FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF LAW
Makati City

CASE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE: IMMERSION

AND CASE SELECTION

Submitted By:

Salto, Dianne D.

Sanchez, Precious Loren L.

JD4401

Submitted To:

Judge Jean Marie A. Bacorro-Villena

Practicum 1 September 15, 2018

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I. BARANGAY LEVEL

As the smallest political subdivision in the Philippines, the Katarungang

Pambarangay or Barangay Justice System is an alternative, community based mechanism
for dispute resolution of conflicts between member of the same community.1 Barangays
have a big role in the community as it lessens the cases which were about to be filed in
court. The Barangay Chairman and also the Lupon members mediates the disputes
brought by its inhabitants. Since they act as mediator, most cases in the barangay level
were at success in settling the cases between the parties. It is when the dispute remains
unsettled that the courts will come into play. Some cases require that the procedure in the
Barangay Level must be followed before a case can be filed in the court.

The Katarungang Pambarangay Law also known as PD 1508 was promulgated to

promote the speedy administration of justice through amicable settlements, in order to
reduce the cases filed in our courts. The two-fold goal of the Katarungang Pambarangay:
(1)to promote the speedy administration of justice by relieving the courts of docket
congestion caused by indiscriminate filing of cases and;
(2)to perpetuate and officially recognize the tradition of amicably settling disputes
among family and barangay members.

One cannot simply go directly to the courts to file a case if the matter is within the
jurisdiction of the Barangay to settle the dispute. Below are the list of accepted cases that
falls under the jurisdiction of the Barangay.

1. Unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances (art. 154);

2. Alarms and scandals (art. 155);

3. Using false certificates (art. 175);

4. Using fictitious names and concealing true names (art. 178);

5. Illegal use of uniforms and insignias (art. 179);

6. Physical injuries inflicted in a tumultuous affray (art. 252);

7. Giving assistance to consummated suicide (art. 253);

1
Barangay Justice System (Katarungang Pambarangay) April 2013, available at
http://www.accessfacility.org/barangay-justice-system-katarungang-pambarangay, (last accessed
September 2, 2018)

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8. Responsibility of participants in a duel if only physical injuries are inflicted or no
physical injuries have been inflicted (art. 260);

9. Less serious physical injuries (art. 265);

10. Slight physical injuries and maltreatment (art. 266);

11. Unlawful arrest (art. 269);

12. Inducing a minor to abandon his/her home (art. 271);

13. Abandonment of a person in danger and abandonment of one’s own victim (art. 275);

14. Abandoning a minor (a child under seven [7] years old) (art. 276);

15. Abandonment of a minor by perons entrusted with his/her custody;

16. Indifference of parents (art. 277);

17. Qualified tresspass to dwelling (without the use of violence and intimidation). (art.
280);

18. Other forms of tresspass (art. 281);

19. Light threats (art. 283);

20. Other light threats (art. 285);

21. Grave coercion (art. 286);

22. Light coercion (art. 287);

23. Other similar coercions (compulsory purchase of merchandise and payment of wages
by means of tokens). (art. 288);

24. Formation, maintenance and prohibition of combination of capital or labor through

violence or threats (art. 289);

25. Discovering secrets through seizure and correspondence (art. 290);

26. Revealing secrets with abuse of authority (art. 291);

27. Theft (if the value of the property stolen does not exceed p50.00). (art. 309);

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28. Qualified theft (if the amount does not exceed p500). (art. 310);

29. Occupation of real property or usurpation of real rights in property (art 312);

30. Altering boundaries or landmarks (art. 313);

31. Swindling or estafa (if the amount does not exceed p200.00). (art. 315);

32. Other forms of swindling (art. 316);

33. Swindling a minor (art. 317);

34. Other deceits (art. 318);

35. Removal, sale or pledge of mortgaged property (art. 319);

36. Special cases of malicious mischief (if the value of the damaged property does not
exceed p1,000.00). (art 328);

37. Other mischiefs (if the value of the damaged property does not exceed p1,000.00).
(art. 329);

38. Simple seduction (art. 338);

39. Acts of lasciviousness with the consent of the offended party (art 339);

40. Threatening to publish and offer to prevent such publication for compensation (art.
356);

41. Prohibiting publication of acts referred to in the course of official proceedings (art.
357);

42. Incriminating innocent persons (art. 363);

43. Intriguing against honor (art. 364);

44. Issuing checks without sufficient funds (bp 22);

45. Fencing of stolen properties if the property involved is not more than p50.00 (pd
1612).

The cases above signifies the need to undergo the process of Barangay in settling the
matter before it can go directly to the court. We have chosen Barangay 63, Zone 6,

