People v. Damaso
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Petitioner Atty. Galileo D. Sibala and private respondents Ernesto Cardiño and Primo Maliwanag were opposing counsels in a case before this Court. Private respondents Ernesto del Rosario and Nicanor Guerra were the President and Manager of Davao Timber Corporation, a party in that case. In a Memorandum filed in that case, the private respondents accused Atty. Sibala of breach of unprofessional and unethical conduct. Consequently, Atty. Sibala filed a complaint for libel against them. Procedural History: While the investigating fiscal suspended the libel investigation due to a pending contempt motion against Atty. Sibala before the Supreme Court, Atty. Sibala, realizing the prescriptive period was about to expire, filed a similar complaint for libel with the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Davao Oriental. Subsequently, he moved to withdraw his complaint from the fiscal's office to present it to the court of proper jurisdiction. The private respondents moved to dismiss the CFI complaint, arguing the CFI had no jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation for libel and that the statements were absolutely privileged. The CFI dismissed the complaint. Atty. Sibala's motion for reconsideration was denied. The Petition: Atty. Sibala filed a petition for certiorari to annul and set aside the CFI's order of dismissal and the subsequent denial of his motion for reconsideration.
Issue(s)
Whether the Court of First Instance has jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation of a libel case directly filed with it. Whether the pendency of an investigation by the fiscal, which was suspended, divests the Court of First Instance of its jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation of a libel case. Whether the alleged libelous statements are absolutely privileged.
Ruling
The petition is granted. The orders of the respondent judge dismissing the complaint for libel and denying the motion for reconsideration are annulled and set aside. The respondent judge is ordered to proceed with the hearing of the case in the ordinary course of law.
Ratio Decidendi
On the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance to conduct a preliminary investigation of a libel case: The Court held that judges of first instance have jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation of a libel case directly filed with the court. This ruling is based on the established jurisprudence of this Court. Therefore, the respondent judge erred in dismissing the petitioner's complaint for libel on the ground of lack of jurisdiction. On the effect of the fiscal's suspended investigation: The Court clarified that the case of People vs. Hechanova, et al., cited by the parties, is not applicable to the present case. In Hechanova, a preliminary investigation had already been conducted by the fiscal. In this case, no preliminary investigation or examination had been conducted by the fiscal because the investigation was suspended and held in abeyance upon being informed of the contempt proceedings filed against the petitioner with the Supreme Court. Thus, the pendency and subsequent suspension of the fiscal's investigation did not divest the CFI of its jurisdiction to conduct its own preliminary investigation. On whether the alleged libelous statements are absolutely privileged: While the private respondents claimed the statements were absolutely privileged, the Court did not explicitly rule on this issue in the dispositive portion. However, by ordering the respondent judge to proceed with the hearing of the case, the Court implicitly rejected the argument that the statements were absolutely privileged, as such a privilege would have been a ground for dismissal. The Court's focus was on the procedural issue of jurisdiction for the preliminary investigation.
Main Doctrine
Judges of first instance have jurisdiction to conduct a preliminary investigation of a libel case directly filed with the court, and the pendency of a fiscal's investigation does not divest the court of this authority, especially when the fiscal's investigation was suspended.