GR 33125; (September, 1971) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-33125. September 30, 1971.
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF ROMAN DE ASIS FOR A WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS. ROMAN DE ASIS, petitioner, vs. THE HON. HONORIO ROMERO, Presiding Judge, Court of First Instance of Pampanga, Branch III; THE HON. ANTONIO G. P. FAUSTO, Assistant Provincial Fiscal of Pampanga; and THE PROVINCIAL WARDEN OF THE PROVINCE OF PAMPANGA, respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner Roman de Asis was charged with kidnapping with serious illegal detention based on an information filed by Assistant Provincial Fiscal Antonio G. P. Fausto after a preliminary investigation conducted in the absence of De Asis and his counsel. Respondent Judge Honorio Romero issued a warrant for his arrest on August 18, 1970. De Asis was apprehended, filed a petition for bail, and was arraigned on December 21, 1970, pleading not guilty. Subsequently, the prosecution moved to admit an amended information charging kidnapping with murder, after the victim’s body was discovered. The lower court granted the motion as to De Asis’s co-accused but deferred action regarding De Asis due to the filing of the instant habeas corpus petition on February 8, 1971, challenging the legality of the arrest warrant and the proposed amended information.
ISSUE
Whether the writ of habeas corpus should be granted to release Roman de Asis from detention based on alleged defects in the issuance of the arrest warrant and the prosecution’s intent to file an amended information for a different offense.
RULING
The Supreme Court denied the petition. On the arrest warrant, the Court ruled that any objection to the procedure in the court’s acquisition of jurisdiction over the person of the accused must be raised before entry of plea. By filing a petition for bail and pleading not guilty at arraignment without previously contesting the warrant’s validity, De Asis voluntarily submitted to the court’s jurisdiction and waived any procedural defect in the warrant’s issuance. Consequently, his detention under that warrant is lawful.
Regarding the amended information, the Court found no unlawful restraint. The prosecution’s motion to amend was properly filed and pending hearing. This hearing would allow the presentation of evidence on the victim’s death, serving the essential purpose of a preliminary investigation for the murder charge. If the court finds prima facie evidence for the amended charge, it would be illogical to require De Asis’s release and re-arrest. If the amendment is denied, his detention under the original information remains valid. Thus, no grounds for habeas corpus exist.