G.R. Nos. L-79690-707 and L-80578 April 27, 1988
ENRIQUE A. ZALDIVAR, petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE SANDIGANBAYAN AND HONORABLE RAUL M. GONZALEZ, CLAIMING TO BE AND ACTING AS TANODBAYAN-OMBUDSMAN UNDER THE 1987 CONSTITUTION , respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Enrique A. Zaldivar, the Provincial Governor of Antique, sought to restrain the Sandiganbayan and Tanodbayan Raul Gonzalez from proceeding with the prosecution and hearing of multiple criminal cases filed against him. The petitions, consolidated by the Court, were grounded on the assertion that the Tanodbayan, respondent Raul Gonzalez, had no legal authority to file and prosecute these cases after the effectivity of the 1987 Constitution on February 2, 1987. Zaldivar argued that under the new Constitution, the authority to investigate and file such cases with the Sandiganbayan is vested exclusively in the newly created Office of the Ombudsman, not in the incumbent Tanodbayan. He prayed for the annulment of the criminal informations filed and for a prohibition against further investigative and prosecutorial acts by Gonzalez in his capacity.

ISSUE

The central issue is whether respondent Raul Gonzalez, as the incumbent Tanodbayan, retained the authority to conduct preliminary investigations and file criminal cases with the Sandiganbayan after the 1987 Constitution took effect, or if such powers were transferred exclusively to the new Office of the Ombudsman.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petitions, ruling in favor of petitioner Zaldivar. The legal logic hinges on the explicit provisions of the 1987 Constitution regarding the Ombudsman and the Tanodbayan. Article XI, Section 13 of the Constitution grants the Ombudsman the power to investigate acts of public officials. Crucially, Section 7 provides that the existing Tanodbayan “shall hereafter be known as the Office of the Special Prosecutor” and shall continue to exercise its powers “except those conferred on the office of the Ombudsman created under this Constitution.” The Court held that the power to conduct preliminary investigations and to direct the filing of criminal cases with the Sandiganbayan is a power expressly conferred upon the Ombudsman by the Constitution. Consequently, effective February 2, 1987, the incumbent Tanodbayan (now designated Special Prosecutor) was divested of this authority. He could only exercise such powers upon the specific authority or orders of the Ombudsman. The Court clarified that the Office of the Ombudsman is a new constitutional creation distinct from the old Tanodbayan; therefore, respondent Gonzalez could not claim a holdover right to an office he never occupied. The criminal informations filed by him were declared null and void, and he was ordered to cease and desist from exercising the powers of the Ombudsman.