PEOPLE v.

MARIANO
MUNOZ PALMA, J.:
FACTS:
Hermogenes Mariano is an appointed Liaison officer by Mayor
Constantino Nolasco of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. Mariano is
authorized to receive and be receipted for US excess property of
USAID/NEC. Mariano, instead of delivering it to the Office of the
Mayor, misappropriated, misapply and converteed the said items for
his personal benefit. Hence, the Office of Provinsial Fiscal of Bulacan
filed an Information accusing private reponsdent Mariano of Estafa.
Mariano filed a motion to quash thee information. He claimed that the
items which were the subject matter of the Information against him
were the same items for which Mayor Nolasco was indicted before a
Military Commission under a charge of malversation of public
property. The judge of RTC granted the motion to quash on the ground
of lack of jurisction. It held that it had already taken cognizance of the
malversation case against Mayor Nolasco involving the same subject
matter, as such the court has without the jurisdiction to pass upon
anew the same subject matter.
ISSUE:
Whether or not civil courts and military commissions exercise
concurrent jurisdiction over the offense of estafa of goods allegedly
committed by a civilian.
RULING:
Sec. 44 of Judicary Act of 1948 provides that:
xxx CFI shall have original jurisdiction in all criminal cases in which
the penalty provided by law is imprisonment for more than six months
xxx
The offense charged against Mariano is penalized with arresto mayor
in its minimum and prision correccional in its maximum period. Thus,
Mariano falls under the original jurisdiction of the CFI.
In a previous case decided by SC, it ruled that the jurisdiction of a
court is determined by the statute in force at the time of the
commencement of the action. In the case at bar, the law in force
vesting jurisdiction upon CFI was the Judiciary Act of 1948.
SC also made it clear that Estafa and Malversation are two and
separate distinct offenses.

Lastly, Military Commission is without power or authority to hear and

determine the particular offense charged against respondent Mariano.
Estafa falls within the sole exclusive jurisdiction of civil courts.
PREMISES CONSIDERED, the appealed Order dated March 14, 1975,
is set aside and respondent Judge is directed to proceed with the trial
of Criminal Case No. SM-649 without further delay.
SO ORDERED.