Case Digest (G.R. No. 197597)
Facts:
In the Matter of the Petition for Habeas Corpus of Datukan Malang Salibo, G.R. No. 197597, April 08, 2015, the Supreme Court Second Division, Leonen, J., writing for the Court, decided this case.Petitioner Datukan Malang Salibo (Salibo) alleged that police officers at Datu Hofer Police Station in Maguindanao suspected him of being Butukan S. Malang, one of the accused in the November 23, 2009 Maguindanao Massacre who was charged in People of the Philippines v. Datu Andal Ampatuan, Jr., et al. Salibo said he was in Saudi Arabia from November 7 to December 19, 2009 for the Hajj pilgrimage and returned to the Philippines on December 20, 2009. To clear his name he presented passport pages, boarding passes, airline certifications, immigration manifests, an NBI clearance, and other identity documents showing his name as Datukan Malang Salibo and travel dates corroborating his absence from the country on the date of the massacre.
Despite initial assurances that he would not be arrested, police apprehended Salibo on or about August 2010, tore out a passport page showing his departure, and detained him at Datu Hofer Police Station for about three days. He was then transferred to the CIDG in Cotabato City for about ten days, allegedly made to sign documents, and finally transferred on August 20, 2010 to the Quezon City Jail Annex where he remained detained.
Salibo filed an Urgent Petition for Habeas Corpus before the Court of Appeals on September 17, 2010. The Court of Appeals issued a writ making it returnable to the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 153, Pasig City (Taguig Hall of Justice). On October 29, 2010, after hearing the Return, the RTC granted Salibo’s petition and ordered his release, finding he was not judicially charged and was not the person named in the Information and Alias Warrant (which charged Butukan S. Malang).
The Warden appealed to the Court of Appeals, which, by Decision dated April 19, 2011, reversed the RTC and dismissed the petition, holding that Salibo had been arrested pursuant to a valid Information and Warrant of Arrest and that the proper remedy was a motion to quash rather than habeas corpus. The Court of Appeals denied reconsideration on July 6, 2011.
Salibo then filed a Petition for Review under Rule 45 in the Supreme Court challengi...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the Regional Trial Court, Branch 153, Pasig City decision on Salibo’s petition for habeas corpus appealable to the Court of Appeals?
- Was a petition for habeas corpus the proper remedy for Salibo’s claimed unlawful detention, or should he have filed a motion to quash the Information and...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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