Case Digest (G.R. No. 241986)
Facts:
Feliciano Palad Legaspi, Sr. v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 241986, August 22, 2022, Supreme Court Second Division, Lopez, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Feliciano Palad Legaspi, Sr. was the elected Municipal Mayor of Norzagaray, Bulacan (2007–2013). Municipal Budget Officer Yolanda C. Ervas filed an administrative complaint for oppression/grave abuse of authority after Legaspi reassigned her; the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman (OMB) found substantial evidence and, on August 31, 2012, recommended a six-month-and-one-day suspension. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region III, acting on an instruction to implement the OMB decision, issued a December 12, 2012 Order directing suspension implementation; DILG officers Darwin David and Atty. Myron Cunanan were tasked to serve and effect the order.David and Cunanan went to the Municipal Hall but did not find Legaspi; Municipal Human Resource Management Officer Silangan Rivas accommodated them, called Legaspi, and then received the suspension order on his behalf at about 3:00 p.m. on December 12, 2012. Rivas later wrote the DILG seeking to return the order, claiming she had no authority to accept it; the DILG treated the receipt as effective and noted that Legaspi’s counsel had acknowledged receipt in a pleading. Vice Mayor Rogelio P. Santos, Jr. was furnished a copy and sworn in as acting mayor.
While under preventive suspension (December 12, 2012 to June 13, 2013), Legaspi allegedly solemnized 37 marriages and issued a mayor’s permit to Wacuman, Inc. The OMB, through the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), filed 38 Informations in the Sandiganbayan (SB-16-CRM-0272 to 0309) charging Legaspi with usurpation of official functions under Article 177, Revised Penal Code (37 counts for marriages; one for the permit). The prosecution presented 37 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) certified marriage certificates and certified true copies of duplicate originals, identification and authentication testimony from PSA and the municipal civil registrar, and municipal employees who assisted or witnessed the solemnizations; the mayor’s permit was identified by the municipal business-permits officer. The defense offered petitioner’s denial and argued the documents were mere photocopies lacking dry seal and that signatures may have been forged.
The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division rendered a Decision on May 11, 2018 convicting Legaspi of 38 counts of usurpation of official functions and imposing indeterminate penalties (minimum: three months and eleven days arresto mayor; maximum: one year, eight months, twenty-one days prision correccional for each count). A motion for reconsideration was denied in ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether petitioner Legaspi is guilty of 38 counts of usurpation of official functions under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Co...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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