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District II of Caloocan City to conduct a research on the procedure of the Barangay in
settling the disputes or conflicts. The Chairman of Barangay 63 Fernando “Nanding”
Baello introduced us to the Barangay Administrator Federico Gambol (BA Gambol) to
explain to us the procedure that they are following in terms of settling the disputes or
conflicts. According to BA Gambol, when one party or complainant goes to the Barangay
to complain a matter or dispute that he or she was involved, the Barangay will log such
complain in their log book and will be considered as a Barangay Blotter. They will also
ask the complainant if he or she wants to call the respondent for hearings in the Barangay.
Summons shall be issued by the barangay to notify the party or parties involved in the
complaint. There can also be an outright meeting of the parties if both consented to it and
if they are available at that time. Exigency of the matter is also the factor that the
Barangay is taking into consideration when conducting a hearing of the disputes brought
by the complainant. When mediating the hearing, the Chairman or Lupon Tagapamayapa
shall explain to both parties that they are mediating so that the dispute or conflict shall be
settled immediately. Three (3) hearings shall be conducted by the Barangay to hear the
sides of the complainant and the respondent. The first hearing shall be set when both
parties are available. If the parties failed to reconciliate, the second hearing shall be set
one (1) week after the first hearing. If after three (3) hearings and no settlement was
achieved, that is the time that the Barangay Chairman will issue a Certificate to File
Action to the complainant. If settlement was achieved, then the parties will sign in the log
book of the Barangay to attest that they have reached the settlement and the issues were
resolved.

ACTUAL CASE IN BARANGAY 63

Complainant: Aisa Maria Tricia Espinosa

Respondent: Bryan Reyes

Case: Physical Injuries

Overview of the Case:

According to BA Gambol, the above case stemmed because of jealousy. The

respondent Bryan Reyes got into a fist fight with Aisa Maria Tricia Espinosa, a lesbian
and an ex lover of Bryan’s wife. Aisa went to Barangay to complain the matter and seek
for help because of what happened between her and Bryan. The three (3) hearings were
exhausted and no amicable settlement has been reached that is why the Barangay
Chairman Baello issued a Certificate to File Action to Aisa Maria Tricia Espinosa.

Observation of the Group:

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 We have observed that our Barangay is really an effective medium to settle disputes
within its inhabitants. The task of Barangay in settling and mediating a dispute or conflict
is a big help in the Justice System of Philippines to lessen the cases filed in courts and to
avoid the clogging of dockets in courts wherein those cases can also be settled in the
Barangay Level. This Barangay really follows the required procedure under the
Katarungang Pambarangay Law also known as P.D. 1508. According to BA Gambol, up
until now, only two (2) Certificate to File Actions were issued by the Barangay. Most
cases reached an amicable settlement or was successful to be settled. The settlement of a
case in the Barangay Level really means that somehow, this smallest political subdivision
in the Philippines is still effective.

II. POLICE JURISDICTION

Police are one of the most ubiquitous organisations of the society. The policemen,
therefore, happen to be the most visible representatives of the government. In an hour of
need, danger, crisis and difficulty, when a citizen does not know, what to do and whom to
approach, the police station and a policeman happen to be the most appropriate and
approachable unit and person for him. The police are expected to be the most accessible,
interactive and dynamic organisation of any society. Their roles, functions and duties in
the society are natural to be varied, and multifarious on the one hand; and complicated,
knotty and complex on the other. Broadly speaking the twin roles, which the police are
expected to play in a society are maintenance of law and maintenance of order.2

The procedure that the Police Authorities are observing when it comes to cases were
explained to us by Police Chief Inspector, Homicide Division of Valenzuela City Jose
Hizon (PCI Hizon). The investigating authority of the Police Officers happens when a
person is caught (1) without a warrant because of the following circumstances:

a. When the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is

attempting to commit an offense in the presence of an arresting officer;

b. When an offense has just been committed and the arresting officer has probable cause
(based on personal knowledge of facts and circumstance) to believe that the person to
be arrested has committed a crime; and

c. When the person has escaped prison/detention, or escaped while being transferred to
another facility. (Sec. 5, Rule 113, Rules of Court)

(2) Also, upon the direct filing of the case by the complainant.

2
Functions, Roles and Duties of Police in General available at
http://bprd.nic.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/file/6798203243-Volume%202.pdf (last accessed September 2, 2018).

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 In an arrest without a warrant, a person will be under the custody of the police and
will be detained based on the crime that he committed. For light offenses and which are
punishable by light penalties like violation of city ordinances, a person shall be detained
for twelve (12) hours only. For less grave offenses and which punishable by correccional
penalties, a person shall be detained for eighteen (18) hours only. Crimes that are
punishable by capital penalties are considered as grave offenses by which a person shall
be detained for thirty-six (36) hours only. As explained by PCI Hizon, this process
holding the accused in custody of the police must be followed but there are instances
where the police could turn over the accused to the prosecutor’s office for inquest
proceedings. For example when the accused was admitted in the hospital because of
injuries. Also physical examination of the arrested person is already part of the process of
the Police Officers. It is in their process that a physical examination will be conducted
immediately after an arrest.

The rights of the person under custodial investigation are also being followed by the
Police. Once a person is arrested, he or she shall be informed of his right to remain silent
and to have a competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. However,
if a person cannot afford to hire a private counsel for him, the State will provide one for
him. Also, it is the right of a person to call his or her counsel during the arrest or detention.

