REM LAW REVIEW

G.R. No. 137237

September 17, 2002
Petitioners: Antonio Esquivel and Mark Anthony Esquivel
Responents: Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, People of the Philippines, Herminigildo Eduardo
ES!"IVEL #. $M%"&SMAN
'()ts:
Police officers Eduardo and atacutan charged herein petitioners Antonio Prospero Esquivel,

municipal mayor of !aen and his
brother, Mark Anthony "Eboy" Esquivel, barangay captain of barangay Apo, !aen, #ith alleged illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, maltreatment,
attempted murder, and grave threats$ According to Eduardo, he #as about to eat lunch at his parents% house at &ueva Eci'a, #hen petitioners
arrived #ho disarmed him of his al$ () service pistol$ *hey then forced him to board petitioners% vehicle and brought him to the !aen
Municipal Hall$ On the #ay to the to#n hall, Mayor Esquivel mauled him #ith the use of a firearm and threatened to kill him$ Mayor Esquivel
pointed a gun at PO+ Eduardo and said, "Putang-ina mo, papatayin kita, aaksidentihin kita dito, bakit mo ako kinakalaban!" Mayor Esquivel
then ordered SPO, Espiritu to kill him, saying "Patayin mo na iyan at gawan ng senaryo at report." He #as struck #ith a handgun and
released$ Prior to his release, ho#ever, he #as forced to sign a statement in the police blotter that he #as in good physical condition$
PO+ Eduardo told the P&P-./0 investigators that he #as most likely maltreated and threatened because of jueteng and tupada$
He said the mayor believed he #as among the la# enforcers #ho raided a jueteng den in !aen that same day$ He surmised that the mayor
disliked the fact that he arrested members of crime syndicates #ith connections to the mayor$
*hereafter, separate informations docketed as riminal ase &o$ +(111 for less serious physical in'uries against Mayor Esquivel
and Mark Anthony "Eboy" Esquivel, and riminal ase &o$ +(112 for grave threats against petitioner mayor, #ere filed #ith the
Sandiganbayan$ Petitioners submit that Sandiganbayan has no 'urisdiction over the offenses filed against petitioners, and thus committed
0A/ #hen it assumed 'urisdiction$
Iss*e: 3O& Sandiganbayan has !urisdiction4 5ES
+e,:
Petitioners theori6e that the Sandiganbayan has no 'urisdiction over their persons as they hold positions e7cluded in 8epublic Act
&o$ 191)$ As the positions of municipal mayors and barangay captains are not mentioned therein, they claim they are not covered by said la#
under the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius$
Petitioners% claim lacks merit$ .n Rodrigo, Jr. s. !andiganbayan, "inay s. !andiganbayan, and #ayus s. !andiganbayan, #e
already held that municipal mayors fall under the original and e7clusive 'urisdiction of the Sandiganbayan$ &or can "arangay aptain Mark
Anthony Esquivel claim that since he is not a municipal mayor, he is outside the Sandiganbayan%s 'urisdiction$ 8$A$ 191), as amended by 8$A$
&o$ 2+(9, provides that it is only in cases #here "none of the accused :underscoring supplied; are occupying positions corresponding to salary
grade <+1% or higher"
=>
that "e7clusive original 'urisdiction shall be vested in the proper regional trial court, metropolitan trial court, municipal trial
court, and municipal circuit court, as the case may be, pursuant to their respective 'urisdictions as provided in ?atas Pambansa ?lg$ ,+9, as
amended$"
=1
&ote that under the ,99, @ocal 0overnment ode, Mayor Esquivel has a salary grade of +1$ Since "arangay aptain Esquivel is
the co-accused in riminal ase &o$ +(111 of Mayor Esquivel, #hose position falls under salary grade +1, the Sandiganbayan committed no
grave abuse of discretion in assuming 'urisdiction over said criminal case, as #ell as over riminal ase &o$ +(112, involving both of them$
Hence, the #rit of certiorari cannot issue in petitioners% favor$
Aay 0urrea :(-A;
B+CB1C+B,+