G.R. No. L-61997 November 15, 1982
Republic of the Philippines & Traders Royal Bank vs. Elfren Partisala and Hon. Midpantao L. Adil

FACTS

Elfren Partisala pleaded guilty to estafa in Criminal Case No. 10997 before the Court of First Instance of Iloilo and was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of 4 years, 2 months, and 1 day to 6 years of prision correccional, with an order to reimburse the Traders Royal Bank. He immediately applied for probation. The prosecution opposed, and later, the Acting Provincial Fiscal filed a “Motion to Correct Error in Computation of Penalty and to Hold in Abeyance Petition for Probation,” arguing the correct penalty should exceed six years, rendering Partisala ineligible for probation. The trial judge denied this motion and subsequently granted Partisala’s probation application. The Republic and the bank then filed this special civil action for certiorari to annul the trial court’s orders.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court committed grave abuse of discretion in denying the motion to correct the penalty and in granting the application for probation.

RULING

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition. The trial judge correctly denied the motion to correct the penalty. First, the motion was effectively a motion for reconsideration filed after the judgment had become final. Under the Probation Law (P.D. No. 968), Partisala’s filing of the probation application constituted a waiver of his right to appeal, making the conviction final and precluding any alteration of the sentence. Second, granting such a motion would place the accused in double jeopardy. The imposed sentence, whether correct or not, was validly rendered by a court with jurisdiction and thus became immutable after finality. The Court also noted a procedural defect: the petition for the Republic was improperly signed by a provincial fiscal officer-in-charge instead of the Solicitor General, who has the exclusive authority to represent the Republic in such actions.