Title
Baltazar vs. Mariano
Case
G.R. No. 136433
Decision Date
Dec 6, 2006
A fishpond lease dispute involving unpaid wages, sub-leasing, and jurisdictional issues led to a dismissed complaint and Ombudsman proceedings, ultimately denied by the Supreme Court due to lack of merit and standing.
fishpond watchman
unpaid salaries
jurisdiction

Case Summary (G.R. No. 136433)

Factual Background

The factual core concerns possession and harvest of a seven‑hectare fishpond in Sasmuan, Pampanga owned by Paciencia Regala. Paciencia Regala, through Attorney‑in‑Fact Faustino R. Mercado, leased the fishpond to Eduardo Lapid for three years from August 7, 1990 to August 7, 1993 for PHP 230,000.00. Lessee Lapid sub‑leased the fishpond to Rafael Lopez for the last seven months of the lease for PHP 50,000.00. Respondent Ernesto R. Salenga was employed as fishpond watchman by Lapid and then rehired by sub‑lessee Lopez. Disputes arose over unpaid wages and share in the harvest; Salenga sought redress and filed a complaint before the Provincial Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB), Region III, docketed as DARAB Case No. 552‑P’93.

Proceedings Before the DARAB

In DARAB Case No. 552‑P’93, Jose D. Jimenez, Jr. signed the complaint as counsel for Ernesto R. Salenga and Eulogio M. Mariano was the Chief Legal Officer of DAR Region III. The case was assigned to Provincial Adjudicator Toribio E. Ilao, Jr. Salenga amended his complaint and sought a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. At a June 22, 1993 hearing only Salenga and his counsel appeared; ex‑parte evidence supported issuance of a TRO on July 21, 1993. The board sheriff supervised the harvest; defendants Lopez and Lapid received shares while Salenga received his share under protest. Paciencia Regala, through her Attorney‑in‑Fact Mercado, was permitted to intervene by order dated November 15, 1993. After trial, respondent Ilao, Jr. rendered a decision on May 29, 1995 dismissing the complaint for lack of merit; Salenga appealed to the DARAB Appellate Board.

Complaint to the Ombudsman and Preliminary Investigation

On November 24, 1994, Antonio B. Baltazar filed a Complaint‑Affidavit against private respondents with the Ombudsman, docketed OMB‑1‑94‑3425, alleging conspiracy and violation of Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 by granting unwarranted benefits to Ernesto R. Salenga, issuing the TRO, and allowing Salenga to retain possession and proceeds of the fishpond. The Ombudsman required counter‑affidavits. Respondents filed counter‑affidavits except Ilao, Jr., who filed a motion to dismiss and other pleadings. On May 10, 1996 the Ombudsman issued a Resolution finding probable cause and recommending filing of an Information for violation of Section 3 (e) of RA 3019; a subsequent motion for reconsideration was denied on October 3, 1996.

Filing of Information and Re‑investigation Ordered by the Sandiganbayan

An Information was filed in the Sandiganbayan on March 17, 1997 as Criminal Case No. 23661. Before the Sandiganbayan, Ilao, Jr. moved for reconsideration and/or re‑investigation. The Sandiganbayan granted the motion by Order dated August 29, 1997 and ordered the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to conduct a re‑investigation and permitted Ilao, Jr. to file a counter‑affidavit within ten days. The OSP conducted the re‑investigation and issued an Order dated November 26, 1997 recommending dismissal of the complaint against all private respondents; the Ombudsman approved that recommendation on August 21, 1998. Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied by OSP Memorandum dated October 30, 1998, approved by the Ombudsman on November 27, 1998, and the Sandiganbayan granted dismissal on December 11, 1998. Petitioner then filed the present Rule 45 petition.

Issues Presented to the Supreme Court

Petitioner advanced two principal assignments of error: first, that the Ombudsman erred in allowing a counter‑affidavit filed after the preliminary investigation had terminated and after the case was filed in the Sandiganbayan; and second, that the Ombudsman erred in reversing its own resolution because the Provincial Adjudicator lacked jurisdiction as Salenga was a mere watchman, not an agricultural tenant, and therefore the DARAB proceedings were void on their face.

Petitioner’s Procedural and Substantive Contentions

Petitioner contended that allowing Toribio E. Ilao, Jr. to file a counter‑affidavit after the preliminary investigation terminated amounted to grave abuse of discretion and violated due process of other parties. Petitioner further asserted that DARAB Case No. 552‑P’93 did not involve an agrarian dispute because Salenga was not a tenant but a bante‑encargado or watchman earning PHP 3,000.00 per month, and that jurisdictional defects rendered respondent Ilao, Jr.’s acts unlawful and corrupt.

Respondents’ Position as Reflected in the Record

Respondents maintained that the OSP merely complied with the Sandiganbayan’s August 29, 1997 Order directing a re‑investigation and allowing filing of a counter‑affidavit. They further asserted that jurisdiction in the DARAB was properly assumed because the complaint alleged tenancy and threatened dispossession, and that issuance of the TRO was supported by unopposed ex‑parte evidence presented at the hearing.

Legal Standing and Locus Standi Analysis

The Court held that Antonio B. Baltazar lacked locus standi to maintain the Rule 45 petition before the Supreme Court. Citing Section 2, Rule 3 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court applied the real‑party‑in‑interest rule and concluded petitioner was not the party who stood to be benefited or injured by the judgment in the agrarian or the criminal proceedings. The Court observed that the fishpond owner was Paciencia Regala, who intervened through her Attorney‑in‑Fact Faustino R. Mercado, and that petitioner’s purported Special Power of Attorney dated September 2, 1998 could not cure petitioner’s lack of privity. The Court invoked the maxim potestas delegata non delegare potest and held that an agent cannot delegate his agency to another so as to create a real‑party‑in‑interest status. The Court also noted that Section 34, Rule 138 permits self‑representation only when the party is a litigant in interest, which petitioner was not. The Court concluded that petitioner had not demonstrated injury or a sufficient interest as a private complainant, taxpayer, or citizen to warrant judicial review.

Submission of Counter‑Affidavit and the Scope of Discretion

On the first substantive issue, the Court explained that it was the Sandiganbayan, not the Ombudsman, that ordered the re‑investigation and permitted Ilao, Jr. to file his counter‑affidavit by its August 29, 1997 Order. The OSP merely complied with that graft court directive. The Court observed that Ilao, Jr. had not been afforded the opportunity to file a counter‑affidavit during the initial preliminary investigation and that the Sandiganbayan acted within discretion to afford the accused an opportunity to present controverting evidence. The Court cited due process jurisprudence recognizing preliminary investigation as a statutory and substantive right of the accused and declined to find grave abuse of discretion in the OSP’s acceptance of the counter‑affidavit.

Jurisdiction of the DARAB and Issuance of TRO

Addressing the second issue, the Court reiterated the settled rule that subject matter jurisdiction is determined by the allegations of the complaint. Given that Salenga’s complaint and attachments alleged that he was an agricultural tenant in possession and threatened with ejection and sought relief characteristic of an agrarian dispute, Ilao, Jr. properly assumed jurisdiction. The Court found the issuance of the TRO to be within the sound discretion of the hearing officer because the motion was supported by documentary evidence and was unopposed at the hearing, permitting ex‑parte presentation. The Court emphasized that these interlocutory actions did not determine the merits; in fact, Ilao, Jr. later dismissed the complaint on the mer

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