Case Digest (G.R. No. 212448)
Facts:
AAA v. BBB, G.R. No. 212448, January 11, 2018, Supreme Court First Division, Tijam, J., writing for the Court. The petition challenges the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pasig City, Branch 158, Resolutions dated February 24, 2014 and May 2, 2014 in Criminal Case No. 146468, which granted respondent’s motion to quash an Information charging psychological violence under Section 5(i) of Republic Act No. 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004).Petitioner AAA and respondent BBB were married in 2006 and have two children. Beginning in 2007 BBB worked in Singapore and allegedly acquired permanent resident status there. AAA and the children moved to Pasig City in March 2010. AAA alleged that BBB provided little financial support, mistreated the family, and engaged in an extramarital relationship with a Singaporean woman, Lisel Mok, and that these circumstances culminated in a violent altercation in a Singapore hotel on April 19, 2011.
A prosecutor found probable cause to charge BBB under Section 5(i) of RA 9262 for “causing mental and emotional anguish” through marital infidelity, and an Information was filed in the RTC of Pasig City (Crim. Case No. 146468). A warrant of arrest and a Hold Departure Order were issued, but BBB evaded arrest and the case was archived. On November 6, 2013, counsel for BBB filed an omnibus motion to revive the case and to quash the Information; the RTC granted the motion to quash on the ground that the acts complained of occurred in Singapore and thus fell outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Philippine court, even while reiterating its earlier finding of probable cause.
Aggrieved, AAA filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 45 before the Supreme Court, arguing that under Section 7 of RA 9262 venue lies where “the crime or any of its elements was committed” and that mental and emotional anguish is experienced by the victim wherever she is, so Pasig courts could properly entertain the case. BBB filed comments contending the quashal was tantamount to an acquittal and that only the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) could properly appeal...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- May this Court entertain a Rule 45 petition filed by the private offended party (AAA) raising a pure question of law in the absence of the OSG?
- Can Philippine courts, specifically the RTC of Pasig City, exercise territorial jurisdiction over an offense of psychological violence under Section 5(i) of RA 9262 when the alleged marital infidelity that allegedly caused the mental or emotional angui...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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