Facts:

• On January 17, 1964, the Provincial Fiscal of Iloilo filed an information in the Court of First Instance of Iloilo, docketed as Criminal Case No. 10168.
• Pacifico Dose and Diosdado Descares were accused of illegal possession of firearms.
• The information alleged that on November 12, 1963, in Dumangas, Iloilo, the accused had an automatic pistol Colt, super .38, with ammunition, without a license or authority.
• On August 4, 1964, the Court of First Instance of Iloilo ruled it had no original jurisdiction and remanded the case to the municipal court of Dumangas.
• The Provincial Fiscal moved for reconsideration, citing Section 44 (f) of the Judiciary Act of 1948, as amended, which grants the Court of First Instance original concurrent jurisdiction.
• On August 20, 1964, the Court of First Instance denied the motion for reconsideration.
• The People of the Philippines appealed the orders dated August 4, 1964, and August 20, 1964, on a question of law.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

• The Supreme Court ruled that both the Court of First Instance and municipal or city courts have concurrent jurisdiction to try criminal cases involving illegal possession of firearms.
• The appealed orders of the Court of First Instance of Iloilo, dated August 4, 1964, and August 20, 1964, were set aside....(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Supreme Court's decision was based on the interpretation of the Judiciary Act of 1948, as amended.
• Section 87 of the Judiciary Act of 1948, as amended by Republic Act No. 3828, grants justices of the peace and judges of municipal courts original jurisdiction over criminal cases related to illegal possession of firearms, explosives, and ammunition.
• Section 44 (f) of the same Act confers upon the Court of First Instance original jurisdiction in criminal cases where the penalty is imprisonment for more than six months or a fine of more than two hundred pesos.
• Since illegal possession of firearms is punishable by impris...continue reading