Case Digest (G.R. No. 29476)
Case Digest (G.R. No. 29476)
Facts:
The People of the Philippine Islands v. Andres Covacha, G.R. No. 29476, January 31, 1929, the Supreme Court En Banc, Johnson, J., writing for the Court.The plaintiff-appellee is The People of the Philippine Islands; the defendant-appellant is Andres Covacha, who at the relevant time served as a deputy provincial sheriff (Sheriff Provincial delegado) of Negros Occidental, acting as the officer in charge of the provincial sheriff's office (the provincial sheriff being the Governor, Hon. Jose C. Locsin).
On May 16, 1927, Attorney Jose F. Orozco, counsel for Hoskyn & Co., caused a summons in a civil action pending in the Court of First Instance of Iloilo (Civil No. 6077) directed to defendant Jose R. Borromeo to be mailed to the “Sr. Sheriff Provincial, Bacolod, Negros Occidental.” The mail records show the provincial sheriff's office received the correspondence and summons on May 21, 1927. The summons was placed in the hands of Covacha in his capacity as the deputy in charge of the office.
Rather than serving the summons himself, Covacha transmitted it on June 9, 1927, to deputy sheriff Roque F. Marco for service. When Orozco inquired by certified letter on June 24 and again on July 24 about the status of service, his first inquiry received no reply; his second was answered by Covacha on July 27, stating the summons had been forwarded to Marco on June 9 and had not been returned. Up to the trial date of March 13, 1928, no return of service by Covacha or Marco had been filed; Orozco was compelled to secure a new summons and appoint a special sheriff to accomplish service.
On January 13, 1928, the prosecuting attorney of Iloilo filed a criminal complaint against Covacha charging him with desacato (contempt) under section 232 of Act No. 190 (as amended by Act No. 3170). Covacha was arrested, arraigned, pleaded not guilty, tried before the Court of First Instance (the trial court), convicted of contempt and sentenced to pay a fine of P100, with subsidiary imprisonment in default and costs. Covacha appealed to the Supreme Court. The Attorney-General filed a brief recommending affirmation. The Supreme Court, with Johnson, J. as ponente, rendered judgment on January 31, 1929; Justices Street, Malcolm, Villamor, Ostrand, Romualdez, and Villa-Real concurred; Justice Johns dissented.
Issues:
- Was the evidence sufficient to support Covacha’s conviction for contempt under section 232 of Act No. 190?
- Did Covacha’s failure to serve and make return of the summons, while acting as a deputy provincial sheriff, constitute contempt (misbehavior of an officer of the court) under section 232 of Act No. 190?
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)