Case Digest (G.R. No. 166315)
Facts:
Alfredo Sy for Himself and as Attorney-in-Fact of Gonzalo Sy, Veronica Sy, Rosario Sy, Manuel Sy and Jose See v. Hon. Secretary of Justice, Leon Maria Magsaysay and Engr. Emmanuel Lalin, G.R. No. 166315, December 14, 2006, First Division, Ynares‑Santiago, J., writing for the Court.Petitioners (the Sy family) were owners/occupants of a post‑war building and small sari‑sari store on an 8,295 sq.m. parcel in Paco, Manila. In 1985, Dolores F. Posadas, through Leon Maria F. Magsaysay as her attorney‑in‑fact, filed an ejectment case against the Sys; the trial court ruled for Posadas, the Regional Trial Court affirmed, but the Court of Appeals later set aside the RTC decision and dismissed the ejectment complaint on appeal.
While the appeal was pending in the Court of Appeals, Magsaysay obtained from the Manila Building Official a Notice of Condemnation dated February 8, 1996. The Sys had a licensed engineer issue a Certificate of Structural Inspection on February 20, 1996, certifying the structure’s general integrity and need for only minor repairs. In October 1997 the Building Official’s office sent the Sys a letter advising that Magsaysay had requested condemnation of certain structures and directing the Sys to file an Answer/Comment; an ocular inspection was deferred at petitioners’ counsel’s request.
A committee issued a Resolution dated February 3, 1998, and the Manila Building Official issued an order of demolition dated February 3, 1998. The Sys sought reconsideration from the DPWH Secretary and secured a temporary restraining order enjoining enforcement. On the morning of August 28, 1998, Emmanuel T. Lalin together with several men armed with hammers, ropes, axes and crowbars arrived and, over petitioners’ protests, proceeded to demolish the building. The Sys complained to the City Prosecutor for grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code; the City Prosecutor dismissed the complaint for lack of merit.
The Sys appealed to the Secretary of Justice; the Secretary, through a July 26, 2002 Resolution (then‑Undersecretary Merceditas N. Gutierrez), denied the appeal. The Sys filed a petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA‑G.R. SP No. 79877), which denied relief in a May 17, 20...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- May the Court substitute its judgment for that of the Secretary of Justice in the conduct of a preliminary investigation when the Secretary has dismissed a complaint?
- Was there probable cause to file an information for the offense of grave coercion against respondents Leon Maria F. Magsaysay and Emmanuel T. Lalin under Article 286...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)