Title
Garcia vs. De la Pena
Case
A.M. No. MTJ-92-687
Decision Date
Feb 9, 1994
Judge Meljohn de la Pena dismissed for presiding over a case involving his brother, violating judicial impartiality, and mishandling arrest and bail procedures.
compulsory disqualification
violation of rule
criminal case

Case Summary (A.M. No. MTJ-92-687)

Filing of the Administrative Complaint and Initial Procedure

Complainant submitted a sworn-letter complaint dated June 18, 1992, charging respondent with partiality, abuse of authority, and grave abuse of discretion. The charges were anchored on several acts alleged to show bias and improper conduct in connection with Criminal Case No. 2577. The Court required respondent to file a comment on November 19, 1992. After receipt, the case was referred to the Office of the Court Administrator for evaluation, report, and recommendation. On July 20, 1993, Deputy Court Administrator Reynaldo Suarez submitted a memorandum with evaluation and recommendation, which the Court Administrator approved.

Factual Antecedents in Criminal Case No. 2577

Records showed that on June 8, 1992, Dr. Melencio de la Pena filed a complaint for grave oral defamation with the Municipal Trial Court of Naval, Leyte, docketed as Criminal Case No. 2577, arising from an incident that occurred on April 19, 1992 in Naval, Leyte. After a preliminary examination, respondent issued, on the same date, a warrant of arrest for the accused, Ignacia G. Garcia. Acting under the warrant, SPO3 Teofanes Pacioles arrested the accused. That same day, complainant posted a cash bail bond of P2,000.00, as fixed in the warrant, to secure provisional liberty.

Complainant then sought, at about 2:40 P.M. on June 8, 1992, the approval of the cash bail bond and the Order of Release. Complainant found respondent not in his office. Complainant alleged that the prepared Order of Release was brought to respondent’s house by Rey Morillo, a process server, for respondent’s signature around 2:56 P.M., but they were told respondent had left for Ormoc City, then by boat for Cebu City. At about 4:00 P.M., complainant hired a pump boat and sent Basilio Borrinaga to Maripipi to obtain bail approval and an Order of Release from Judge Dulcisimo Pitao of the MTC of Maripipi; Judge Pitao explained that he could not act because he did not know whether Judge de la Pena was on leave.

Complainant further alleged that on June 9, 1992, at about 10:10 A.M., they learned respondent left the Order of Release with his wife, Lolita de la Pena, instead of leaving it with the Clerk of Court. As a result, complainant claimed the accused was detained at the municipal jail from 2:55 P.M. of June 8, 1992 until 10:10 A.M. of June 9, 1992, amounting to roughly twenty (20) hours. Complainant stated that it was only on June 15, 1992 that they received copies of the criminal complaint, the affidavits, and respondent’s inhibition order dated June 15, 1992.

Complainant’s Administrative Filing and Parallel Ombudsman Complaint

The delay in the release of the accused, allegedly caused by respondent’s departure for Cebu despite proper posting of bail on June 8, prompted the filing of the administrative case on July 22, 1992. Earlier, on July 16, 1992, complainant filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman (Visayas), docketed as OMB VIS-92-397, containing the same charges.

Respondent’s Comment and Defense

In his comment, respondent adopted his counter-affidavit and memorandum submitted to the Ombudsman. He argued that the certification from the Lupon Tagapayapa was not necessary because grave oral defamation was not within the coverage of the Katarungan Pambarangay Law, given the imposable penalty. He also contended that although the private complainant was his brother, he was not required to inhibit himself because the case had been deferred due to the absence of the incumbent judge and the non-designation of a presiding judge between April and May 1992.

Respondent asserted that he had no bias in issuing the warrant of arrest because such issuance was mandatory and ministerial once the complaint and supporting affidavit established probable cause. To show neutrality, he cited the inhibition order dated June 15, 1992. He also claimed the cash bond was defective because there was no written undertaking required under Section 11, Rule 114 of the Rules of Court. Finally, he explained that his Clerk had been informed on the morning of June 8, 1992 that he would go to Cebu that afternoon for a pre-scheduled medical check-up, and that he prepared an Order of Release that could be obtained from his wife if the accused actually posted bail after determining that the bond was in order.

