Title
Enrile vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 213455
Decision Date
Aug 11, 2015
Philippine Senator Enrile challenged plunder charges, alleging insufficient details in the Information. Supreme Court ruled in his favor, mandating a bill of particulars to uphold his constitutional right to due process.

Case Summary (G.R. No. 213455)

Petition for certiorari: core contention

Enrile argued the Sandiganbayan committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction by denying his motion for bill of particulars, thereby violating his constitutional right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation. He maintained the Information was ambiguous and insufficient in material particulars (who acquired the alleged ill-gotten wealth, the specific overt acts comprising the alleged combination or series, amounts and dates of alleged kickbacks, identity of donors and recipients, project particulars, implementing agencies, COA audits corroborating ghost projects, and the manner he took undue advantage of office). He contended these were material rather than merely evidentiary and essential to prepare a proper defense.

People’s position and Enrile’s reply in the Supreme Court

  • The People (Ombudsman / Special Prosecutor) contended the Sandiganbayan did not act arbitrarily and, even if erroneous, the denial did not amount to lack or excess of jurisdiction required for certiorari relief. They maintained the Information contained ultimate facts sufficient under the Rules; evidentiary details need not be alleged in the Information and could be developed at trial. The Sandiganbayan had followed its internal rules in deciding the motion.
  • Enrile replied that the right to move for a bill of particulars implements the accused’s constitutional rights; the Sandiganbayan’s denial was not a mere procedural ruling but deprived him of constitutional guarantees. He maintained the requested particulars were relevant and not available in prosecution-marked documentary bundles used at preliminary conference.

Constitutional and procedural standards applied by the Court

  • The Court applied the 1987 Constitution (post-1990 decision rule): the accused’s right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation is grounded in Section 1 and Section 14(1), Article III (due process). The Information must state ultimate facts with sufficient clarity to enable preparation of defense and to bar subsequent prosecutions for the same offense.
  • Under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure an Information is sufficient if it states, inter alia, the name of the accused, designation of the offense, the acts or omissions constituting the offense, approximate date (if material), and place. The Information must state ultimate facts but need not include evidentiary particulars. A bill of particulars (Section 9, Rule 116) is available before arraignment to specify vague or indefinite facts in a valid Information so an accused may properly plead and prepare for trial; it is not a vehicle to compel disclosure of prosecutorial evidence. Granting a bill of particulars is discretionary, reversible only for grave abuse of discretion.

Ultimate facts versus evidentiary facts — legal distinction

The Court reiterated the critical distinction: ultimate facts are the essential facts which the expected evidence will support (those constitutive of the offense’s elements); evidentiary facts are the detailed premises by which ultimate facts will be proved (dates, minor documentary details, exact transaction-by-transaction breakdowns). An Information must allege ultimate facts; evidentiary facts may be reserved for trial. The bill of particulars supplies specification when an otherwise valid Information is couched in vague terms that hamper the accused’s ability to plead intelligently or prepare defense.

Bill of particulars: purpose and limits

The bill of particulars in criminal cases serves to: (1) inform the accused of the theory of the government’s case; (2) prevent surprise; (3) enable proper pleading and defense preparation; and (4) limit the scope of proof. It must specify defects in the Information and the details desired. It is not intended or permitted to require the prosecution to disclose matters of evidence (how the prosecution will prove elements or identify specific witnesses beyond the scope of material facts). When granted, the bill functions as a formal amplification and becomes part of the Information for purposes of arraignment and subsequent trial.

Elements of plunder and why particularization matters here

Plunder (RA No. 7080) penalizes a public officer who amasses ill-gotten wealth of at least Php50,000,000 through a combination or series of overt criminal acts defined in Section 1(d) (six enumerated modes, including receiving kickbacks and taking undue advantage of office). The “combination” implies different categories of predicate acts; a “series” means repetition of actions under the same category. Because the Plunder Law requires proof of a combination or series of overt acts leading to an aggregate amount threshold, the Court held that the predicate overt acts forming the asserted combination or series are material elements that must be alleged with sufficient particularity in the Information or provided by bill of particulars so the accused can identify the transactions he faces and prepare defenses.

