Case Digest (G.R. No. 195248)
Facts:
John Dennis G. Chua v. People of the Philippines and Cristina Yao, G.R. No. 195248, November 22, 2017, Supreme Court Third Division, Martires, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner John Dennis G. Chua was charged with four counts of violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 after respondent Cristina Yao alleged that she loaned petitioner P1,000,000 on 3 January 2001, P1,000,000 on 7 January 2001, P1,500,000 on 16 February 2001, and P2,500,000 in June 2001; petitioner allegedly issued four checks as payment which were dishonored for being drawn against a closed account. Yao testified she delivered an extrajudicial demand/demand letter to petitioner’s office, which was received by his personal secretary.
The criminal cases were raffled to the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Branch 58, San Juan City. Proceedings began under Judge Elvira D.C. Castro; after mediation and pretrial the case was tried before Pairing Judge Marianito C. Santos (Judge Santos). On 25 July 2007 Judge Philip Labastida was appointed Presiding Judge of Branch 58 and took over; trial had reached submission for decision with promulgation tentatively set for 30 September 2008. Judge Labastida died in December 2008. Judge Mary George T. Cajandab‑Caldona (Judge Caldona) was designated Acting Presiding Judge on 20 February 2009 and assumed office on 1 April 2009.
In a decision dated 15 April 2009 (signed by Judge Santos as pairing judge), the MeTC found petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of four counts of violation of B.P. Blg. 22, fined him P200,000 per count (with subsidiary imprisonment), and held him civilly liable for the face value of the checks totaling P6,082,000 with 12% interest from date of extrajudicial demand. Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari with the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 160, Pasig City, contending Judge Santos lacked authority to promulgate the decision after Judge Caldona’s assumption.
In an Order dated 15 June 2010 the RTC denied certiorari and affirmed the MeTC conviction, holding that under Supreme Court Circular No. 19‑98 and Circular No. 5‑98 Judge Santos, as pairing/acting judge, had authority to decide cases already...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 the proper remedy to assail the MeTC decision when an appeal is available and prior motions for reconsideration were not exhausted?
- Was the decision promulgated and executed by the pairing judge (Judge Santos) on 15 April 2009 valid despite the appointment and assumption to duty of the Acting Presiding Judge on 1 April 2009?
- Does convicting an accused in a criminal case despite failure to prove all elements of the offense, specifically proof of receipt of notice of dishonor under B.P. Blg. 22, amoun...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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