Issues Framed by the Court and the Split Character of the Charges

The Court characterized the administrative charges as focusing chiefly on respondent’s alleged taking cognizance of Criminal Case No. 2577 despite the private complainant’s relationship to him, and the incidents said to reveal partiality in the discharge of his functions. The Court accepted respondent’s position to the limited extent that barangay conciliation certification under Presidential Decree No. 1508 was not necessary for prosecution for grave oral defamation, since it fell outside the statute’s coverage. However, the Court treated the core charge involving respondent’s relationship to the private complainant as a separate and decisive matter. It held that respondent’s acts in taking cognizance and acting on the case, despite being related to the private complainant within the required degree, implicated the rule on compulsory disqualification under Section 1, Rule 137 of the Rules of Court, and constituted a patent violation.

Compulsory Disqualification and the Court’s Core Findings

The Court quoted Section 1, Rule 137: no judge may sit in a case when he is related to a party within the sixth degree of consanguinity or affinity without the written consent of all parties in interest. The Court emphasized that the rule aims to ensure that a judge is wholly free, disinterested, impartial, and independent, and that the law conclusively presumes incapacity to objectively and impartially sit in such cases, absent written consent. It framed the objective as maintaining public faith and confidence in the judiciary.

Applying the rule, the Court found respondent’s situation clear. The Court held that respondent took cognizance of Criminal Case No. 2577 though he was related, within the second degree of consanguinity, to the private complainant, who was his brother. The Court rejected respondent’s excuse that the case had been pending due to the absence of the incumbent judge and the non-designation of a presiding judge. It held that such circumstances did not justify a direct violation of a settled rule on compulsory disqualification.

The Court stated that respondent should have formally informed the Executive Judge of the RTC of Leyte, sought designation of another judge, and avoided acting in a matter where the judge’s ruling could appear suspect because the relationship was generally known. The Court found the violation aggravated by the manner respondent handled the warrant and the accused’s continued detention.

The Court’s Treatment of the Bail and Release Delays

The Court scrutinized respondent’s June 8 actions. It noted that respondent issued the warrant of arrest and then left at about 3:00 P.M. for an alleged pre-scheduled medical check-up in Cebu. The Court held that this deprived the accused of the opportunity to secure an order for provisional liberty upon proper posting of bail on the same day of arrest. As a consequence, the accused spent the night in jail for nearly twenty hours until the next morning.

The Court further criticized respondent’s explanation that he left the signed Order of Release with his wife rather than with the Clerk of Court. It held that the explanation exposed disregard, indifference, or ignorance of procedures prescribed by law and was not sanctioned by the Rules of Court. The Court characterized respondent’s conduct as prejudicial to the accused’s rights. It also noted that respondent’s eventual inhibition on June 15, 1992, came seven days after he had caused the arrest and detention. The Court ruled that any later inhibition could not cure the damage already done, as the intrusion on the accused’s liberty was already accomplished.

In addition, the Court held respondent violated Rule 2.03, Canon 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which commands that a judge shall not allow family relationships to influence judicial conduct or convey the impression of special influence, nor use the prestige of judicial office to advance private interests.

Consideration of Prior Administrative Record

The Court considered respondent’s prior administrative history. It referenced a previous case, A.M. No. R-48-MTJ (Ragir v. de la Pena), where respondent had been charged for ignorance of law and incompetence for taking cognizance of a case for frustrated murder outside his court’s jurisdiction. In that prior matter, respondent recalled his erroneous decision within three days and remanded the case to the Office of the Provincial Fiscal. The Court had imposed a fine equivalent to a month’s salary and warned that similar acts would be dealt with more severely. The Court treated this record as reinforcing the seriousness

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