Professional Documents
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Liang v. People
Liang v. People
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* FIRST DIVISION.
693
694
YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
695
elevated the case to this Court via a petition for review arguing that
he is covered by immunity under the Agreement and that no
preliminary investigation was held before the criminal cases were
filed in court.
The petition is not impressed with merit.
First, courts cannot blindly adhere and take on its face the
communication from the DFA that petitioner is covered by any
immunity. The DFA’s determination that a certain person is covered
by immunity is only preliminary which has no binding effect in
courts. In receiving ex-parte the DFA’s advice and in motu proprio
dismissing the two criminal cases without notice to the prosecution,
the latter’s right to due process was violated. It should be noted that
due process is a right of the accused as much as it is of the
prosecution. The needed inquiry in what capacity petitioner was
acting at the time of the alleged utterances requires for its resolution
evidentiary basis that has yet to be presented at the proper time.1 At
any rate, it has been ruled that the mere invocation of the immunity
2
clause does not ipso facto result in the dropping of the charges.
Second, under Section 45 of the Agreement which provides:
“Officers and staff of the Bank including for the purpose of this Article
experts and consultants performing missions for the Bank shall enjoy the
following privileges and immunities:
immunity from legal process with respect to acts performed by
a.) them in their official capacity except when the Bank waives the
immunity.”
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696
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3 M.H. Wylie v. Rarang, 209 SCRA 357, 368 (1992).
4 Shauf v. CA, 191 SCRA 713 (1990); Ammos v. Phil. Veterans Affairs Office, 174
SCRA 214 (1989); Dumlao v. CA, 114 SCRA 247 (1982).
5 Section 31, 1 (c); See also Minucher v. CA, 214 SCRA 242 (1992).
6 See Del Rosario, Jr. v. Bartolome, 270 SCRA 645 (1997).
7 People v. Abejuela, 38 SCRA 324 (1971).
697
Petition denied.
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