Detruz, Allyson A.

Criminology 3-1

1. Get one decided cases in probation and give your reaction/reflection.

PATERNO DE LOS SANTOS, JR. vs. COURT OF APPEALS 13TH DIVISION, ET AL.
G.R. No. 181306: March 21, 2011
FACTS: Paterno de los Santos, Jr. was found guilty of the crime of intentional abortion, and
then he filed an application for probation. It was ruled that he is ineligible to apply for probation,
considering the fact that he has waived his right to avail the benefits of probation law when he
appealed the judgment of conviction by the trial court.
ISSUE: Whether petitioner is entitled to the benefits of probation, considering that he had
appealed his conviction, contrary to the provision of Section 4, P.D. 968, as amended by P.D.
1990.
HELD: Probation is a special privilege granted by the State to a penitent qualified offender. It
essentially rejects appeals and encourages an otherwise eligible convict to immediately admit
his liability and save the State the time, effort and expenses to jettison an appeal. The pertinent
provision of the Probation Law, as amended, reads:
Sec. 4.
Grant of Probation
Subject to the provisions of this Decree, the trial court may, after
it shall have convicted and sentenced a defendant and upon application by said defendant
within the period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the execution of the sentence and place the
defendant on probation for such period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem
best; Provided, That no application for probation shall be entertained or granted if the defendant
has perfected the appeal from the judgment of conviction. It is undisputed that petitioner
appealed from the decision of the trial court. This fact alone merits the denial of petitioner's
Application for Probation. Having appealed from the judgment of the trial court and having
applied for probation only after the Court of Appeals ha affirmed his conviction, petitioner was
clearly precluded from the benefits of probation. Furthermore, it was clear that when petitioner
filed his appeal before the appellate court, what he was questioning was the merit of the
decision convicting him and not the propriety of the penalty imposed by the trial court for the
purpose of correcting a wrong penalty—to reduce it to within probational range. By perfecting
his appeal, petitioner, therefore, ipso facto relinquished the alternative remedy of availing of the
Probation Law. The law expressly requires that an accused must not have appealed his
conviction before he can avail himself of probation. This outlaws the element of speculation on
the part of the accused to wager on the result of his appeal that when his conviction is finally
affirmed on appeal, the moment of truth well nigh at hand and the service of his sentence
Reflection:
Base in my perspective probation is privileged that might be granted but it will never be rights for
the person who just want a probation because they want to, this probation law created for
petitioner who wants a second chance to prove himself, from this case and i now understand
how it is difficult for probation law to use or obtain because it doesn’t mean that after applying
probation it will be accepted at the court, granting this privilege you have to face a lot of trials as
a rule, probation and appeal are mutually exclusive remedies. However, if the judgment of
conviction that was appealed imposed non-probationable penalty and the same was modified
through the imposition of probationable penalty or conviction for a lesser crime, which is
probationable, the accused shall be allowed to apply for probation based on the modified
decision before such decision becomes final. The application for probation based on the
modified decision shall be filed in the trial court, which tried and convicted the accused or in a
trial court where such case has been re-raffled.
From this case I actually realize two things either your in the side of injustice or call out for
justice, there will always be a questionable trademark for our justice system, As several
individuals assume, probation  is in fact charge and not a dismissal of charges.
Many people assume that putting an offender on probation is just a "slap on the wrist" and that it 
will
not deter the criminal from committing more crimes, but supervision is the term of probation and 
the probationer will comply if it is breached punishment.

2. What are the purposes of probation.

and under of probation law Section 2. The Purpose this Decree shall be interpreted so as to:
(a) promote the correction and rehabilitation of an offender by providing him with individualized
treatment; (b) provide an opportunity for the reformation of a penitent offender which might be
less probable if he were to serve a prison sentence; and(c) prevent the commission of offenses.

3. Submit your answer in PDF.