removal of said local elective officials, to which herein petitioners filed their comment, on the ground that movants have no legal standing in court, and neither was the public prosecutor notified of the motion to which he did not conform, and therefore, said motion should be expunged or stricken out from the records, or peremptorily denied.
"In a Manifestation and Comment to the accused-petitioners’ comment, the COMELEC prosecutor stated that he "conforms" with the subject motion of private complainants, hence, respectfully submit[s] the same for the ruling of the court, followed by a Supplement to Motion for Removal from Office, dated February 28, 1997, to which petitioners also filed their opposition.
"On April 3, 1997, respondent court issued an Order, directing the "xxx immediate suspension from office of all the accused xxx for a period of sixty (60) days from service of this Order."[5]
"The preventive suspension of those officials is authorized under Section 13 of RA 3019, as amended, which is mandatory in character upon the filing of a valid information in court against them. Such suspension can be issued ‘x x x in whatever stage of execution and mode of participation, is pending in court x x x’ (see also Gonzaga vs. Sandiganbayan, 201 SCRA 417, 422, 426). Said cases stressed though that the Constitution rejects preventive suspension for an indefinite duration as it constitutes a denial of due process and equal protection of the law. Nonetheless, preventive suspension is justifiable for as long as its continuance is for a reasonable length of time. This doctrine also finds expression in Luciano vs. Provincial Governor, 28 SCRA 570, upholding the power of courts to exercise the mandatory act of suspension of local elective official[s] under Section 13 of RA 3019."[6] (underscoring found in the original)Hence, this Petition.[7]
"1. Does Sec. 13 of R.A. No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), or Sec. 60 of R.A. 7160 (The Local Government Code of 1991) confer upon a Regional Trial Court, before which a criminal case for violation of Sec. 261 (o) of the Omnibus Election Code is pending, the power and authority to order the preventive suspension from office of the accused therein upon the filing of a valid Information against him?
"2. In a criminal case for violation of Sec. 261 (o) of the Omnibus Election Code, where the INFORMATION does not allege damages sustained by any private party by reason thereof, has a person, representing himself to be a "witness/private complainant," or a lawyer, representing himself to be a "private prosecutor," the legal standing or personality to file a motion for removal from office of the accused in said criminal case?
Citing RA 7691,[8] petitioners likewise assail the authority of the trial court to hear the cases against them.‘2.1. Does a motion so filed, acquire legal standing before the Court by the subsequent adoption thereof by the COMELEC Prosecutor in said case? Msesm
‘2.2. Does a motion so filed, without compliance of the notice requirements prescribed for motions under Rule 15 of the Revised Rules of Court, deserve judicial cognizance by the court vis-a-vis Del Castillo v. Aguinaldo, 212 SCRA 169, 174, holding that such motion is "a useless piece of paper with no legal effect" that should not be accepted for filing and if filed, is not entitled to judicial cognizance?"
‘2.3. Is there substantial compliance [with] such notice requirements by the mere fact that [the] adverse party filed an opposition to said motion, precisely to question its non-compliance [with] notice requirements, prescribed by Rule 15, Revised Rules of Court?"
‘2.4. Notwithstanding the foregoing defects of said motion, is it proper for a Regional Trial Court to take cognizance thereof and act favorably thereon, without setting said motion for hearing?"
"Sec. 32. Jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts in Criminal Cases. Except in cases falling within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts and of the Sandiganbayan, the Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts shall exercise:Petitioners were charged with violating Section 261 (o) of the Omnibus Election Code. Under Section 268 of the said Code, regional trial courts have exclusive jurisdiction to try and decide any criminal action or proceeding for violation of the Code, "except those relating to the offense of failure to register or failure to vote." The said provision reads:
(1) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all violations of city or municipal ordinances, committed within their respective territorial jurisdiction; and
(2) Exclusive original jurisdiction over all offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years irrespective of the amount of fine, and regardless of other imposable accessory or other penalties, including the civil liability arising from such offenses or predicated thereon, irrespective of kind, nature, value or amount thereof; Provided, however, that in offenses involving damage to property through criminal negligence, they shall have exclusive original jurisdiction thereof.
