Title
People vs. Bautista
Case
G.R. No. L-26057
Decision Date
Apr 25, 1968
Rosita Dabu charged with falsifying birth certificates; prosecution sought formal amendments, denied by trial court. Supreme Court ruled amendments non-prejudicial, allowed corrections.
criminal cases
falsification of public documents
amendments

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-26057)

Factual Background

The City Fiscal’s Office filed two separate informations against Rosita Flores Dabu. In Criminal Case No. 6708-P, the information alleged that on or about March 19, 1961 in Pasay City, and within the court’s jurisdiction, the accused prepared, executed, and signed a public document—specifically, a certificate of live birth for Susan Dabu de Vera—dated March 19, 1961, which she allegedly filed and caused to be entered in the Civil Register of Pasay City on or about March 20, 1961, as Entry No. 907 for the year 1961. The information further alleged that the document falsely stated that on September 23, 1958, the accused and Quinciano de Vera had entered into marriage at Lubao, Pampanga, and that the child born on March 19, 1961 was the legitimate daughter of the complainant and the accused, entitling her to bear the surname “de Vera.” It charged that no such marriage occurred at any date or place, and thus constituted falsification by untruthful statements in the narration of facts under Article 172 in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code.

In Criminal Case No. 6709-P, the information alleged that on or about September 18, 1962 in Pasay City, the accused prepared and signed a public document—a certificate of live birth for Quinciano Dabu de Vera, Jr.—dated September 13, 1962, which she allegedly filed and caused to be entered in the Civil Register as Entry No. 2871 for the year 1962. The information alleged that the certificate falsely stated that on September 23, 1958, complainant and the accused had entered into marriage at Lubao, Pampanga, and that the child born on September 13, 1962 was their legitimate son entitled to the surname “de Vera.” It again alleged that no such marriage occurred, and that the alleged falsification therefore fell under Article 172 in relation to Article 171.

After arraignment and a plea of not guilty, but before trial began, the prosecution moved to amend the informations.

Motions to Amend the Informations

In Criminal Case No. 6708-P, the prosecution sought amendments consisting of: (a) changing the date of filing reading “March 20, 1961” to “March 29, 1961”; and (b) changing the entry number from “Entry No. 907” to “Entry No. 807.”

In Criminal Case No. 6709-P, the prosecution sought amendments consisting of: (a) changing the date reading “September 13, 1962” to “September 12, 1962”; and (b) revising, within the list of witnesses, the caption reading “Susan Dabu de Vera, dated September 13, 1962” to “Quinciano de Vera, Jr., dated September 12, 1962.”

The accused objected, asserting that the proposed amendments were prejudicial. The respondent trial court refused to allow the amendments and later denied reconsideration.

Proceedings in the Trial Court and Resort to Certiorari

After the denial of the amendments, the fiscal resorted to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari and a writ of preliminary injunction to restrain further proceedings in both cases until the main petition would be resolved. The Court granted the preliminary injunction on May 18, 1966.

The Court then proceeded to consider each criminal case separately, focusing on whether the amendments were merely formal or whether they impaired the accused’s rights.

The Supreme Court’s Analysis of Criminal Case No. 6708-P

With respect to Criminal Case No. 6708-P, the amendments would change the information to allege that the certificate for Susan Dabu de Vera was filed and entered in the Civil Registry on or about March 29, 1961, as Entry No. 807 for the year 1961, instead of the originally alleged March 20, 1961 and Entry No. 907. The Court noted that there was no controversy that the proposed changes corresponded to the actual date and entry number of the birth certificate as filed in the Civil Registry of Pasay City.

The Court held that altering the filing date from March 20 to March 29 was a merely formal amendment, because it corrected a clerical mistake in unessential details. The Court relied on Barot vs. Bayona (L-13853, July 27, 1960) and Angeles vs. Encarnacion (L-5966, October 3, 1952) for the proposition that such corrections do not prejudice the accused when they do not affect any essential aspect of the charge.

The Court reasoned that the date of filing in the Civil Registry was not an element of the offense of falsification by false narration of facts, because the offense was already completed before the document was filed in the registry. The same logic applied to changing the entry number from 907 to 807. Entry numbers were assigned by the Civil Registrar and could not affect the offense charged or any constitutive element. The Court further held that the change did not bar any defense available under law against the criminal conduct described in the information.

The Supreme Court’s Analysis of Criminal Case No. 6709-P

In Criminal Case No. 6709-P, the prosecution sought an amendment affecting the date of birth. The Court observed that the first amendment would alter the information to state that the child was born on September 12, 1962, instead of September 13, 1962. The Court characterized this adjustment as formal and immaterial, explaining that the date of the child’s birth had nothing to do with the falsification charged.

The Court emphasized that the core untruth alleged in the narration of facts was not the exact day of birth but the assertion that the child was the legitimate son of the complainant and the accused, and thus entitled to the surname “de Vera,” when the accused allegedly knew that no marriage ever took place between the complainant and the accused. On that basis, the Court held that changing the birth date by one day was irrelevant to the offense as charged and was not shown to be prejudicial to the defense.

As to the variation involving the birth certificate “to be brought by the Civil Registrar as witness,” the Court held that this alteration did not change the body of the information. It added that the prosecution was not required to apprise the accused of all evidence it intended to produce, citing Revised Rule 116, sec. 1. It further held that the fiscal could call for any exhibit other than those enumerated at the foot of the information, so nothing barred calling for the production of the birth certificate of Quinciano de Vera, Jr. instead of that of Susan Dabu de Vera.

The Parties’ Contentions, as Framed by the Court

The accused took the position that the proposed amendments were prejudicial and should not be allowed. The trial court accepted that view and denied both the initial motion to amend and the subsequent reconsideration.

The petitioners, on the other hand, argued that the amendments were warranted because they involved corrections of unessential details, aligned with the actual civil registry entries, and did not modify any constitutive allegation that characterized the falsification by false narration of facts.

Legal Basis and Reasoning for Granting Certiorari

The Court held that the orders denying the amendments were not warranted by the facts or the law and amounted to grave abuse of discretion, because the amendments were merely formal and did not impair the accused’s substantial rights.

The Court also addressed procedural suitability for certiorari. It noted that no appeal lies from an interlocutory order, and that no other adequate remedy was available. Accordingly, certiorari was proper.

Disposition and Directive

The Court granted the petition. It annulled and set aside the questioned orders of the respondent trial court (referred to as

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