Case Digest (G.R. No. 72383)
Facts:
Soriano v. Intermediate Appellate Court, G.R. No. 72383, November 09, 1988, Supreme Court Third Division, Gutierrez, Jr., J., writing for the Court.On May 19, 1984 Cesar G. Villegas prepared and circulated a press release in Tacloban alleging that election returns were being tampered with at the residence and the regional office of Francisco S. Tantuico, Jr., then Chairman of the Commission on Audit (COA). The press release was later reproduced in the May 26–June 1, 1984 issue of The Guardian, a weekly newspaper whose editorial and business offices were listed in Cubao, Quezon City.
The City Fiscal of Tacloban filed an information for libel in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Leyte (Criminal Case No. 6136), charging Marcelo B. Soriano (editor-publisher of The Guardian) and others with libel. The information alleged that the libelous matter was “printed and first published in the City of Tacloban” and alleged that the publication imputed criminal misconduct to Tantuico. Soriano moved to quash the information for improper venue, arguing that under Article 360 of the Revised Penal Code (as amended by R.A. No. 1289 and R.A. No. 4363) the action should have been filed in Quezon City where Tantuico held office and The Guardian was printed and first published.
The RTC, Leyte denied Soriano’s motion to quash in a resolution dated May 16, 1985. Soriano filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition (with prayer for preliminary injunction) before the then Intermediate Appellate Court (IAC). The IAC dismissed the petition in a decision dated Sept...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the Regional Trial Court of Leyte properly vested with jurisdiction to try Marcelo Soriano for libel?
- Under Article 360, Revised Penal Code, as amended, where is the proper venue for a libel action against an editor-publisher when a press release prepared and first circulated in one city is later published in a newspaper printed and first published in another city and the off...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)