G.R. No. L-48058. October 20, 1944.
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellant, vs. CLEMENCIO ABAQUITA, defendant-appellee.

FACTS

This is a second appeal by the Government in a case for homicide through reckless imprudence, originally filed in the Court of First Instance of Cebu on October 2, 1940. In a prior decision dated September 4, 1942, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s order remanding the case for preliminary investigation and instructed it to proceed. However, the trial court (under a different judge) dismissed the case upon the accused’s motion. The dismissal was based on an alleged lack of jurisdiction due to a change of sovereignty, premised on the observation that the heading of the information described the former sovereignty (the Commonwealth of the Philippines) and not the then-present sovereignty (the Philippine Executive Commission).

ISSUE

Whether the trial court lost jurisdiction over the case because the heading of the information indicated the former sovereignty instead of the present one.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s order of dismissal. The supposed lack of jurisdiction, based on a purely formal defect in the heading of the information, did not affect the court’s jurisdiction. The Court held that jurisdiction is not conferred by or dependent upon the heading of the information or complaint. Jurisdiction depends on the parties and the subject matter. The formal defect in the superscription, if considered a defect at all, could be taken as having been impliedly changed with the changing circumstances, as the trial court itself had done by using the heading “Philippine Executive Commission” in its order. The case was ordered remanded to the court of origin for trial and decision on the merits.