Foz vs People (2009) G.R.

 167764
Facts:
Petitioners Vicente Foz, Jr and Danny Fajardo were charged with the crime of libel. Upon
arraignment, they were assisted by counsel de parte and pleaded not guilty to the crime
charged. Trial thereafter ensued, finding both of them guilty. Petitioners moved for recon but
was denied. Dissatisfied, they appealed to CA who affirmed in toto the RTC decision. They
then filed a motion for recon which CA denied. In their petition to the SC, petitioners raise
for the first time the issue that the information charging them with libel did not contain
allegations sufficient to vest jurisdiction in the RTC of Iloilo City.

Issue: WON the RTC of Iloilo City had jurisdiction over the offense of libel as charged.

Held: SC ruled on the negative. The Court notes that petitioners raised for the first time the
issue of the RTC’s jurisdiction over the offense charged only in their Reply filed before this
Court and finds that petitioners are not precluded from doing so.
Venue in criminal cases is an essential element of jurisdiction. Article 360 of the Revised
Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 4363, provides the specific rules as to the
venue in cases of written defamation: The criminal action and civil action for damages in
cases of written defamations, as provided for in this chapter shall be filed simultaneously
or separately with the court of first instance of the province or city where the libelous article
is printed and first published or where any of the offended parties actually resides at the time of the
commission of the offense: 
The allegations in the Information that “Panay News, a daily publication with a
considerable circulation in the City of Iloilo and throughout the region” only
showed that Iloilo was the place where Panay News  was in considerable circulation
but did not establish that the said publication was printed and first published
in Iloilo City.
Settled is the rule that jurisdiction of a court over a criminal case is determined by the
allegations of the complaint or information, and the offense must have been committed or
any one of its essential ingredients took place within the territorial jurisdiction of the
court. Considering that the Information failed to allege the venue requirements for a libel
case under Article 360, the Court finds that the RTC of Iloilo City had no jurisdiction to
hear this case. Thus, its decision convicting petitioners of the crime of libel should be set
aside for want of jurisdiction without prejudice to its filing with the court of competent
jurisdiction.