GR L 2907; (June, 1950) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-2907; June 30, 1950
UY CHIN HUA, petitioner, vs. RAFAEL DINGLASAN, Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, respondent.
FACTS
Petitioner Uy Chin Hua was charged in the Court of First Instance of Manila with attempted bribery for offering money to police officers to avoid arrest for a violation of the Price Tag Law. The consummated crime of bribery under the Revised Penal Code is penalized with arresto mayor in its medium and maximum periods. For the attempted crime, the penalty is two degrees lower, which is destierro (banishment) in its minimum and medium periods. Petitioner moved to quash the information for lack of jurisdiction, arguing that the offense, being penalized with destierro, falls under the jurisdiction of the municipal court, not the Court of First Instance. The motion was denied, prompting this petition for certiorari (treated as prohibition).
ISSUE
Which court has original jurisdiction to try an offense penalized with destierro—the municipal court or the Court of First Instance?
RULING
The Supreme Court granted the writ of prohibition, holding that the Court of First Instance has no jurisdiction. The majority ruled that destierro is a penalty lower than arresto mayor in severity, as it involves banishment rather than imprisonment, despite its potentially longer duration. Under the Judiciary Act of 1948, Courts of First Instance have original jurisdiction over criminal cases where the penalty is imprisonment for more than six months or a fine exceeding two hundred pesos. Since destierro is not imprisonment, it does not fall under this provision. The Court interpreted that, as the legislature placed destierro below arresto mayor in the scale of penalties under Article 71 of the Revised Penal Code, and offenses punishable by arresto mayor are within municipal court jurisdiction, offenses penalized with destierro should likewise be under municipal court jurisdiction. The gap in the law must be filled by this reasonable interpretation until expressly provided otherwise by the legislature.
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