Bicol University

College of Social Sciences and Philosophy

Daraga, Albay

Political Science Department

PRACTICUM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

NAME: ACULAN, Omar L. COURSE/BLOCK: AB Pol. Sci. – 4B

AGENCY: Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Albay

WEEK 2 ACTIVITIES

I. Legal Researching

Gina Villa Gomez v. People of the Philippines is a Petition for Certiorari filed by the
Petitioner before the Supreme Court, seeking to set aside a Decision by the Court of Appeals
which: (1) annulled two Orders issued by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati; and (2)
reinstating criminal case against petitioner. The crux of the case is whether in a criminal case, a
trial court is divested or deprived of its jurisdiction over the person of the accused and the
offense charged if the information filed by the investigating prosecutor does not bear the
signature or any stamp of approval of the provincial, city, or chief state prosecutor.

Petitioner Gomez was charged with bribery of public officials under Art. 212 of the
Revised Penal Code (RPC). On September 21, 2010, a Resolution was issued by City Prosecutor
(OCP) Aspi finding probable cause that the petitioner may have offered P10,000.00 to two police
officers in exchange for the release of her companion, Reynaldo Morales y Cabillo. The
following day, an Information against petitioner was filed with the Regional Trial Court
containing the signature of the Assistance City Prosecutor (ACP) Rainald C. Paggao, with a
clause “I further certify that the Information is being FILED WITH THE PRIOR
AUTHORITY of the City Prosecutor.” RTC subsequently dismissed the case motu priorio
because ACP Paggao did not have the authority to prosecute since the Information he filed did
not have the signature of approval from the OCP. The court further stated that ACP Paggao’s
lack of authority to file the Information is a “jurisdictional defect that cannot be cured.”

Prosecution filed for a Motion for Reconsideration, which the RTC subsequently denied.
The Prosecution then with the help of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a Petition
for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals (CA). The CA granted the petition and stated that
records show OCP did sign the September 21, 2010 Resolution which gave permission to file the
Information. Petitioner asked the CA to look at the case again, with the CA subsequently
denying it.
 The issue is whether or not the criminal Information filed by the prosecution lacked
authority. The answer is NO. There is no law that requires that an Information filed must be
signed by the provincial city or chief state prosecutor in order for trial courts to acquire
jurisdiction over a criminal case. Villa v. Ibanez which provided for the jurisprudence “that the
absence of the signature of a city, provincial, or chief state prosecutor results in a jurisdictional
defect” is unconstitutional. Only a law may confer jurisdiction to courts of law and the same
does not cease simply because the prosecutor who filed the Information had no authority. The
trial court’s authority to hear a criminal case has nothing to do with the written permission or
approval from the prosecutors who are allowed to sign or approve it.

The abovementioned case is significant in situations where an Information has to be filed

with the Court at the nearest opportuned time as in the case of an Inquest. There are criminal
cases wherein persons may be arrested without a warrant to determine whether the persons
detained should remain under custody and subsequently be charged. In an Inquest, there is a
certain period of time or duration when a Complaint can be filed by the petitioner and the
prosecutor can draft a Resolution finding probable cause. Due to the time constraints, the
signature or approval of the city prosecutor may not be secured before filing an Information with
the Court. Here, Gomez v. People ensures that criminal cases filed without the approval of a city,
provincial, or chief state prosecutor sustains and is not dismissed on the grounds of lack of
authority.

II. Crafting Journals

Day 1 (March 20, 2023)

TASKS
 Acquainted with the procedure for requesting for a provincial prosecutor’s clearance
o Ask for the municipality of the client (if from Legazpi, Tabaco, or Ligao, re-direct them
to their respective city prosecutor’s office)
o Ask for the documentary requirements and let them fill out in the log book
o Provide application form and ask for P50 clearance fee
o Have the documents validated
o Before releasing of clearance, check if OR and CTC numbers are correct
o Let client sign on a portion of the form and place right thumbmark on clearance
o Release of clearance with dry seal
o Recording of incoming communications
o Observing clients and fiscal consultation at the front desk

TAKE-AWAYS
 One must possess qualities related to customer service and clientele satisfaction
 Be courteous, polite, and approachable when dealing with clients
 Be patient
 Other services and functions of the office include administrative tasks such as providing
clearances, certifying documents as true copies etc.
 While recording communications, it is helpful to read the content as it gives one an idea of
how judges decide the merits of the case and how court proceedings go.
 Practicing law is not about the lawyer and their legal prowess, ultimately it is how they are
able to deliver justice to those who call for it.

