GR L 45715; (April, 1939) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-45715; April 20, 1939
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellant, vs. REMEGIO OLIVERIA, defendant-appellee.
FACTS
Remegio Oliveria was charged in the justice of the peace court with violating Section 60 of Commonwealth Act No. 1 (National Defense Act) for failing to register for military training as a 20-year-old Filipino citizen. After a preliminary investigation found probable cause, the case was elevated to the Court of First Instance (CFI). The provincial fiscal filed an information accusing Oliveria of violating Sections 53 and 76 of Commonwealth Act No. 1 , as amended, for voluntarily and feloniously failing to register during the designated period despite requests from the police. Oliveria pleaded not guilty and then demurred to the information, arguing, among other grounds, that the provision cited in the original complaint (Section 60) had been repealed and that no preliminary investigation was conducted for the specific charge in the fiscal’s information. The CFI sustained the demurrer and dismissed the case, holding that the original complaint was invalid because it did not allege that the accused was notified to register, and thus the preliminary investigation was void.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of First Instance erred in sustaining the demurrer and dismissing the criminal case against Oliveria.
RULING
Yes, the Court of First Instance erred. The Supreme Court reversed the order and remanded the case for trial. The Court held: (1) A demurrer should not be entertained after a plea of not guilty has been entered without first withdrawing that plea. (2) The absence of a preliminary investigation is not a ground for demurrer nor does it affect the court’s jurisdiction; it pertains only to the regularity of the proceedings. (3) The accused waived his right to a preliminary investigation by not claiming it before pleading. (4) Even if properly claimed, the court should not have dismissed the case but should have conducted the preliminary investigation itself or remanded the case to the justice of the peace for that purpose. (5) On the merits, the repeal of Section 60 by Commonwealth Act No. 70 and its replacement by Section 76-A did not change the nature of the offense of failure to register. The real nature of the crime is determined by the facts alleged in the information, not by the cited legal provision. (6) Contrary to the lower court’s view, the law (Section 76-A) does not require prior notification for the duty to register; the phrase “after having been duly notified to do so” applies only to failing to report to an acceptance board or training station, not to the initial registration itself, which has fixed dates under Section 54. Therefore, the preliminary investigation conducted on the original complaint was valid for the same offense charged in the information.
AI Generated by Armztrong.