Title
Office of the Ombudsman vs. Castro
Case
G.R. No. 164678
Decision Date
Oct 20, 2005
A prosecutor's post-filing review of a case, recommending dismissal, was upheld as lawful and not prejudicial, affirming her duty compliance.
office of the ombudsman
castro
court of appeals

Case Summary (G.R. No. 164678)

Factual Background

On June 19, 2001, a complaint for violation of the Social Security Act of 1997 was filed by Charito C. Ocampo against the spouses Gonzales before the Office of the City Prosecutor. After preliminary investigation, Asst. City Prosecutor Victor C. Laborte issued a resolution dated August 7, 2001 recommending the filing of an information for the spouses’ alleged non-remittance of premiums to the Social Security System (SSS). An information was thereafter filed in court on September 28, 2001.

After the information was filed, the spouses Gonzales filed on October 10, 2001 a Motion for Reconsideration before the Office of the City Prosecutor without leave of court. On November 7, 2001, respondent Castro filed a Comment on the motion for reconsideration and recommended the dismissal of the complaint.

Ocampo alleged that Castro’s filing of a comment after an information had already been lodged in court was irregular. She maintained that once an information is filed in court, the investigating prosecutor or the Secretary of Justice should no longer entertain motions for reinvestigation or reconsideration. She accordingly filed an administrative complaint against Castro charging conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Respondent’s Explanation and the Ombudsman’s Administrative Finding

Castro asserted that on October 30, 2001, her superior, Asst. City Prosecutor Oscar Capacio, Chief of the Review and Reconsideration Section of the Office of the City Prosecutor, ordered her to reinvestigate the case. She stated that after evaluating the records and documents, she found no basis for the complaint and thus recommended dismissal. She submitted her comment and recommendation to Capacio for review and thereafter to City Prosecutor Jose Pedrosa for approval.

Castro invoked Section 56 of the Manual for Prosecutors, arguing that a motion for reconsideration is part of due process in preliminary investigation. She further maintained that depriving the accused of the right to file such motion would deny the right to a full preliminary investigation preparatory to the filing of the information. She contended, likewise, that leave of court was not necessary because the comment remained within preliminary investigation jurisdiction exercised by the Office of the City Prosecutor.

On April 4, 2003, the Ombudsman rendered a Decision finding Castro guilty of Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, imposing suspension for six months without pay. The Ombudsman ruled that when the motion for reconsideration was filed, the Office of the City Prosecutor no longer had jurisdiction because the information had already been filed in court. It concluded that Castro’s comment without leave of court was improper, particularly because it effectively resolved the merits of the motion for reconsideration without prior court approval. It also noted that while the accused had the right to file a motion for reconsideration, Castro allegedly should have verified the status of the case before recommending dismissal, which, in the Ombudsman’s view, was beyond her authority after the information’s filing in court.

Castro’s superior and co-respondent context included the Ombudsman’s dismissal of the administrative complaint against prosecutor Jesus Feliciano.

Court of Appeals Ruling

Castro appealed, and the Court of Appeals annulled the Ombudsman’s Decision and set aside both the October 17, 2002 Decision and the related June 5, 2003 Order.

The appellate court held that the Regional or City Prosecutor could exercise the authority of their superior, the Secretary of Justice, to review resolutions of subordinate prosecutors in criminal cases even after an information had been filed in court. It reasoned that the filing of the information did not foreclose the City Prosecutor’s authority, in behalf of the Secretary of Justice, to review the prior resolution of Laborte.

The Court of Appeals also observed that because Castro’s comment and recommendation were reviewed by Capacio and approved by Pedrosa, the acts were presumed to have been done in regular performance of duty. It further noted that the trial judge had clarified the leave-of-court issue by disregarding Ocampo’s claim that she was not notified or given an opportunity to oppose the comment. The Court of Appeals noted that Ocampo and her counsel were aware of the pending motion to withdraw information based on the motion for reconsideration and the comment already filed, as the matter was heard on October 7, 2002. The trial judge was thus convinced there was no basis for the complaint and ordered its dismissal.

Finally, the appellate court found that Castro’s acts did not amount to gross misconduct, and it referred to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) position that there was no particular law that Castro violated.

Issues Raised

Before the Supreme Court, the Ombudsman framed the controversy as whether Castro usurped the jurisdiction of the trial court by filing the comment and recommending dismissal of the criminal case despite the information having been filed in court.

Parties’ Positions on Review

The Ombudsman argued that Castro deliberately disregarded the rule that after a case is filed in court, leave of court must be obtained before taking action on a motion for reconsideration filed with the Office of the City Prosecutor. It maintained that such intentional disregard of established jurisdictional jurisprudence and delineation of authority warranted administrative liability.

Castro countered that she violated no law, rule, or regulation. She asserted that she followed the order of her superior to reinvestigate the case and that her conduct should not result in suspension by the Ombudsman. She further alleged that she was singled out and that the Ombudsman should have investigated her superiors and the Secretary of Justice who allegedly authorized the reinvestigation and the dismissal.

Supreme Court’s Ruling: No Administrative Liability

Upon review, the Court held that Castro’s conduct in resolving the motion for reconsideration was not prejudicial to the best interest of the service. The Court emphasized that Laborte initially handled the case, found probable cause, and recommended filing of an information. It noted that after the motion for reconsideration was filed, Capacio assigned the case to Castro, and Castro’s role required discretion to uphold, modify, or reverse Laborte’s findings based on her evaluation of the record. Thus, the Court regarded it as not unusual that Castro’s observations could diverge from Laborte’s.

The Court further held that a motion for reconsideration of a resolution in preliminary investigation is allowed and is consistent with due process, citing Department of Justice Circular No. 70. It explained that the circular provides a fifteen-day period for appeal and allows that the appeal may be taken within fifteen days from receipt of the resolution or denial of a motion for reconsideration/reinvestigation, if one has been filed within the same fifteen-day period. It also reiterated that Section 56 of the Manual for Prosecutors supports the filing of a motion for reconsideration as part of due process.

The Court addressed timing in the case of the spouses Gonzales. While the information was filed in court on September 28, 2001, the spouses received the unfavorable recommendation only on October 1, 2001. They filed on October 10, 2001 the motion for reconsideration, which the Court found to be the appropriate and available remedy. In this respect, the Court relied on Sales v. Sandiganbayan, where it held that the denial of opportunity to file a motion for reconsideration is a denial of due process, because such filing is an integral part of preliminary investigation proper. Applying that reasoning, the Court concluded that in the present case, the information was filed before the spouses could file their motion for reconsideration, thereby depriving them of a full preliminary investigation. The Court thus treated the situation as one where due process required accommodation of the motion for reconsideration.

Jurisdiction and the Nature of the Comment: Recommendatory, Not Usurpation

The Court rejected the Ombudsman’s theory that Castro usurped the trial court’s jurisdiction. It held that Castro did not depr

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