ROLITO GO y TAMBUNTING, vs. THE COURT OF APPEALS, THE HON. BENJAMIN V. PELAYO, Presiding Judge, Branch 168, Regional Trial Court, NCJR Pasig, M.M., and PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES.
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 101837
- Promulgated: 1992-02-11
- Ponente: Feliciano, J.
Doctrine
A preliminary investigation conducted by the fiscal is terminated upon the filing of the information; any fiscal reinvestigation thereafter requires the permission of the court and submission of findings to the court.
The right to preliminary investigation is waived when not invoked before or at the time of entering a plea at arraignment; if asserted before arraignment and pursued via remedies, the right is retained.
A bail hearing should not be subordinated to the preliminary investigation; upon application for bail in a capital case the judge must receive evidence to determine whether the evidence of guilt is so strong as to warrant denial of bond.
Facts
Petitioner drove the wrong way on a one-way street, shot Eldon Maguan inside his car, then left; a security guard recorded petitioner's plate and police investigated the scene (Investigation Report).
Police learned petitioner had dined at Cravings Bake Shop; they obtained a facsimile of the credit card and a security guard identified petitioner from a photo, prompting a manhunt.
On 11 July 1991 the Prosecutor filed an information for murder without recommending bail and certified no preliminary investigation was conducted because no waiver under Art. 125 RPC was executed.
Petitioner filed an omnibus motion for immediate release and for a preliminary investigation; the Provincial Prosecutor interposed no objection to provisional liberty on P100,000 cash bond, and the trial judge approved the bond on 12 July 1991.
Issues
Whether a lawful warrantless arrest had been effected by the San Juan Police in respect of petitioner Go.
Whether petitioner had effectively waived his right to preliminary investigation.
Ruling
The Court held petitioner was not arrested when he walked into the police station accompanied by counsel and thus the theory of a warrantless arrest did not apply.
The Court found petitioner did not waive his right to preliminary investigation because he repeatedly sought it before arraignment and had invoked remedies in the Court of Appeals prior to arraignment.
The Petition for Review on Certiorari was GRANTED: the trial court's Order of 17 July 1991 was SET ASIDE and NULLIFIED, the Court of Appeals decision REVERSED; the Provincial Prosecutor was ORDERED to conduct a preliminary investigation within 15 days and the trial was SUSPENDED.
Petitioner was ORDERED released upon posting a P100,000 cash bail bond, without prejudice to any lawful order the trial court may issue should the prosecutor move to cancel bail after the preliminary investigation.
Keywords
G.R. No. 101837, warrantless arrest, preliminary investigation, Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code, frustrated homicide, murder, information for murder, omnibus motion for immediate release and proper preliminary investigation, provisional liberty, cash bond, motion for leave to conduct preliminary investigation, petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus, right to due process, petition for habeas corpus, arraignment, plea of not guilty, one-way street, probable cause, extra-judicial confession, july 1991