Palacios vs. People

Facts:

Petitioner Jimmy Lim Palacios was criminally charged under Section 5(i) of Republic Act No. 9262 (the Anti‑Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004) after his wife, Maria Cecilia Ramirez, filed a Sinumpaang‑Reklamong Salaysay alleging economic abuse (denial of financial support) and giving an address for service in Las Piñas. The Office of the City Prosecutor, Quezon City (OCP‑QC), through Assistant City Prosecutor Pedro M. Tresvalles, recommended indictment by a Resolution dated March 19, 2015, and an Information was filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City as Crim. Case No. R‑QZN‑15‑04286; the RTC issued a warrant of arrest pursuant to its May 12, 2015 Order.

Petitioner asserts he never received notice of the preliminary investigation and only learned of the complaint much later through documents in a separate case, claiming Ramirez knowingly supplied an incorrect address (the Las Piñas address) instead of his true residence in Pag‑Ibig Homes, Talon IV, Las Piñas City, thereby depriving him of the opportunity to submit a counter‑affidavit and evidence during the preliminary investigation. He submitted a barangay certification, his Seaman’s Service Record Book, their marriage contract, and other records purporting to show his correct address.

In September 2016 petitioner filed with the RTC an urgent motion for reinvestigation and to recall the warrant of arrest. In an Order dated October 5, 2016, the RTC (Presiding Judge Roberto P. Buenaventura) denied the motion, relying on A.M. No. 11‑6‑10‑SC (Guidelines for Litigation in Quezon City Trial Courts), which provides that a motion for preliminary investigation is only granted where the accused was subjected to inquest proceedings. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the RTC on January 25, 2017.

Petitioner sought relief from the Court of Appeals (CA) by filing a petition for certiorari (asserting grave abuse of discretion) in CA‑G.R. SP No. 150260. In a Decision dated January 18, 2018 (authored by Associate Justice Socorro B. Inting, with Associate Justices Apolinario D. Bruselas, Jr. and Rafael Antonio M. Santos concurring), the CA dismissed the petition and affirmed the RTC orders, finding on the basis of ACP Tresvalles’s certification in the Informat...(Pro-only)

Issues:

• Did the Court of Appeals err in upholding the denial of petitioner’s motion for preliminary investigation and to recall the warrant of arrest on the ground that petitioner was not entitled to a preliminary investigation or had been afforded notice of the prelimin...(Pro-only)

Ruling:

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Ratio:

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Doctrine:

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