Case Digest (G.R. No. 224679)
Facts:
Jonah Mallari y Samar, G.R. No. 224679, February 12, 2020, Supreme Court Third Division, Leonen, J., writing for the Court. The petitioner challenged her conviction for assaulting a police officer; the respondent is the People of the Philippines.On January 12, 2007, uniformed police officers PO2 Richard F. Navarro and SPO3 Melanio Merza responded to a reported altercation among groups of women at GenX Billiard Hall in Olongapo City. The officers pacified the fighting and invited the parties to the police station; an intoxicated Mallari refused, allegedly shouted abuse, grabbed PO2 Navarro by the collar, slapped his cheek and repeatedly kicked his legs. PO2 Navarro sustained a swollen zygomatic area and was treated at James Gordon Memorial Hospital. Mallari was detained and an Information for direct assault under Article 148 of the Revised Penal Code was filed on May 31, 2007.
At trial the prosecution presented PO2 Navarro, SPO3 Merza, and Dr. Rolando Ortiz; the defense offered Mallari’s testimony. Mallari admitted grabbing and kicking Navarro but recounted being manhandled — pushed into the patrol car, pulled down by the ankles, and injured — and submitted medical findings showing multiple contusions and an abrasion. Mallari also filed a separate complaint against the officers, later dismissed by the prosecutor.
The Municipal Trial Court (Branch 1, Olongapo City) convicted Mallari of direct assault in a September 5, 2013 Decision and sentenced her to prision correccional in its medium period and a fine. The Regional Trial Court (Branch 74, Olongapo City) affirmed on July 30, 2014. The Court of Appeals (Special Thirteenth Division) in an October 27, 2015 Decision affirmed with modification the RTC’s penalty (imposing an indeterminate term with arresto mayor minimum and prision correccional maximum and a reduced fine) and denied reconsideration in a May 12, 2016 Resolution.
Mallari filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 seeking reversal. The Office of the Solicitor General opposed, urging the Court to respect the factual ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- May this Court re-evaluate the factual findings of the trial court and Court of Appeals in a Rule 45 petition?
- Was petitioner Jonah Mallari y Samar properly convicted of direct assault under Article 148 of the Revised Penal Code, or should she instead be convicted of resistance or disobedience...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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