G.R. No. 92163 - Enrile vs. Salazar

The defendant, Ignacio Siatong, was tried and found guilty of murder by a military commission.
The commission imposed the death penalty upon him.
The sentence was duly approved and affirmed by the proper military authorities.

The death sentence was not carried out because the defendant escaped before the scheduled execution date.
After his recapture, it was noted that the military commission which had originally tried him had ceased to function.

The prosecution petitioned the Court of First Instance for the execution of the death sentence.
The court declared the defendant as encompassed within the amnesty granted on July 4, 1902, and released him upon his taking the prescribed oath.

The provincial fiscal, representing the interests of the prosecution, appealed from the judgment of the court.
However, the government's representative desisted from the appeal, considering it improper.
Instead, the fiscal sought the remedy of certiorari on two grounds:

That the court acted outside its jurisdiction in rendering the judgment.
That no easy, expeditious, or appropriate remedy (such as an appeal) was available for that decision.

The petition for certiorari was scrutinized regarding its form and compliance with the Code of Procedure in Civil Actions.
It was determined that the petition did not meet the formal requirements because it was submitted in the form of a brief, rather than the formal complaint required.
The petition was thus set aside in accordance with the law.
The court acknowledged that the prosecution might file a new petition in proper form if considered necessary.
The costs in the instance were declared de oficio.

Whether the Court of First Instance exceeded its jurisdiction by including the defendant within the amnesty provided by the July 4, 1902 executive order.
Whether the remedy of certiorari is available in this case given that the defendant was released under amnesty despite a pending death sentence.

Whether the petition for certiorari filed by the provincial fiscal meets the formal requirements prescribed by the Code of Procedure in Civil Actions.
Whether the remedy of certiorari could be invoked via a brief in a criminal cause instead of the mandated formal complaint.

The propriety of the government's representative substituting the appeal with a petition for certiorari.
The potential for the prosecution to file a subsequent petition if a properly formatted complaint is presented.