GR L 1567; (October, 1949) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-1567; October 13, 1949
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellant, vs. OSCAR SALICO, defendant-appellee.
FACTS
The provincial fiscal appealed an order from the Court of First Instance of Occidental Negros dismissing a homicide case against Oscar Salico. The dismissal was granted upon the defendant’s motion after the prosecution rested its case, on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove the crime was committed within the court’s territorial jurisdiction (specifically, that the municipality of Victorias is within Negros Occidental). The prosecution’s principal witness, however, testified he was a resident of “Hacienda Loreto, municipality of Victorias, Province of Negros Occidental” and described the incident occurring in the town of Victorias.
ISSUE
Whether the prosecution’s appeal from the order of dismissal would place the defendant in double jeopardy.
RULING
Yes, the appeal would place the defendant in double jeopardy and is not allowable. The dismissal, though based on an erroneous ground (the court should have taken judicial notice that Victorias is within Negros Occidental), operated as an acquittal on the merits because it was granted after the defendant had pleaded not guilty and after the prosecution had presented its evidence. Under Section 9, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, a dismissal after the defendant has pleaded, and without his express consent, bars another prosecution for the same offense. Here, the dismissal was with the express consent of the defendant (via his motion), which generally constitutes a waiver of jeopardy. However, the Court, through the majority opinion, held that the dismissal was effectively without his consent for double jeopardy purposes because it was based on the prosecution’s failure of proof, making it equivalent to an acquittal. The constitutional right against double jeopardy is fundamental and cannot be waived by mere silence. Since the dismissal terminated the case after jeopardy had attached, the prosecution’s appeal is prohibited.
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