GR L 1514; (August, 1949) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1514; August 5, 1949
BONIFACIO VILLAREAL, petitioner, vs. THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
FACTS
Bonifacio Villareal was convicted by the Court of First Instance of Batangas for violating Article 341 of the Revised Penal Code (White Slavery Trade). The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction with a slight penalty modification. Villareal appealed to the Supreme Court, alleging that the trial court deprived him of due process by denying his motion for continuance to prepare his defense. The complaint was filed on October 15, 1945; he was arrested on October 16; the information was filed on October 17; and he was arraigned and tried on October 25, 1945. He claimed he only secured counsel on October 24, and his written motion for time to prepare, filed on October 25, was denied. The trial proceeded immediately.
ISSUE
Whether the Supreme Court can review the trial court’s alleged denial of due process (refusal to grant time to prepare a defense) when this issue was not raised before the Court of Appeals.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeals. The alleged denial of due process was not raised in the appellant’s brief before the Court of Appeals, which only questioned the sufficiency of the evidence. Under the Rules of Court, while an assignment of errors is not required in criminal appeals, non-fundamental or technical errors must still be specifically pointed out to the appellate court for review. The Court of Appeals cannot be expected to search the record for unassigned errors. The denial of a continuance, under the circumstances, was at most an error that did not vitiate the entire proceedings, especially as the record did not show that the accused needed more time or suffered substantial injury. Objections to trial errors not raised in the intermediate appellate court are deemed waived and cannot be raised for the first time on appeal to the Supreme Court.
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