DEMOSTHENES MEDIANTE AND PABLO PASENIO, PETITIONERS, VS. HON. MONTANO ORTIZ, JUDGE OF THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE OF AGUSAN, RESPONDENT.

This is a petition to prohibit respondent Judge of the Court of
First Instance of Agusan from further pro­ceeding
against petitioners in special civil case No. 59 of said Court and to set aside
the writ of preliminary injunction issued therein on January 22, 1959.

The present petition had its origin in a simple criminal
complaint for the offense of “Illegal Possession of Firearm” filed
against Mamerto Campo and Anastacio
Baclayo.  The
complaint alleged that the offense was com­mitted in the barrio of Cadena de Amor, municipality
of Magsaysay,
province of Misamis Oriental.  The case, docketed as criminal case No. 354,
was filed by Gaudioso Gacus,
act­ing Chief of Police, and a warrant of arrest was forthwith issued by the
Municipal Court of the same municipality, presided by Demosthenes Mediante.  Mediante and Pasenio (Chief of
Police) are the petitioners herein.

Subsequently Campo, one of the two accused, after moving for the
postponement of the hearing and without first raising before the municipal
court the question of its jurisdiction in the case, filed directly in
respondent Court, together with 29 other persons, a petition for
“Prohibition, Injunction and Damages with Preliminary Injunction.”
The petitioners’ prayer reads thus:

“WHEREFORE, it
is respectfully prayed:

“(a) That pending the final deter­mination of this action an
ex-parte writ of preliminary injunction be issued –
(1) restraining and prohibiting the respondents Justice of the Peace and
Chief of Police of Magsaysay, Misamis
Oriental, as well as respondents
Legutom and Fernandez from con­tinuing with the
proceeding in Criminal Case No. 354 (People v. Mamerto
Campo et al) of the Justice of the peace Court of Magsaysay,
Misamis Oriental; (2) restraining and pro­hibiting
the respondents Chief of Police, Legutum, Fernandez,
Cervantes their agents representatives subordinates, servants, or any other
person acting in their behalf from prosecuting or proceeding (sic) peti­tioners
or instituting criminal complaints with the Justice of the Peace Court of Magsaysay, Misamis Oriental for
acts done by petitioners within the territory of Carmen, Agusan
or within any part of the parcels of land described in paragraph 2 of this petition; (3) restraining and
prohibiting the respondent Justice of the Peace from entertaining complaints
and issue (sic) warrants of arrest against petitioners for acts done in Carmen,
Agu­san or any part of the parcels of land described
in paragraph 2 of this peti­tion; (4) restraining and prohibiting
respondents, their attorneys, agents, representatives, servants, bodyguards,
laborers, tenants, drivers, and any other 
person acting in their behalf from in­timidating, coercing, threatening,
molesting or bothering
petitioners; (5) restraining and prohibiting
respondents, their attorneys, agents, representatives, servants, bodyguards,
laborers, tenants, drivers, and any other person acting in their behalf from
entering the parcels  of land described
in paragraph 2 of this petition and from molesting the harvest of
petitioners products in the  said parcels
of land; restraining and prohibiting respondents, their attorneys, agents,
representatives, servants, body­guards, laborers, tenants, drivers, and any
other person acting in their behalf from getting or harvesting any
products  from the lands of petitioners,
which are described in paragraph 2 of this petition x x
x.”

In the resolution of January
22, 1959 respondent Judge denied the motions to dismiss filed by
herein peti­tioners and ruled that the Court of First Instance of Agusan had jurisdiction to issue the writ of preliminary
injunction prayed for.  The dispositive portion of the said resolution is hereunder
quoted:

“WHEREFORE, the motions to dismiss are hereby denied.  Let a writ of preli­minary injunction issue,
restraining and prohibiting the respondents, their ser­vants, bodyguards,
attorneys and other persons in their behalf to desist from threatening,
coercing and harassing the petitioners or otherwise disturbing and molesting
them in their peaceful posses­sion of the parcels of land described in
paragraph 2 of the petition, and restraining and prohibiting the respondents,
their attorneys, agents, repre­sentatives, servants and other persons in their
aid from harvesting and carrying away the corn and other products in the lands
in question, upon the previous filing of the bond with sufficient sure­ties in
the sum of P3,000.00 subject to the approval by this Court.

“SO ORDERED.”

Petitioners filed the instant proceeding, with the following
prayer: “(a) To prohibit the Respondent Judge from requiring the
petitioners to enter into trial in said special civil case No. 59 of the Court; (b) To pro­hibit and restrain the
respondent Judge from further proceeding in the said Special Civil Case No. 59
against the petitioners; and (c) For such other remedies as may be just and
equitable in the premises.”

With respect to the writ of preliminary injunction issued by
respondent Judge, petitioners ask that it be set aside so that the prosecution
of criminal case No. 354 may continue.  We find no need to do this.  The said writ does not enjoin the criminal
prosecution.  This is evident upon a simple examination of the dispositive portion of the lower court’s resolution, which
granted only the prayers numbered 4 and 5 in the petition and not the prayer to
abate temporarily the criminal action.

With respect to the main petition before us, which seeks to
prohibit respondent Judge from further proceeding against petitioners in
special civil case No. 59, the same should be granted.  The complaint for illegal possession of
firearm filed against Mamerto Campo in the Municipal
Court of Magsaysay, province
of Misamis Oriental,
recites that the offense was committed in the barrio of Cadena
de Amor of the said municipality.  This is the recital that defines the jurisdiction
of the said court, of which petitioner Mediante is
the Judge.  Respondent Court, in taking
cognizance of special civil case No. 59 insofar as Campo is concerned, stated
that the land in controversy pertains to the province
of Agusan.  The reference is to certain civil disputes
involving the harvest of palay from certain lands
claimed by the peti­tioners below on the one hand, and by the respondents
therein, named Antonio Cervantes and Jesus Cervantes, on the other.  Indeed in the petition in special civil case No. 59 there is no allegation
that the barrio of Cadena de Amor,
the supposed situs of the crime of illegal pos­session
of firearm allegedly committed by Mamerto Campo is
not within the jurisdiction of the municipality
of Magsaysay,
province of Misamis Oriental.  The allegation is rather that the warrant of
arrest was served on him at his residence and that he then remonstrated that
the municipal Judge of Magsaysay who issued the
warrant had no jurisdiction in the place where he was “harvesting” palay and where he was “residing,” since it was
within the province of Agusan.  Whichever court has jurisdiction in that
place is of no importance.  The vital
point is the allegation of the situs of the offense
in the information, and the question of jurisdiction in the light of such
allegation must be passed upon and decided in the first instance by the
Municipal Court itself in the criminal case before it.

Besides, the petition below, insofar as it seeks to prohibit the
Municipal Court of Magsaysay from proceeding in the
criminal case, should have been filed in the Court of First Instance of Misamis Oriental, which has appellate and supervisory
jurisdiction over all municipal courts in said province, and not in the Court
of First Instance of Agusan.  The actuation of respondent Judge, as against
herein peti­tioners, is officious and unwarranted and constitutes an undue
arrogation of such supervisory power which does not belong to it at all.

WHEREFORE, the writ prayed for is granted,
and respondent Judge is prohibited and enjoined from further proceeding against
herein petitioners in special case No. 59. 
No pronouncement as to costs.

Concepcion, C.J., Reyes, J.B.L., Dizon, Regala, Bengzon, J.P., Zaldivar, Sanchez,
and Castro, JJ.,
concur.