Title
People vs. Eduarte
Case
G.R. No. 88232
Decision Date
Feb 26, 1990
A concubinage case was dismissed by the RTC for lack of jurisdiction, as the crime falls under MTC jurisdiction due to lighter penalties. SC upheld dismissal, allowing re-filing in proper court.
concubinage
exclusive original jurisdiction
inferior courts
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 88232)

Factual Background

The provincial fiscal of Cabagan, Isabela filed an information for concubinage on July 25, 1986 against ELVINO AGGABAO and VILLA SURATOS, based on a complaint by ALMA T. AGGABAO alleging acts in September 1983. Upon arraignment the accused entered a plea of not guilty. The offended wife engaged a private prosecutor who conducted the prosecution at trial.

Trial Court Proceedings

During trial the accused filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. They argued that under Art. 334, Revised Penal Code, concubinage as to the husband was punishable by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, i.e., from six (6) months and one (1) day to four (4) years and two (2) months, an offense within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the inferior courts. The prosecution opposed, contending that the concubine faced the penalty of destierro whose duration under Art. 27, Revised Penal Code ranged from six (6) months and one (1) day to six (6) years and that, therefore, the Regional Trial Court had jurisdiction. The trial court sustained the accused's motion and dismissed the information for lack of jurisdiction.

Petition to the Supreme Court and Procedural History

A petition assailing the trial court order was filed in this Court on June 16, 1989 by the private prosecutor together with the assistant provincial prosecutor of Ilagan, Isabela, naming the PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES as co-petitioner. The Court, in a resolution dated July 17, 1989, denied the petition due to late payment of docket and legal research fund fees and for lack of merit. The Solicitor General thereafter filed a motion for reconsideration, and the private prosecutor filed a separate motion for reconsideration. Because the Solicitor General had intervened, the Court elected to forego technical defects in the petition, and it noted that payment of legal fees by the private prosecutor was unnecessary under Rule 141, Sec. 16, Revised Rules of Court once the Solicitor General became the sole petitioner.

Issues Presented

The Court identified and addressed two principal issues: whether the accused were estopped from raising the jurisdictional defect by reason of delay and the stage of the proceedings; and whether the Regional Trial Court had original jurisdiction over the crime of concubinage given that the concubine is punishable by destierro while the husband is punishable by prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.

The Parties' Contentions

The petitioner argued that the accused were estopped from raising lack of jurisdiction after the prosecution had rested and the defense had begun presenting evidence, and that the delay of two and one-half years in asserting the defect barred the plea. The prosecution further argued that because destierro has a duration extending beyond the limits of the inferior courts, the Regional Trial Court possessed jurisdiction, resulting either in concurrent jurisdiction or a divided jurisdiction where the RTC would try the concubine and the inferior courts the husband. The accused maintained that concubinage was within the exclusive original jurisdiction of the inferior courts and moved for dismissal on that ground.

Jurisdictional Doctrine and Precedents

The Court recited the prevailing doctrine that lack of jurisdiction may be raised at any stage of the proceedings under Rule 117, Sec. 8, Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, and surveyed precedents that constitute exceptions. It explained that the line of cases beginning with Tijam v. Sibonghanoy established an estoppel-by-laches exception where an unreasonable delay in asserting lack of jurisdiction had occurred, a principle applied in Vera v. People and People v. Munar. The Court cited Calimlim v. Ramirez and Dy v. NLRC as clarifying that the Tijam exception was narrow and dependent on the presence of laches. On the question of penalties and jurisdiction, the Court relied on Uy Chin Hua v. Dinglasan and People v. Santos which held that destierro is lighter than arresto mayor and therefore offenses punishable by destierro fell within the jurisdiction of inferior courts, consistent with the graduated penalty scale in Art. 71, Revised Penal Code.

Court's Analysis and Reasoning

The Court found the estoppel argument without merit because the accused advanced the jurisdictional challenge during trial and before any judgment on the merits; the critical element of laches present in Tijam v. Sibonghanoy was absent. Turning to the substantive question, the Court observed that Sec. 32 and Sec. 20, B.P. Blg. 129 allocate exclusive original jurisdiction to the inferior courts for offenses punishable with imprisonment not exceeding four (4) years and two (2) months and reserve to the Regional Trial Courts criminal cases not within the exclusive jurisdiction of any other court. The Court rejected the prosecution's contention that the duration of destierro under Art. 27 placed concubinage beyond inferior court jurisdiction, reiterating the settled rule from Uy Chin Hua v. Dinglasan and People v. Santos that destierro is lighter in severity than arresto mayor and, by reference to the penalty scale in Art. 71, is properly cognizable by inferior courts. The Court concluded that B.P. Blg. 129 did not intend to overturn that doctrine. The Court further stressed p

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