G.R. No. 193902 - ZamoraNo.vs. People

Three petitions for review on certiorari under Rule 45: G.R. Nos. 193902, 193908 (Zamoranos vs. People of the Philippines and Samson R. Pacasum, Sr.), and G.R. No. 194075 (Pacasum vs. Zamoranos).
Court of Appeals (CA) Decision dated July 30, 2010 in CA-G.R. SP No. 03525-MIN dismissed Zamoranos’s petition for certiorari and affirmed RTC Branch 6, Lanao del Norte, in Criminal Case No. 06-12305 for Bigamy filed by Pacasum.

April 28, 1982: Marietta D. Zamoranos converts from Roman Catholicism to Islam.
May 3, 1982: Islamic (nikah) marriage to Jesus (Mohamad) de Guzman solemnized by Ustadz Abdullah Ha-Ja-Utto in Isabela, Basilan.
July 30, 1982: Civil marriage before RTC Quezon City, Judge Perfecto Laguio.
December 18, 1983: Talaq divorce by de Guzman; confirmed by Shari’a Circuit Court, Basilan, issuing Decree of Divorce on June 18, 1992.

December 20, 1989: Islamic marriage to Samson R. Pacasum, Sr., her subordinate at the Bureau of Customs, in Balo-i, Lanao del Norte.
December 28, 1992: Civil marriage before RTC Iligan City, Judge Valerio Salazar.
Issue of three children: Samson Jr., Sam Jean, and Sam Joon; de facto separation in 1998; custody agreement on October 18, 1999 awarding primary custody to Zamoranos.

March 31, 2003: Petition for Annulment of Marriage (Civil Case No. 6249, RTC Iligan City), amended May 31, 2004 to Declaration of Void Marriage on ground of bigamy and subsisting first marriage.
October 25, 2004: Criminal complaint for Bigamy under RPC Article 349 filed with City Prosecutor of Iligan City.
Separate administrative complaints for dismissal and disbarment before CSC, IBP, and BFRIPS—later dismissed.

February 2, 2005: City Prosecutor finds prima facie evidence.
April 29, 2005: Acting City Prosecutor of Ozamiz City grants Zamoranos’s motion for reconsideration and dismisses the Bigamy charge.
August 15, 2005: Denial of Pacasum’s motion for reconsideration.
February 7, 2006: Secretary of Justice reverses prosecutorial resolutions and reinstates Bigamy charge.
May 17, 2006: Secretary of Justice denies Zamoranos’s omnibus motions to reconsider, hold the case in abeyance, or quash warrant.
February 22, 2006: Information for Bigamy docketed as Criminal Case No. 06-12305, RTC Branch 6, Iligan City.

RTC Branch 2, Iligan City, dismisses Pacasum’s petition for want of jurisdiction, citing exclusive competence of Shari’a Circuit Court over Muslim marriages/divorce under P.D. No. 1083.
CA and Supreme Court affirm dismissal; final and executory on April 3, 2009.
August 7, 2009: RTC Branch 6 reinstates Criminal Case No. 06-12305 upon Pacasum’s motion.
December 21, 2009: RTC Branch 6 denies Zamoranos’s Motion to Quash the Information; reconsideration likewise denied.
CA dismisses Zamoranos’s petition for certiorari for lack of grave abuse of discretion; treats denial of motion to quash as error of judgment, not jurisdiction.

Whether the CA correctly held that Zamoranos’s certiorari petition was an improper remedy for an interlocutory denial of a motion to quash.
Whether the RTC, Branch 6, acted with or without jurisdiction or grave abuse of discretion in continuing with the Bigamy case.

Whether RTC Branch 2 and the CA correctly found that (a) Zamoranos is a Muslim; (b) her marriage and divorce with de Guzman were governed by P.D. No. 1083; and (c) Shari’a Circuit Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over those matters.
Consequence of that finding on the RTC’s jurisdiction to try the Bigamy offense under the RPC.