Case Summary (G.R. No. 93173)
Factual Background
On 2 July 1987, petitioner acquired the shares of Pine Philippines, Inc. from the company’s owners, including private respondent Gregorio M. Ramos, for P1.2 million payable in installments, evidenced by a Memorandum of Agreement and a Deed of Assignment which contained an automatic rescission clause for missed installments. Petitioner paid P936,380.00 and thus owed P263,620.00 due 15 September 1987; he withheld payment alleging breach of warranties and deposited the balance in escrow pending compliance. On 5 November 1987 petitioner filed a verified civil complaint for damages in behalf of PPI, averring that he was President and principal stockholder of the corporation. Ramos answered that the sale had been automatically rescinded on 15 September 1987 and that petitioner no longer had authority to sue for PPI.
Proceedings in the SEC and Civil Court
Following an executed document titled "Rescission of Memorandum of Agreement," Ramos and his associates filed SEC Case No. 3257 on 20 November 1987 seeking declaration of the rescission. Petitioner moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the SEC denied the motion on 11 December 1987. The Supreme Court, in Saavedra, Jr. v. SEC, G.R. No. 80879, 21 March 1988, ruled that under Section 5(b) of P.D. No. 902-A the SEC had primary and exclusive jurisdiction over the intracorporate disputes regarding ownership and automatic rescission, and proceedings in Civil Case No. 55247 in the trial court were suspended.
Criminal Charge and Preliminary Investigation
On 7 December 1987 Ramos filed a perjury charge (I.S. No. 87-10773) with the Provincial Prosecutor in Pasig, alleging that petitioner perjured himself by declaring under verification in the complaint of 5 November 1987 that he was President of PPI. Petitioner answered that the ownership and rescission issues were then pending before the SEC and that he continued to be President according to SEC records; he also asserted deposit of the balance in escrow. The Provincial Prosecutor, relying chiefly on a Secretary’s Certificate dated 5 December 1987 reflecting Ramos’s election as President after reconvening the original board, found prima facie probable cause on 25 July 1988 and filed an Information on 26 October 1988 in Crim. Case No. 74919 before the Regional Trial Court of Pasig, Branch 67.
DOJ Resolution and Reconsideration
Petitioner sought review with the Department of Justice, which on 6 November 1989 affirmed the Provincial Prosecutor’s finding of probable cause. The DOJ stated that the Secretary’s Certificate “is a mute but eloquent witness” affirming Ramos’s claim to the presidency and concluded that by virtue of the rescission petitioner “lost your rights and interest over the shares of stock” and therefore his statement that he was President “constituted a lawful (sic) and deliberate assertion of falsehood.” A motion for reconsideration was denied by DOJ on 7 March 1990, prompting the present petition for certiorari and prohibition.
Petitioner’s Contentions
Petitioner argued that DOJ and the Provincial Prosecutor gravely abused their discretion by determining probable cause for perjury on the premise that automatic rescission had occurred, because the authority to decide automatic rescission and intracorporate ownership rested exclusively with the Securities and Exchange Commission under P.D. No. 902-A. Petitioner maintained that, with the SEC case pending and unresolved, the DOJ should have deferred and that the prosecutor’s action amounted to a preemption of SEC jurisdiction.
The Court’s Analysis on Primary Jurisdiction
The Court held that the petition had merit and that the doctrine of primary jurisdiction and the mandate of P.D. No. 902-A required that contestable intracorporate issues be left to the SEC. The Court emphasized prior rulings, including Saavedra, Jr. v. SEC, that the ownership and automatic rescission dispute was intracorporate and within the SEC’s primary and exclusive competence pursuant to Section 5(b) of P.D. No. 902-A. The Court explained that when an administrative tribunal is vested with special competence by statute, the judicial process must suspend or defer to that tribunal’s resolution; consequently the Provincial Prosecutor had no authority to decide the rescission issue while SEC proceedings were pending and should have withheld filing an Information until the SEC determined ownership and rescission.
The Court’s Analysis on Elements of Perjury
The Court further examined the sufficiency of evidence to establish probable cause for perjury, identifying the four elements required: (a) a statement under oath on a material matter; (b) before a competent officer; (c) a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood; and (d) that the sworn statement is required by law or made for a legal purpose. Citing Diaz v. People and
...continue readingCase Syllabus (G.R. No. 93173)
Parties and Procedural Posture
- Honorio Saavedra, Jr. filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition seeking nullification of Department of Justice Resolutions dated 6 November 1989 and 7 March 1990.
- Department of Justice had sustained the Provincial Prosecutor of Pasig in finding probable cause for perjury against Honorio Saavedra, Jr..
- The Provincial Prosecutor filed an Information in the Regional Trial Court of Pasig, docketed as Crim. Case No. 74919, charging Honorio Saavedra, Jr. with perjury.
- Gregorio M. Ramos was the private respondent and the principal adversary in both the intracorporate litigation and the subsequent criminal prosecution.
- The petition asked the Supreme Court to annul the DOJ Resolutions and to order dismissal of the Information in the trial court.
Key Factual Allegations
- On 2 July 1987, owners of Pine Philippines, Inc. sold their shares to Honorio Saavedra, Jr. for P1.2 million payable in installments pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement and a Deed of Assignment.
- The Memorandum of Agreement contained an automatic rescission clause triggered by nonpayment of any installment on its due date.
- Payments totaling P936,380.00 were made, leaving a balance of P263,620.00 due on 15 September 1987, which Honorio Saavedra, Jr. withheld because of alleged breach of warranties by the sellers.
- The unpaid balance was deposited in escrow subject to release upon compliance with the warranties.
- On 5 November 1987, Honorio Saavedra, Jr. filed a verified civil complaint for damages in behalf of Pine Philippines, Inc. asserting that he was the company’s President and principal stockholder.
- Gregorio M. Ramos answered the civil complaint and contended that the sale was automatically rescinded on 15 September 1987 and that Honorio Saavedra, Jr. thereby ceased to be President.
- On 20 November 1987, Gregorio M. Ramos and his group executed a document entitled “Rescission of Memorandum of Agreement” and filed SEC Case No. 3257 to have the rescission declared valid.
- The Provincial Prosecutor received a perjury complaint against Honorio Saavedra, Jr. based on his verification that he was President of Pine Philippines, Inc., and on 25 July 1988 found probable cause, relying on a Secretary’s Certificate dated 5 December 1987 showing an election of Gregorio M. Ramos as President.
- Honorio Saavedra, Jr. sought administrative review in the Department of Justice, which sustained the Provincial Prosecutor’s finding on 6 November 1989 and denied reconsideration on 7 March 1990.
Statutory Framework
- P.D. No. 902-A, particularly Section 5(b), confers primary and exclusive jurisdiction upon the Securities and Exchange Commission over intracorporate disputes.
- The doctrine of primary jurisdiction was applied to determine allocation of disputes between judicial and administrative forums.
Issues Presented
- Whether the Department of Justice gravely abused its discretion by sustaining the Provincial Prosecutor’s finding of probable cause for perjury where the central issue of automatic rescission was within the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Whether a prima facie case for perjury existed against Honorio Saavedra, Jr. in light of the circumstances and the applicable elements of the crime.
Contentions
- Honorio Saavedra, Jr. contended that the DOJ and the Provincial Prosecutor exceeded their authority by deciding an intracorporate question committe