GR 171536; (April, 2009) (Digest)
G.R. No. 171536 ; April 7, 2009
APRIL JOY ASETRE, BENJIE EBCAS, GALINZCHEL GAMBOA, AND BUENAVENTURA GAMBOA, Petitioners, vs. JUNEL ASETRE, CHARITY DAINE ALAGBAN, COURT OF APPEALS (SPECIAL FORMER EIGHTEENTH DIVISION), Respondents.
FACTS
On December 27, 2000, Hanz Dietrich Asetre was found dead in his residence. His wife, petitioner April Joy Asetre, claimed he committed suicide by hanging due to depression, drug dependency, and financial problems. Hanz’s siblings, respondents Junel Asetre and Charity Asetre-Alagban, disputed this. The Office of the City Prosecutor of Bacolod found probable cause for parricide against April Joy Asetre and for murder against Benjie Ebcas, Galinzchel Gamboa, and Buenaventura Gamboa, based on circumstantial evidence and medico-legal findings contradicting suicide. The cases were filed with the RTC. Upon petition for review, DOJ Acting Secretary Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez reversed the prosecutor, finding insufficient evidence of conspiracy and directing the withdrawal of the information. The RTC granted the motion to withdraw. The Asetre siblings then filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus with the Court of Appeals, which reversed the DOJ Secretary’s resolution, finding grave abuse of discretion and reinstating the finding of probable cause. Petitioners sought review by the Supreme Court.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the ruling of the DOJ Secretary and in finding probable cause to indict petitioners for murder and parricide.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the Decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court held that the DOJ Secretary committed grave abuse of discretion in reversing the prosecutor’s finding of probable cause. Probable cause does not require evidence proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt but only a reasonable ground of suspicion supported by circumstances warranting a belief that the accused committed the crime. The Court found that the confluence of circumstantial evidence—including the medico-legal opinions of three doctors that suicide was improbable, the petitioners’ interactions with Hanz before his death, April Joy Asetre’s act of burning the bed sheets and alleged suicide letters, and her opposition to an autopsy—sufficiently established probable cause for parricide and murder. The Court also ruled that the DOJ Secretary overstepped her authority by weighing evidence and assessing credibility, which are functions of the trial court, especially after the information had already been filed. The withdrawal of the information by the RTC did not preclude the Court of Appeals from reviewing the DOJ Secretary’s resolution for grave abuse of discretion.