Case Digest (G.R. No. 231267)
Facts:
Celso Pablo y Guimbuayan v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 231267, February 13, 2023, First Division, Hernando, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner is Celso Pablo y Guimbuayan; respondent is the People of the Philippines.On November 2, 2012, Pablo, a taxi driver, was apprehended by traffic enforcers George Barrios and Rolando Belmonte near the Marikina Bridge for entering a closed road marked with "No Entry" signage. The City traffic enforcers, in uniform, asked Pablo for his driver’s license to issue a citation; Pablo allegedly refused, drew a licensed .45 caliber pistol, pointed it at the enforcers and shouted threats. Police officers later frisked him and recovered the firearm, magazines, ammunition, a license to carry, and the driver’s license; an Ordinance Violation Receipt (UOVR) was issued for the traffic offense.
Two Informations were filed on December 6, 2012: Criminal Case No. 12-61941 charging Pablo with Direct Assault under Article 148 of the Revised Penal Code (for allegedly aiming his firearm and intimidating traffic enforcers) and Criminal Case No. 12-61942 charging violation of Section 9(c) of Marikina City Ordinance No. 133 (entering a closed road). Pablo pleaded not guilty; a warrant of arrest issued on January 3, 2013 was later lifted when he was released on recognizance. Trial ensued with Traffic Enforcer Barrios as the prosecution’s lone witness and Pablo testifying for the defense.
The Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC), Branch 94, Marikina City, in an August 5, 2015 Decision, convicted Pablo not of Direct Assault but of the lesser offense of Resistance and Serious Disobedience under Article 151 of the RPC, reasoning that the pointing of the gun was an act of self-protection and the evidence failed to show an intent to defy a law officer; the MeTC acquitted him of the city ordinance violation for failure to formally offer the UOVR. Pablo appealed.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 193, Marikina City, in a February 28, 2016 Decision, reversed the MeTC and convicted Pablo of the second form of Direct Assault under Article 148, interpreting his threats and the act of drawing and aiming a firearm as a clear assault and serious intimidation; a motion for reconsideration was denied on June 24, 2016.
The Court of Appeals (CA), in CA-G.R. CR No. 38866, affirmed the RTC in a January 31, 2017 Decision and issued an April 6, 2017 Resolution denying reconsideration; the CA found the traffic enforcers to be persons in authority performing official duties and accorded weight to the trial courts’ credibility findings.
Petitioner filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari with this Court (Rule 45), raising (1) whether the CA erred in affirming conviction despite alleged failure to prove all elements of the second mode of D...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals gravely err in affirming petitioner’s conviction despite the prosecution’s alleged failure to prove all the elements of the second form of Direct Assault under Article 148 of the RPC?
- Did the Court of Appeals err in disregarding petitioner’s...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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