OMAR ERASMO GONOWON AMPONGAN, PETITIONER, VS. HON. SANDIGANBAYAN, PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND OMBUDSMAN SPECIAL PROSECUTOR, RESPONDENTS.

Ampongan versus Sandiganbayan

The Case

This is a special civil action for certiorari brought by Omar Erasmo Gonowon Ampongan against the Sandiganbayan, the People of the Philippines, and the Ombudsman Special Prosecutor. Ampongan, who was the Vice Mayor of Iriga City, Camarines Sur, was charged before the Sandiganbayan with violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and with falsification of a public document under Article 171, paragraph 2 of the Revised Penal Code, both arising from his appointment of one Edsel Dimaiwat as Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod. He asked the Supreme Court to annul the Sandiganbayan order that denied his motion to quash the Informations for lack of jurisdiction. The case matters because it fixes which version of the Sandiganbayan jurisdiction law governs a criminal charge, and because it settles that a city vice mayor falls within the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction regardless of salary grade.

Procedural History

On July 14, 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman, through the Office of the Special Prosecutor, filed two Informations with the Sandiganbayan against Ampongan. Ampongan then filed a motion to quash the Informations for lack of jurisdiction. He argued that under Republic Act Number 10660, the Informations alleged no damage to the government and no bribery, or at most damage not exceeding One million pesos, so jurisdiction lay with the proper Regional Trial Court. He added that even under Republic Act Number 8249, a Vice Mayor with salary grade 26 was outside the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction.

On September 29, 2017, the Sandiganbayan denied the motion to quash. It reasoned that the One million peso threshold applied only to offenses committed after May 15, 2015, while the alleged offense was committed in 2014, and that the position of City Vice Mayor is among those enumerated in Republic Act Number 8249, reiterated in Republic Act Number 10660. The court then proceeded with arraignment, and because Ampongan refused to plead, a plea of not guilty was entered for him.

Ampongan went directly to the Supreme Court by petition for certiorari under Rule 65, without first filing a motion for reconsideration. The Supreme Court noted this omission but excused it, because the petition raised the same questions already passed upon by the Sandiganbayan and involved pure questions of law, falling under recognized exceptions to the reconsideration requirement.

Facts

At the time of the alleged offenses, Ampongan was the Vice Mayor of Iriga City, Camarines Sur, with salary grade 26 under the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989. On November 3, 2014, he appointed Edsel Dimaiwat to the vacant position of Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Iriga City.

The prosecution alleged that the Iriga City Personnel Selection Board never conducted any screening or deliberation on the qualifications of the candidates for that position. It further alleged that the Civil Service Commission appointment paper of Dimaiwat stated that the appointee had been screened and found qualified by the Promotion or Personnel Selection Board, when in truth the board never convened, participated, or deliberated on Dimaiwat's qualifications.

On these facts, the Ombudsman charged Ampongan with giving unwarranted benefits to Dimaiwat through evident bad faith, manifest partiality, or gross inexcusable negligence, and with falsification of a public document. Ampongan challenged the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction, and the case reached the Supreme Court.

Issues

• Whether or not the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the offenses charged against Ampongan and over his person.
• Whether or not Republic Act Number 10660, the law in force when the Informations were filed, governs the jurisdiction over offenses committed before its effectivity.
• Whether or not a City Vice Mayor with salary grade 26 falls within the original jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

Applicable Provisions

Section 4 of Presidential Decree Number 1606, as amended by Republic Act Number 10660, provides:

Section 4. Jurisdiction. The Sandiganbayan shall exercise exclusive original jurisdiction in all cases involving: a. Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act No. 1379, and Chapter II, Section 2, Title VII, Book II of the Revised Penal Code, where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following positions in the government, whether in a permanent, acting or interim capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense: (1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of regional director and higher, otherwise classified as Grade '27' and higher, of the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6758), specifically including: (a) Provincial governors, vice-governors, members of the sangguniang panlalawigan, and provincial treasurers, assessors, engineers, and other provincial department heads; (b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors, engineers, and other city department heads; b. Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other crimes committed by the public officials and employees mentioned in subsection a of this section in relation to their office. Provided, That the Regional Trial Court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction where the information: (a) does not allege any damage to the government or any bribery; or (b) alleges damage to the government or bribery arising from the same or closely related transactions or acts in an amount not exceeding One million pesos (P1,000,000.00).

