EPIFANIO MANABAT, PETITIONER, VS. THE PROVINCIAL WARDEN OF NUEVA ECIJA, RESPONDENT.

In
his petition for habeas corpus EPIFANIO MANABAT alleges that since
November 14, 1945, he had been imprisoned, charged in two criminal
cases Nos. 173 and 188 of the Court of First Instance of Nueva Ecija,
with robbery in band and with murder, respectively; that the joint
trial of the two cases was commenced on February 18-19, 1946, with the
prosecution presenting and terminating with the testimony of only one
witness; that on August 30, 1951, “his defense counsel was given an
opportunity to get through with and conclude his cross-examination of a
prosecution witness whose direct testimony had been had in February,
1946”; that in a court order of January 9, 1952, the continuation of
the joint trial was set for February 13-15, 1952, but when the day came
and although the prisoner and his witnesses appeared, neither the Judge
nor the aggrieved party appeared, and the two cases were not assigned
to any other Judge; that since the order of January 9, 1952, no step or
action had been taken by the court, the Provincial Fiscal or the
aggrieved party for the speedy trial of these cases; that in spite of
its list of Government witnesses the prosecution had presented and
terminated with the testimony of only two since February, 1946, and the
supposed aggrieved party, the medical officer and others have yet to
testify; that on September 23, 1952, counsel for petitioner filed an ex parte
motion asking the court to order that the transcript of the
stenographic notes of the testimony of the witnesses who had already
testified be attached to the record of the case and to set the date for
the continuation of the hearing of said cases, but despite the said
motion nothing had been done, except that a subpoena to the opposing
counsels had been issued on October 22, 1952, requiring them to appear
in court on December 4, 1952, for a pre-trial; that on December 4th
petitioner’s counsel appeared in court, but the Judge issuing the
subpoena failed to appear, and the two cases are still pending trial up
to the date of the filing of this petition. Supplementing his petition
with a motion to amend, petitioner avers that he had been denied speedy
trial guaranteed to him by the Constitution, and invoking the case of
Conde vs. Rivera, 45 Phil. 650, he asks that he be ordered
released by respondent Provincial Warden of Nueva Ecija, and that the
two criminal cases for robbery in band and for murder be declared
terminated as far as he is concerned.

At first blush, this
would appear to be a clear case of miscarriage of justice or a denial
of justice on the principle that justice delayed is justice denied,
where a person accused of an offense had been confined in jail for
almost eight years, and that save for two hearings wherein only two out
of several witnesses for the prosecution testified, no effort had been
made by the court and the prosecuting attorney to have the case or
cases tried and terminated. However, according to the very petition
itself and the answer filed on behalf of the respondent, the picture is
not as dark and somber as one would think. Petitioner Manabat was
arrested and confined in jail on November 14, 1945, charged with two
serious crimes of robbery in band and murder, and trial of the two
cases was commenced actually in February, 1946. However, on April 13,
1946, petitioner broke jail, and according to the answer of the
respondent, the petitioner was the leader of the jail breakers. He was
not recaptured by the Philippine Constabulary until October 7, 1949,
after which he was delivered to the Court of First Instance of Nueva
Ecija. The two cases were set for joint trial on several dates in 1951,
but the hearings were postponed sometimes at the instance of the
Provincial Fiscal, other times upon agreement of both parties, and
still at other times, at the instance of the defense itself. As for
instance, the hearings set for February 15-16, 1951, March 16, 1951,
and June 5, 1951, were postponed upon agreement of the Provincial
Fiscal and the defense; hearings set for April 16-17, 1951, December
21, 1951 and January 10, 1951, were cancelled at the request of the
prosecution while the hearings scheduled on May 22, 1951, July 11-12,
1951, August 31, 1951, October 17-18, 1951 and November 23, 1951, were
cancelled on motion for accused-petitioner’s counsel himself. That more
or less satisfactorily accounts for the delay in the trial of the two
cases up to the end of the year 1951.

But why were not the
two cases tried in 1952 and up to February 6, 1953, when this petition
for habeas corpus was filed? The Provincial Fiscal in behalf of the
respondent gives the following explanation in an attempt to justify the
delay. According to said Fiscal, one reason was, because of the escape
of the petitioner from jail, some prosecution witnesses had transferred
their residence, especially the medical officer who performed the post
mortem examination on the body of the deceased Teofila Puno, the victim
of the murder in criminal case No. 188, and that said witnesses were
not immediately available to the prosecution and amenable to the
summons of the court. It is also claimed that Hon. Mariano Nable, the
judge presiding over the branch of the court where the cases had been
pending had been transferred to Manila about January, 1952, designated
as Chairman of the Board of Tax Appeals, and that his successor who did
not come until April, 1952 did not hear those cases which had already
been begun and where the stenographic notes taken in them had not been
transcribed; that the stenographer who took down said stenographic
notes had been transferred to Manila and later to Pampanga where she is
at present assigned; that when petitioner filed his motion on September
23, 1952, Judge Ladislao Pasicolan was then presiding” over said branch
and he set the two cases for pre-trial on December 4, 1952, in order to
inform himself of what had transpired during the previous hearings, but
that on December 1, 1952, Judge Pasicolan was designated by the
Department of Justice to hold sessions in Pangasinan, thereby
cancelling the pre-trial previously set, but that, however, these two
criminal cases against petitioner had been set on March 18, 1953, and
that barring unforeseen circumstances the prosecution expects to reset
its case against the accused after said date.

Taking the
case as a whole, we find that the delay in the trial of the two cases
in question and the confinement in jail of petitioner since 1945, may
in some if not in great measure be laid at petitioner’s door, namely,
his escape from jail and being at large for about four years and his
agreement and his own requests for postponements in 1951. Just the same
since the beginning of 1952, there is reason to believe that the trial
had been delayed without much justification. As a rule, criminal cases,
especially those involving detention prisoners should be given
preference in the court calendar. Speedy trial is secured by the
Constitution to every person accused. An accused, especially when a
detention prisoner has the right to have his case tried and decided as
speedily as possible, either for or against him so that if he is
acquitted he regains his liberty if detained, or even if out on bail,
he is cleared of the charge and its implications, and if convicted he
may appeal the case or serve his sentence. The state is equally
interested in a speedy trial of criminal cases because the thought and
the certainty that a criminal will relentlessly and without delay be
tried while witnesses are still available, and punished for his crime,
is an effective deterrent to would-be-offenders.

In the case of Conde vs.
Rivera, cited by the petitioner, we ordered the release of the prisoner
because his right to speedy trial had been violated. However, the
circumstances obtaining in the present case do not in our opinion
justify the application of the ruling laid down in said case of Conde,
because here the delay was in part due to the petitioner himself, and
because the delay which was not so long was partly although not wholly
justified.

In view of the foregoing, the petition for
release of petitioner and for a declaration of the termination of
Criminal Cases Nos. 173 and 188 of the Court of First Instance of Nueva
Ecija, as to him is hereby denied. The Court of Nueva Ecija and the
Provincial Fiscal are hereby urged and enjoined to have these two cases
tried and terminated as early as possible. Let a copy of this decision
be furnished the Honorable, the Secretary of Justice and the Solicitor
General.

Paras, C. J., Pablo, Bengzon, Padilla, Tuason, Reyes, Jugo, Bautista Angelo and Labrador, JJ., concur.