Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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* THIRD DIVISION.
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 659 16/08/2017, 10:21 PM
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MENDOZA,J.:
These are consolidated petitions for review on certiorari
under Rule 45 of the 1997 Revised Rules of Civil Procedure
assailing the March 14, 2006 Decision1 and the May 22,
2006 Resolution2 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R.
SP No. 83704 entitled Sally Go-Bangayan v. Hon. Luisito
C. Sardillo, in his capacity as Presiding Judge of RTC-
Caloocan City, Branch 126, Benjamin B. Bangayan, Jr. and
Resally de Asis Delfin.
The Facts
This case stemmed from a complaint-affidavit filed by
respondent Sally Go-Bangayan (Sally Go) accusing
petitioners Benjamin Bangayan, Jr. (Benjamin, Jr.) and
Resally de Asis Delfin (Resally) of having committed the
crime of bigamy.3
On March 7, 1982, Benjamin, Jr. married Sally Go in
Pasig City and they had two children.4 Later, Sally Go
learned that Benjamin, Jr. had taken Resally as his
concubine whom he subsequently married on January 5,
2001 under the false name, Benjamin Z. Sojayco.5
Benjamin, Jr. fathered two children with Resally.
Furthermore, Sally Go discovered that on September 10,
1973, Benjamin, Jr. also married a certain Azucena Alegre
(Azucena) in Caloocan City.
The City Prosecutor of Caloocan City conducted a
preliminary investigation and thereafter issued a
Resolution dated June 5, 2002 recommending the filing of
an information for bigamy against Benjamin, Jr. and
Resally for having contracted a marriage despite knowing
fully well that he was still legally married to Sally Go.6 The
information was duly filed on November 15, 2002 and was
raffled to the
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1 Rollo (G.R. No. 172777), pp. 29-37. Penned by Associate Justice
Eliezer R. De los Santos and concurred in by Associate Justice Jose C.
Reyes, Jr. and Associate Justice Arturo G. Tayag.
2 Id., at pp. 38-40.
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3 Id., at p. 30.
4 Id.
5 Id., at pp. 30, 291.
6 Id., at p. 30.
594
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7 Id., at p. 55.
8 Id., at p. 32.
9 Id., at pp. 73-77.
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18 Id., at pp. 34-35.
19 Id., at p. 36.
20 Id., at pp. 38-40.
596
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21 Id., at p. 272.
22 Id. (G.R. No. 172792), at pp. 176-177.
597
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23 Id., at p. 177.
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24 Id., at p. 180.
25 429 Phil. 70; 379 SCRA 345 (2002).
26 Rollo (G.R. No. 172777), p. 294.
27 Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company v. Veridiano II, 412 Phil.
795, 804; 360 SCRA 359 (2001).
28 Rodriguez v. Gadiane, G.R. No. 152903, July 17, 2006, 495 SCRA
368, 372.
29 People v. Santiago, 255 Phil. 851, 861-862; 174 SCRA 143, 152-153
(1989), citing People v. Ruiz, 171 Phil. 400; 81 SCRA 453 (1978); People v.
Court of Appeals, 181 Phil. 160; 92 SCRA 607 (1979); The City Fiscal of
Tacloban v. Hon. Pedro M. Espina, 248 Phil. 843; 166 SCRA 614 (1988);
Republic v. Partisala, 203 Phil. 750; 118 SCRA 370 (1982), Padilla v.
Court of Ap-
598
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peals, 214 Phil. 492; 129 SCRA 558 (1984), and People v. Jalandoni,
216 Phil. 424; 131 SCRA 454 (1984).
599
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30 Merciales v. Court of Appeals, supra note 25 at p. 77; p. 351.
31 Id., at pp. 78-80; p. 354.
32 Rollo (G.R. No. 172792), p. 185.
33 Id. (G.R. No. 172777), p. 283.
34 Id., at p. 302.
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35 Dayap v. Sendiong, G.R. No. 177960, January 29, 2009, 577 SCRA 134,
147, citing People v. Sandiganbayan, 488 Phil. 293, 310; 447 SCRA 291, 306
(2004), citing People v. City Court of Silay, 165 Phil. 847; 74 SCRA 247 (1976).
36 People v. Bans, G.R. No. 104147, December 8, 1994, 239 SCRA 48, 55.
37 Paulin v. Gimenez, G.R. No. 103323, January 21, 1993, 217 SCRA 386,
389, citing People v. Obsania, 132 Phil. 782; 23 SCRA 1249 (1968) and Caes v.
Intermediate Appellate Court, 258-A Phil. 620; 179 SCRA 54 (1989).
601
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and (2) where the case was dismissed at a time when the
case was not ready for trial and adjudication.41
In this case, all four elements of double jeopardy are
doubtless present. A valid information for the crime of
bigamy was filed against the petitioners, resulting in the
institution of a criminal case against them before the
proper court. They pleaded not guilty to the charges
against them and subsequently, the case was dismissed
after the prosecution had rested its case. Therefore, the CA
erred in reversing the trial courts order dismissing the
case against the petitioners because it placed them in
double jeopardy.
As previously discussed, an acquittal by virtue of a
demurrer to evidence is not appealable because it will place
the accused in double jeopardy. However, it may be subject
to review only by a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of
the Rules of Court showing that the trial
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38 Id., at p. 392, citing Caes v. Intermediate Appellate Court, 258-A
Phil. 620, 628; 179 SCRA 54, 60-61 (1989).
39 People v. Laguio, G.R. No. 128587, March 16, 2007, 518 SCRA 393,
409.
40 Supra note 37, citing Saldana v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 88889,
October 11, 1990, 190 SCRA 396.
41 Id., citing People v. Pamittan, G.R. No. L-25033, October 31, 1969,
30 SCRA 98.
602
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42 Supra note 35, citing People v. Uy, 508 Phil. 637; 471 SCRA 668
(2005).
43 People v. Tan, G.R. No. 167526, July 26, 2010, 625 SCRA 388, 397
citing People v. Court of Appeals, 368 Phil. 169, 180; 308 SCRA 687, 698
(1999).
44 Sanvicente v. People, 441 Phil. 139, 148; 392 SCRA 610, 617 (2002)
citing People v. Sandiganbayan, et al., 426 Phil. 453; 376 SCRA 74
(2002), citing People v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 128986, June 21, 1999,
308 SCRA 687.
45 Rollo (G.R. No. 172777), p. 36.
46 People v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 174504, March 21, 2011, 645
SCRA 726.
603
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14, 2006 Decision and the May 22, 2006 Resolution of the
Court of Appeals are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The
December 3, 2003 Order of the Regional Trial Court,
Branch 126, Caloocan City, in Criminal Case No. C-66783,
granting the Demurrer to Evidence of petitioners Benjamin
B. Bangayan, Jr. and Resally de Asis Delfin and dismissing
the case against them is hereby REINSTATED.
SO ORDERED.
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47 Palu-ay v. Court of Appeals, 355 Phil. 94, 102; 293 SCRA 358, 364
(1998).
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