GR 129434; (August, 2006) (Digest)
G.R. No. 129434 August 18, 2006
TRANS MIDDLE EAST (PHILS.) EQUITIES, INC., Petitioner, vs. SANDIGANBAYAN (SECOND DIVISION), Respondent.
FACTS
In 1983, Trans Middle East (Phils.) Equities, Inc. (TMEPEI) was incorporated, with Atty. Edilberto S. Narciso, Jr. as Treasurer. In April 1986, pursuant to Executive Order No. 2, Atty. Narciso, as TMEPEI’s Treasurer, wrote to the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to report that TMEPEI owned 6,299,177 shares of Philippine Commercial International Bank (PCIB). The letter stated that the beneficial owner of these shares was former Governor Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez, implying the shares fell under the PCGG’s jurisdiction for being potentially ill-gotten. Consequently, the PCGG sequestered the shares. In 1987, the Republic, through the PCGG, filed a case for reconveyance of ill-gotten wealth before the Sandiganbayan, alleging TMEPEI was a front organization of Romualdez.
ISSUE
Whether the Sandiganbayan committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing its Resolution, warranting the issuance of a writ of certiorari.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The Court emphasized that a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 is a remedy for correcting errors of jurisdiction, not errors of judgment. For the writ to issue, the petitioner must demonstrate that the Sandiganbayan acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. Grave abuse of discretion implies a capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment so patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or a virtual refusal to perform a duty enjoined by law.
In this case, TMEPEI failed to substantiate any such jurisdictional error or grave abuse by the Sandiganbayan. The Court found that the assailed Resolution was based on the court’s evaluation of the factual and legal circumstances presented. Any perceived error in the Sandiganbayan’s appreciation of the facts or application of the law constitutes, at most, an error of judgment correctible by appeal, not by certiorari. Furthermore, the Court noted that the death of Atty. Narciso, TMEPEI’s Treasurer and a key figure, had rendered the issues moot. Therefore, the petition was dismissed for lack of merit.