GR 116688; (August, 1996) (Digest)
G.R. No. 116688 August 30, 1996
WENEFREDO CALME, petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS, et al., respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Wenefredo Calme, along with four others, was charged with murder for allegedly throwing Edgardo Bernal overboard the M/V “Cebu City” while the vessel was sailing from Ozamis City to Cebu City on May 12, 1991. Calme filed a motion to quash the information before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Oroquieta City, Branch 12, challenging its jurisdiction. He argued that the proper venue should be Siquijor, citing a Marine Protest indicating the vessel was 8.0 miles off Minalonan Point, Siquijor Island, when the captain was informed a passenger had jumped overboard. The RTC denied his motion.
The Court of Appeals upheld the RTC’s jurisdiction, dismissing Calme’s petition for certiorari and prohibition. His motion for reconsideration was also denied. Calme now appeals to the Supreme Court, contending that the general rule on venue for crimes committed in a specific location applies, not the rule for crimes committed on vessels in transit, since the alleged crime site was known.
ISSUE
Whether or not the Regional Trial Court of Oroquieta City has jurisdiction over the murder case filed against petitioner Wenefredo Calme.
RULING
Yes, the Oroquieta RTC has jurisdiction. The Supreme Court ruled that the applicable provision is Section 15(c) (now Section 14), Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Court, which governs offenses committed on board a vessel in the course of its voyage. The Court found that the exact location where the offense was committed was not duly established. The Marine Protest only indicated where the captain was when he received a report of the incident, not where the crime itself occurred. Since it was undisputed that the alleged murder happened while the vessel was “in transit,” the specific rule for maritime offenses applies.
Under Section 15(c), the criminal action may be instituted in the proper court of the first port of entry or of any municipality or territory through which the vessel passed during the voyage. The Court rejected Calme’s argument that Act No. 400, which referred to jurisdiction in a province where the vessel arrives after the crime, should control. The clear and literal language of the current rule contains no such qualification. Therefore, jurisdiction properly lies with the RTC of Oroquieta City, a municipality through which the vessel passed during its voyage from Ozamis City to Cebu City. The petition was denied.