"Sec. 268. Jurisdiction of courts. The regional trial court shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to try and decide any criminal action or proceeding for violation of this Code, except those relating to the offense of failure to register or failure to vote, which shall be under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan or municipal trial courts. From the decision of the courts, appeal will lie as in other criminal cases."Worth noting also is this Court’s disquisition in COMELEC v. Noynay:[9]
"We have explicitly ruled in Morales v. Court of Appeals, that by virtue of the exception provided for in the opening sentence of Section 32, the exclusive original jurisdiction of Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts does not cover criminal cases which by specific provisions of law fall within the exclusive original jurisdiction of Regional Trial Courts and of the Sandiganbayan, regardless of the penalty prescribed therefor. Otherwise stated, even if those excepted cases are punishable by imprisonment not exceeding six (6) years, (i.e., prision correccional, arresto mayor, or arresto menor) jurisdiction thereon is retained by the Regional Trial Courts or the Sandiganbayan, as the case may be.Clearly then, regional trial courts have jurisdiction to hear and decide cases for violation of the Omnibus Election Code, such as those filed against petitioners.
"Among the examples cited in Morales as falling within the exception provided for in the opening sentence of Section 32 are cases under (1) Section 20 of BP Blg. 129; (2) Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code as amended; (3) the Decree on Intellectual Property; and (4) the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, as amended.
"Undoubtedly, pursuant to Section 268 of the Omnibus Election Code, election offenses also fall within the exception.
"As we stated in Morales, jurisdiction is conferred by the Constitution or Congress. Outside the cases enumerated in Section 5(2) of Article VIII of the Constitution, Congress has the plenary power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of various courts. Congress may thus provide by law that a certain class of cases should be exclusively heard and determined by one court. Such law would be a special law and must be construed as an exception to the general law on jurisdiction of courts, namely, the Judiciary Act of 1948, as amended, and the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980. R.A. 7691 can by no means be considered as a special law on jurisdiction; it is merely an amendatory law intended to amend specific sections of the Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980. Hence, R.A. No. 7691 does not have the effect of repealing laws vesting upon Regional Trial Courts or the Sandiganbayan exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and decide the cases therein specified. That Congress never intended that RA 7691 should repeal such special provisions is indubitably evident from the fact that it did not touch at all the opening sentence of Section 32 of B.P. Blg. 129 providing for the exception." (Itals supplied)
"Section 261. Prohibited Acts. The following shall be guilty of an election offense:On the other hand, Section 13, R.A. 3019, as amended, provides:
(o) Use of public funds, money deposited in trust, equipment, facilities owned or controlled by the government for an election campaign. - Any person who uses under any guise whatsoever, directly or indirectly, (1) public funds or money deposited with or held in trust by, public financing institutions or by government offices, banks, or agencies; (2) any printing press, radio, or television station or audio-visual equipment operated by the Government or by its divisions, sub-divisions, agencies or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations, or by the Armed Forces of the Philippines; or (3) any equipment, vehicle, facility, apparatus or paraphernalia owned by the government or by its political subdivisions, agencies, including government-owned or controlled corporations, or by the Armed Forces of the Philippines for any election campaign or for any partisan political activity."
"SEC. 13. Suspension and loss of benefits. Any incumbent public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act or under Title 7, Book II of the Revised Penal Code or for any offense involving fraud upon government or public funds or property whether as a simple or as a complex offense and in whatever stage of execution and mode of participation, is pending in court, shall be suspended from office. Should he be convicted by final judgment, he shall lose all retirement or gratuity benefits under any law, but if he is acquitted, he shall be entitled to reinstatement, and to the salaries and benefits which he failed to receive during suspension, unless in the meantime administrative proceedings have been filed against him.Interestingly, prior to its amendment by BP 195,[10] the said provision had applied to public officers who, under a valid information, were charged with violations of RA 3019 or with offenses covered by the Revised Penal Code provision on bribery.[11] The amendatory law expanded the scope of the provision; now, public officers may likewise be suspended from office if, under a valid information, they are charged with an offense falling under Title 7 of Book II of the Revised Penal Code, or with any other form of fraud involving government funds or property.
"In the event that such convicted officer, who may have already been separated from the service, has already received such benefits he shall be liable to restitute the same to the government."
"This Court has ruled that under Section 13 of the anti-graft law, the suspension of a public officer is mandatory after the validity of the information has been upheld in a pre-suspension hearing conducted for that purpose. This pre-suspension hearing is conducted to determine basically the validity of the information, from which the court can have a basis to either suspend the accused and proceed with the trial on the merits of the case, or withhold the suspension of the latter and dismiss the case, or correct any part of the proceeding which impairs its validity. That hearing may be treated in the same manner as a challenge to the validity of the information by way of a motion to quash."In the case at bar, while there was no pre-suspension hearing held to determine the validity of the Informations that had been filed against petitioners, we believe that the numerous pleadings filed for and against them have achieved the goal of this procedure. The right to due process is satisfied not just by an oral hearing but by the filing and the consideration by the court of the parties’ pleadings, memoranda and other position papers.