This provision is the new law whose One million peso threshold Ampongan invoked, and the Court had to decide whether it reached his 2014 offense.

Section 5 of Republic Act Number 10660, its transitory provision, provides:

Section 5. Transitory Provision. This Act shall apply to all cases pending in the Sandiganbayan over which trial has not begun: Provided, That: (a) Section 2, amending Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1606, as amended, on "Jurisdiction"; and (b) Section 3, amending Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 1606, as amended, on "Proceedings, How Conducted; Decision by Majority Vote" shall apply to cases arising from offenses committed after the effectivity of this Act.

This is the decisive clause: it limits the new jurisdictional rule to offenses committed after the law took effect on May 5, 2015.

Section 4 of Republic Act Number 8249, the law the Court found applicable, provides:

Section 4. Section 4 of the same decree is hereby further amended to read as follows: a. Violations of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, otherwise known as the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Republic Act No. 1379, and Chapter II, Section 2, Title VII, Book II of the Revised Penal Code, where one or more of the accused are officials occupying the following positions in the government whether in a permanent, acting or interim capacity, at the time of the commission of the offense: (1) Officials of the executive branch occupying the positions of regional director and higher, otherwise classified as Grade '27' and higher, of the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 (Republic Act No. 6758), specifically including: (b) City mayors, vice-mayors, members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors, engineers and other city department heads; b. Other offenses or felonies whether simple or complexed with other crimes committed by the public officials and employees mentioned in subsection a of this section in relation to their office.

This is the governing law for Ampongan's 2014 offense, and it expressly names city vice mayors among the officials within the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction.

Ruling

On the first issue, the Court held that the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over the offenses and over Ampongan's person, and found no grave abuse of discretion in the denial of the motion to quash.

On the second issue, the Court ruled that Republic Act Number 10660 does not apply. Although jurisdiction over a criminal case is generally determined at the time of the institution of the action, the Court explained that Republic Act Number 10660 itself fixes a different reckoning for graft cases, namely the time of the commission of the offense. More importantly, its transitory provision confines the new jurisdictional rule to cases arising from offenses committed after its effectivity. Since Ampongan's alleged offense was committed on November 3, 2014, six months before the law took effect on May 5, 2015, the One million peso threshold did not apply to him.

On the third issue, the Court held that the applicable law is Republic Act Number 8249, and that a city vice mayor is expressly enumerated therein. The Court stressed that the specific inclusion of city mayors, vice mayors, and members of the sangguniang panlungsod constitutes an exception to the general salary grade 27 requirement, so these officials fall within the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction regardless of salary grade. To hold otherwise, the Court said, would render the enumeration surplusage, and words in a statute should not be construed as surplusage if a reasonable construction giving them force and meaning is possible.

Doctrine

First, jurisdiction over a criminal case is generally determined at the time of the institution of the action, but where the statute itself provides a reckoning, that reckoning controls. For graft cases, the reckoning is the time of the commission of the offense.

Second, the transitory provision of Republic Act Number 10660 limits its new jurisdictional rule, including the One million peso threshold in favor of the Regional Trial Courts, to offenses committed after its effectivity. Offenses committed before May 5, 2015 remain governed by Republic Act Number 8249.

Third, city mayors, city vice mayors, members of the sangguniang panlungsod, city treasurers, assessors, engineers, and other city department heads are specifically enumerated in the law and fall within the Sandiganbayan's original jurisdiction regardless of salary grade. Their specific inclusion is an exception to the general salary grade 27 qualification.

Disposition

The Supreme Court denied the petition and upheld the Sandiganbayan's denial of the motion to quash, leaving the criminal cases to proceed before the Sandiganbayan.

Remember This

Memorize this line: for graft cases, jurisdiction is reckoned from the time of the commission of the offense, and a city vice mayor is in the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction regardless of salary grade. Examiners use this case to test the effectivity and transitory provisions of Republic Act Number 10660, and the rule that specifically enumerated local officials need not meet salary grade 27.