Application to the Information against Enrile — what the Court deemed evidentiary

The Court analyzed the specific particulars Enrile sought and divided them into (a) those that are evidentiary and (b) those that are material/ultimate facts. It held the following requests were evidentiary and need not be supplied by bill of particulars:

  • Exact yearly PDAF allocations to Enrile (2004–2010) and the detailed COA audit field-investigation narratives validating ghost-project findings (these support the ultimate fact but are evidentiary).
  • Identity of “others” beyond named co-accused as sources/donors of kickbacks — the prosecution may call witnesses it chooses; forcing disclosure of all potential witnesses or other persons would amount to premature disclosure of evidence.
  • Matters that expand on the description of how Enrile took undue advantage in broad evidentiary minutiae beyond the specific overt acts required to form the pleaded combination/series.

Application to the Information — what the Court held must be furnished (material particulars)

The Supreme Court found grave abuse of discretion in the Sandiganbayan’s categorical denial because some of Enrile’s requested particulars were material facts necessary for him to plead intelligently and prepare his defense. The Court directed the People to submit a bill of particulars limited to specified material details. The Court identified the particulars that are not mere evidentiary detail and therefore must be supplied:

  1. The particular overt act(s) alleged to constitute the “combination” or “series” of overt criminal acts charged in the Information (i.e., identification of the predicate acts that make up the combination/series under Section 1(d));
  2. A breakdown of the amounts of the alleged kickbacks or commissions received, showing how the Php172,834,500.00 total was arrived at (i.e., transaction-level or aggregated particulars that show allocation by component);
  3. A brief description of the identified projects where the kickbacks or commissions were received (project names sufficient to identify transactions);
  4. The approximate dates of receipt of the alleged kickbacks and commissions within “2004 to 2010 or thereabout” — at least specification of the year of receipt for each identified transaction;
  5. The names of the Napoles-controlled non-government organizations (NGOs) that were the alleged recipients/implementers of Enrile’s PDAF projects; and
  6. The government implementing agencies to which Enrile allegedly endorsed the Napoles NGOs (identifying agencies suffices; particular agency personnel need not be named).

The Court emphasized that these particulars are material, not evidentiary: they define the transactions and predicate acts that constitute plunder and are indispensable to prevent surprise and enable adequate defense.

Rejection of other requested particulars

All other particulars requested by Enrile that were not included in the enumerated six items were denied. The Court explained that requiring additional factual minutiae — e.g., each person who delivered cash, each signature, full accounting of COA audit narratives — would compel the prosecution to disclose evidentiary details prematurely and go beyond the proper scope of a bill of particulars.

Grave abuse of discretion finding and reasoning

The Court held the Sandiganbayan committed grave abuse of discretion by denying the bill of particulars on the ground that all details sought were evidentiary or that the requests were reiterations of issues raised in the probable cause resolution. The Court’s reasoning:

  • Some requested particulars were material and necessary to enable Enrile to enter an intelligent plea and prepare his defense; the trial court should have analyzed each requested item to determine whether it was ultimate or evidentiary rather than issuing a blanket denial.
  • Reference to voluminous preliminary-investigation documents is not a substitute for specifying material particulars in the Information or by bill of particulars; an accused should not be obliged to unearth the relevant particulars from large documentary annexes. A preliminary investigation record does not serve as a bill of particulars.
  • The argument that prior adjudication of probable cause precludes later specification is unsound: probable-cause rulings are interlocutory and do not bar subsequent specification or assertion of rights in a different procedural context (bill of particulars vs. motion to quash/appeal of probable cause).
  • Because plunder is made up of several predicate acts spread over time, the prosecution’s generalized or “shotgun” averments in paragraph (a) of the Information left Enrile insufficiently apprised of which specific transactions were relied upon to meet the P50 million threshold; failure to particularize undermines the constitutional right to be informed.

Relief ordered by the Supreme Court (principal disposition)

  • The petitio

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