Title
Bala vs. Martinez
Case
G.R. No. 67301
Decision Date
Jan 29, 1990
Manuel Bala's probation, granted after falsification conviction, was revoked post-expiration due to violations and subsequent convictions; jurisdiction retained despite residence change.
probation
revocation of probation
final discharge

Case Summary (G.R. No. 67301)

Factual Background

The petitioner was indicted and tried for falsification of a public document by substituting a passport photograph and was convicted on January 3, 1978 of violating Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code. The trial court imposed an indeterminate penalty of not less than one year and one day and not exceeding three years, six months and twenty-one days of prision correccional, a fine of P1,800.00, and costs. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction on April 9, 1980. After remand for execution of judgment, the petitioner applied for and the trial court granted probation on August 11, 1982 for a one-year period subject to specified conditions, including residency and cooperation with supervision and rehabilitation.

Post-Probation Developments

The petitioner sought permission on September 23, 1982 to change his residence from BF Homes to Phil-Am Life Subdivision, Las Piñas, a request which his supervising probation officer orally approved. The probationer’s one-year period would have expired on August 10, 1983, but the trial court did not issue an order of final discharge because the probation officer had not submitted a final report and recommendation. The People, through the Assistant City Fiscal of Manila, filed a motion to revoke probation on December 8, 1983 alleging violations of the conditions of probation.

Procedural History in the Trial Court

The petitioner opposed the motion to revoke on January 4, 1984, asserting that his probation had terminated with the passage of the one-year period and that his change of residence transferred supervision and venue to the Executive Judge of the Court of First Instance of his new place of residence pursuant to Section 13, P.D. No. 968. The probation officer had earlier filed a motion to terminate with a progress report on January 6, 1984, but later filed a manifestation of January 30, 1984 submitting a supplemental report recommending revocation. The trial court denied the petitioner’s motion to dismiss or strike out the motion to revoke in an order dated April 2, 1984. The petitioner then filed the present petition for certiorari and prohibition in the Supreme Court.

Issues Presented

The Supreme Court identified and addressed whether the expiration of the probationary period alone ipso facto terminated probation, whether petitioner’s change of residence automatically transferred supervision and venue to another court, whether an oral permission from a probation officer sufficed to change residence in violation of written-approval requirements, and whether revocation of probation was proper under the circumstances.

Petitioner’s Contentions

The petitioner maintained that his probation terminated automatically on August 10, 1983 at the expiration of the one-year period and that, in any event, his relocation vested control over his supervision in the Executive Judge of the court having jurisdiction over his new residence, invoking Section 13, P.D. No. 968. The petitioner further relied on the probation officer’s verbal assent to the residence change as satisfying any supervisory requirement.

Respondents’ and Solicitor General’s Positions

The People and the probation officer pursued revocation, relying on reports and supplemental information alleging violations of probation conditions. The Solicitor General contended that the Supreme Court petition was premature because the trial court had not yet conducted a full hearing on the motion to revoke and therefore the issue had not been finally acted upon below.

Ruling of the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for certiorari and prohibition and ordered the probation of the petitioner revoked. The Court directed the trial court to issue a warrant for the arrest of the petitioner and to have him serve the sentence originally imposed without any deduction for the period purportedly spent on probation. The Court also assessed costs against the petitioner.

Legal Basis for Revocation — Termination of Probation

The Court held that probation does not terminate automatically upon the expiration of the probationary period. Citing Section 16 of P.D. 968, the Court explained that the court must, after consideration of the probation officer’s report and recommendation, order a final discharge before the probationer’s case is deemed terminated. The absence of a judicial order of final discharge therefore left the probation in subsistence and exposed it to revocation for cause. The Court emphasized that the probationary period is not coextensive with automatic termination because issuance of a final discharge is a necessary judicial act based on the probation officer’s report.

Factual Basis for Revocation

On the record the Court found that the petitioner failed to reform and had continued in criminal conduct. The petitioner was convicted on April 30, 1984 in five separate informations in Criminal Cases Nos. 29100, 29101, 29102, 29103, and 29107 for falsification of public and/or official documents (U.S. passports) under Article 172, in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code, and was punished in each case with prision correccional of two to four years, fines, and accessory penalties. The judgment became final and a warrant of arrest issued on July 12, 1989 after the petitioner absconded. The Court found these facts to constitute violations of the probation conditions, including the duties to be gainfully employed and to cooperate fully with supervision and rehabilitation.

Statutory Authority for Interim Arrest and Revocation

The Court relied upon Section 15 of P.D. No. 968, which authorizes the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of a probationer for violation of any condition, the summary or informal hearing upon arrest, and the court’s power to revoke or continue probation if the violation is established. The Court observed that an order revoking probation is not appealable under the statute and that, upon revocation, the probationer must serve the sentence originally imposed.

Jurisdiction and Venue on Change of Residence

The Court rejected the petitioner’s claim that his transfer of residence automatically transferred supervision and venue to the Executive Judge of the court territorially encompassing Las Piñas. The Court explained that venue is an element of jurisdiction and that the Regional Trial Courts of the National Capital Judicial Region, created and apportioned by Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, are coordinate and co-equal; jurisdiction is vested in the court, not in individual branches or judges. Because the petitioner had been within the National Capital Judicial Region at the time probation was granted and remained so, the Manila RTC did not lose control or supervision. The Court also noted the illogic of the petitioner’s argument, which, if accepted, would have rendered the

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