PCI Hizon further explained to us the scenarios happening at the police station. A
blotter is made to put in record that a person has been brought to the police station. As a
blotter is made, the desk officer in the police station will start to question the person
arrested i.e. who conducted the arrest, identity of an alleged victim or the complainant, the
legal basis for the arrest. Profiling is the matching, identifying of the affiliation of the
accused from any gang or group (if any) and who are those people under the gang or
group, what is the modus operandi of the group. Also, mugshots were taken and the
fingerprints of the accused for proper identification. PCI Hizon told us that this process is
very important because they will easily identify a person who committed a crime before
with the same group or gang. For the casing and surveillance, it is where the police
conduct a surveillance of the accused.

Under Sec. 1, DOJ Circular No. 61, an inquest is an informal and summary
investigation conducted by a public prosecutor in criminal cases involving persons
arrested and detained without the benefit of a warrant of arrest issued by the court for the
purpose of determining whether or not said persons should remain under custody and
correspondingly be charged in court.

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ACTUAL CASE IN VALENZUELA POLICE STATION

Complainant: E-Home General Merchandise Valenzuela

Respondent: Janice Bantogan, Diana Cruz Fuentes

Case: Qualified Theft (Art. 310, RPC)

Overview of the Case:

The respondents are employees of E-home General Merchandise and charged with
Qualified Theft. Ms. Bantogan has been employed for two (2) months as an Accounting
Supervisor and Ms. Fuentes as Head Cashier and has been employed for more than one (1)
year. According to them, the case arose when the Management found out on September 3,
2018 that the sales during that time were not deposited and no sales has been recorded.
The accused posed that they only allocated the sales during September 3, 2018 to the sales

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they made in August 26, 27 and 28 to reach the sales quota and was also knew by their
manager. Ms. Cruz was not able to deposit the sales in 26, 27, and 28 because of the
absences of Ms. Bantogan and it was only on September 3, 2018 when the latter deposited
the sales of the missing dates using the sales of September 3. When their manager asked
them where is the sales for September 3 they do not know where are the sales for such
date. They were arrested on September 6, 2018 during the evening and it was on
September 7 when we interviewed them. Their inquest procedure was already done and
they are waiting for the raffling of their case to the Judge.

Observation of the Group:

We have observed that the Police Officers followed the rules or procedure in arresting a
person without a warrant. The period of custodial investigation was observed because at
the time that we were on interview, they were detained for 16 hours. Since the penalty for
Qualified Theft is Reclusion Perpetua, it falls under the the thirty-six hour (36) detention
period under the custody of the Police. However, when we asked them if they were
already given a lawyer, they told us that the Prosecutor did not tell them about it.

Interview with Assistant City Prosecutor Maria Corazon O. Molina:

Asst. City Prosecutor Maria Corazon O. Molina explained to us the process of the
cases brought to them and filed with the Courts. Her main role as a Prosecutor in Inquest
Proceeding is to determine whether or not there is a probable cause in the given case.
There can be an inquest proceeding of the accused or the direct filing by the complainant.
In inquest proceedings, as stated above, the Police Officer will bring the suspect before
the prosecutor and he or she will check the reports made by the Police Officers as well as
the identification of the suspect. Also, the Prosecutor will check on the validity of the
arrest of the accused. If there are evidence presented, then the Prosecutor will check if
such was marked properly. The Prosecutor will also recommend the filing of information
against the said suspect if there is a probable cause, and the suspect will be returned to the
Police Detention Cell and will wait there until the filing of the case in court. if there is
lack or defective evidence presented, then the Prosecutor will recommend the “Release
for further investigation”. The Police Officer will release the suspect for the mean time,
but it does not mean that the suspect is already free. The case will still be filed and raffled
among the Prosecutors. The case will have a pending status, until the Prosecutor assigned
will issue his final disposition whether there is a probable cause. If there is none, the case
can still be refiled until the evidence are complete.

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 In a Preliminary Investigation, it is a process whereby a person directly files the case
by a Complaint-Affidavit. The prosecutor will issue a subpoena as a summon to the
person named in the Complaint-affidavit. The respondent shall file a Counter-affidavit.
After this, then the prosecutor will issue a resolution if there is a probable cause. However
in some cases, according to Asst. City Prosecutor Molina, if there is a Reply-affidavit on
the part of the complainant and and Rejoinder-Affidavit by the respondent, then that is the
time when the prosecutor shall make a resolution. The resolution of the Prosecutor will
then be forwarder by the reviewing team to go over the resolution of the prosecutor. If the
reviewing team did not agree with the resolution of the prosecutor, then they will write a
memorandum and that will be forwarded to the City State Prosecutor. Asst. City
Prosecutor Molina explained that the process in every courts are different. In Caloocan
City, they are following the above-mentioned process. Also, the finding of probable cause
in the Prosecutor level is an executive job. After the filing of the case in courts, the Judge
will still determine if there is a probable cause to issue a warrant of arrest of the person
and to acquire jurisdiction over the accused.

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