G.R. No. L-32033. September 30, 1971.
Sergio Osmeña, Jr., petitioner, vs. Secretary of Justice, Jose S. Amadora, Fiscal, City of Cebu, Hon. Guillermo P. Villasor, Presiding Judge, Court of First Instance of Cebu, Branch I, and Hon. Francisco Ro. Cupin, Presiding Judge, Criminal Circuit Court, 14th Judicial District, Cebu City, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Sergio Osmeña, Jr. was accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in Criminal Case No. V-10874 before the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Cebu. After the presiding judge of Branch II disqualified himself, the case was re-raffled to Branch I, presided by respondent Judge Guillermo P. Villasor. Following the organization of the Circuit Criminal Court (CCC) in Cebu, a raffle pursuant to Administrative Order No. 258 was conducted to transfer thirty cases to the CCC. Osmeña’s case was not selected and remained with Judge Villasor’s branch. Subsequently, respondent Fiscal Jose S. Amadora repeatedly moved for postponements and, despite a prior denial, filed motions to transfer the case to the CCC, invoking the Secretary of Justice’s Memorandum Circular No. 53, which authorized the transfer of all pending anti-graft cases where trial had not commenced.
Judge Villasor eventually inhibited himself without legal grounds and ordered the case’s reassignment. Thereafter, based on a memorandum circular signed by other CFI Cebu judges citing the “intentions” of the Department of Justice’s Circular No. 53, the case was transferred to the CCC without a raffle, docketed as Criminal Case No. CCC-XIV-47 before respondent Judge Francisco Ro. Cupin. Osmeña’s motions for reconsideration and for the case’s return to the CFI were denied, prompting this petition.

ISSUE

Whether the transfer of the criminal case from the CFI to the Circuit Criminal Court was validly effected.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court declared the transfer null and void. The legal logic centers on the imperative of judicial independence and the proper procedure for case distribution. The Court emphasized that the assignment and distribution of cases among different branches or courts is an exclusive judicial function, integral to the independence of the judiciary under the Constitution. The Secretary of Justice, as part of the executive branch, has no authority to interfere in this process. Memorandum Circular No. 53, which purported to authorize the transfer of cases, constituted an unlawful encroachment by the executive into judicial prerogatives.
Furthermore, the subsequent transfer orchestrated by the judges of the CFI of Cebu, though a judicial act on its face, was vitiated because it was expressly premised on the “intentions” of the executive’s circular. This made the judges’ action subservient to the Department of Justice’s directive, thereby compromising judicial autonomy. The valid mechanism for transferring cases to the CCC, as established by law and administrative rules, is through a raffle conducted by the court itself, ensuring impartiality and randomness. The bypass of this raffle procedure rendered the transfer invalid. The Court ordered the case returned to the CFI of Cebu for a proper raffle among its branches, including the CCC, for reassignment.