G.R. No. 170583 September 12, 2007
ERNESTO M. FULLERO, petitioner, vs.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
The petitioner was charged with falsification of public document under paragraph 4, Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code. That sometime in 1988, in the City of Legazpi, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to prejudice and defraud, being then the Acting Chief Operator of Iriga City Telecommunication’s Office, while acting in said capacity and taking advantage of his official function, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously falsify and/or caused to be falsified a genuine public document, that is when he prepared his CSC 212 (Personal Data Sheet) for submission to Bureau of Telecommunication Regional Office No. 5, Legazpi City, he made it appear that he passed the Civil Engineering Board Examinations given by Professional Regulation Commission on May 30 and 31, 1985 with a rating of 75.8%; however, upon verification issued by PRC, said accused took the examination in May 1984 and another one [in] May, 1985 with general ratings of 56.75% and 56.10% respectively.
Petitioner argued that since none of the prosecution witnesses testified that they actually saw him fill up the PDS, then there is no evidence showing that the alleged falsification took place in Legazpi City; that when the PDS was allegedly falsified, he was stationed at BTO, Iriga City, and was a resident of Iriga City; that, even assuming without admitting that he filled up the PDS, the same was, “in all probability,” filled up in Iriga City and, as such, the crime of falsification was consummated therein; that, consequently, the instant case should have been tried in the Iriga City RTC and not in the Legazpi City RTC.66
The Legazpi City RTC rendered a Decision dated 9 October 2003 finding petitioner guilty of the crime of falsification. Petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals. On 19 October 2005, the appellate court promulgated its Decision affirming in toto the assailed Legazpi City RTC Decision.
Issue:
WHETHER OR NOT THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN SUSTAINING THE JUDGMENT OF THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE LOWER COURT HAD NO JURISDICTION BECAUSE THE VENUE SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT OF IRIGA CITY, WHERE THE ALLEGED PERSONAL DATA SHEET WAS ACCOMPLISHED NOT IN THE RTC OF LEGAZPI CITY.
Held:
Yes, the Court of Appeals is correct in sustaining the judgment of the Regional Trial Court. The testimonies and documentary evidence for the prosecution have sufficiently established that petitioner accomplished and thereafter submitted the PDS to the BTO, Legazpi City.
There are three important requisites which must be present before a court can acquire jurisdiction over criminal cases. First, the court must have jurisdiction over the offense or the subject matter. Second, the court must have jurisdiction over the territory where the offense was committed. And third, the court must have jurisdiction over the person of the accused.67 There is no dispute that the Legazpi City RTC has jurisdiction over the offense and over the person of petitioner. It is the territorial jurisdiction of the Legazpi City RTC which the petitioner impugns.
The territorial jurisdiction of a court is determined by the facts alleged in the complaint or information as regards the place where the offense charged was committed.68 It should also be emphasized that where some acts material and essential to the crime and requisite to its consummation occur in one province or city and some in another, the court of either province or city has jurisdiction to try the case, it being understood that the court first taking cognizance of the case will exclude the others.69
In the case at bar, the information specifically and positively alleges that the falsification was committed in Legazpi City. Moreover, as heretofore discussed, the testimonies and documentary evidence for the prosecution have sufficiently established that petitioner accomplished and thereafter submitted the PDS to the BTO, Legazpi City. The foregoing circumstances clearly placed the locus criminis in Legazpi City and not in Iriga City.
/aba
Real LexEcon 