Day 2 (March 21, 2023)

TASKS
 Re-arranging files containing cases from OPP-Albay, OPP-Ligao, OPP-Tabaco
 Sorting of files on boxes without labels
 Inspecting the contents of the files and organizing details in categories (case no., title, status,
and last update)
 Labeling the folders and arranging them according to branch and case number

TAKE-AWAYS
 Old case files are still relevant because one can track the progress of each case whether they
are still pending or there is a decision by the court
 Sorting and arranging files is tiresome but is important for recordkeeping purposes
 The recording aspect could easily be neglected but it ensures a more organized and efficient
referencing

Day 3 (March 22, 2023)

TASKS
 Observing court proceedings
 Sorting files based on case number
 Replacing of old folders and labeling them with corresponding case number, title, and charge

TAKE-AWAYS
 Court proceedings in television or movies are very much different from that in real life
 The burden of proof lies on the prosecution to truly determine the guilt of the accused
 I realized that accused persons are much like ordinary individuals, they are not what the films
and TV shows try to portray (gangsters, lawless, disrespectful)
 It is easy for the judge to re-schedule a trial, although this is due to the fault of lawyers who
do not come on time. However, this contributes to the delay as the accused is not given
conviction and is further detained while the aggrieved party has not yet received justice
 There are many cases which are left pending or archived
 It is important to properly label cases and update their status because prosecutors rely on
their secretaries, and us interns, to easily reference other cases and study relevant ones for
their present case

Day 4 (March 23, 2023)

TASKS
 Transferred boxes containing cases from the kitchen to the steel cabinets
 Began arranging and sorting the files in the box from the storage room belonging to Pros.
Gigi Lorayes
 Inspected the check list and arranged first the folders based on the list to be distributed to my
fellow interns for organizing
 Organized case captions and other details (case no., title, status, last update)

TAKE-AWAYS
 I learned that cases are not just classified into criminal and civil, but also cadastral, etc.
 Prosecutors and their staff must have a difficult time looking for case files because of their
volume
 A lot of the folders contained cases which were not on the original list which made it more
challenging for us to inspect every document one by one

Day 5 (March 24, 2023)

TASKS
 Continued the task that was started yesterday
 Arranged the files in the folders and stapled the same cases together
 Learned the nature of a warrant of arrest
 Learned the process of filing a complaint
 Sat at the front desk and recording incoming communications
 Went back to my other task and checked the masterlist to see whether all folders and files
were accounted for
 Observed the process of filing an Inquest proceeding

TAKE-AWAYS
 Organizing cases is a very laborious task, but at the same time enjoyable
 A warrant of arrest is valid for a lifetime, to allow speedy discharge of justice by archiving
cases wherein the persons involved cannot be found or arrested. Afterwhich the case will be
revived once the individual is apprehended.
 The process of filing a Complaint begins with the complainant filing it at the prosecutor’s
office. If it is filed with the Court, the same shall determine probable cause and serve
 warrant. If filed with the prosecutor, the same shall determine probable cause and file the
Information with the Court to decide and serve arrest.
 Filing an Inquest is time-sensitive as it has to be processed within a specific period of time,
afterwhich the person in custody has to be released if no order has come from the Court. It is
the job of the prosecutor to determine whether person in custody may have probably
committed the crime or offense.

III. Court Reflection Papers

Assuming that an Information was filed with the Court by the prosecutor who have found
probable cause and the Court already ordered the arrest of the person(s) involved, arraignment
of the accused ensues. This is the first stage in a criminal proceeding where the defendant is
appraised of their charges and subsequently enters a plea of guilty or not guilty. Depending on
whether there are grounds for it, the accused may move to quash the Complaint or Information.
If there was no motion to quash, a pre-trial follows which discusses plea bargaining, stipulation
of facts, marking for identification of evidence of the parties, waiver of objections to
admissibility of evidence, modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge but
interposes a lawful defense, and such other matters that will promote a fair an expeditious trial.
The next step is the trial, where the merits of the case are heard, evidences are presented, witness
testimonies are gathered, and so on. The judgment stage is when the judge pronounces the
verdict. Appeal is a remedy available to both parties to contest the decision of the court to a
court of higher instance. Otherwise, execution is the last step, which constitutes executing the
sentence based on the court’s judgment.

The hearing that we attended last March 22, 2023 was in its pre-trial stage. This means
that the defendant has already pleaded not guilty to the charge and that both parties are in
preparation mode for the trial itself. At 8:52 am, the court sheriff called everyone to rise as the
judge entered the room and made his way to the bench. A short prayer was said and we were all
asked to take our seats. The first case was called. The defendant was not aware that he had a
lawyer or perhaps got confused when being asked about his lawyer. When the judge asked
whether he wanted to have a lawyer from the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), he agreed. The
case was then reset to another date as the hearing may not proceed without the defendant’s
counsel.

The second case was then called. The same was asked of the accused and said that he was
already in contact with the lawyer’s staff and that he was on the way. Because of this, the judge
called for a recess for 10 minutes in order to wait for the defense lawyer. Then the counsel for
the defense arrived. The prosecution then moved for marking for identification of evidences. The
prosecution asked to amend some of the details with regards to their evidences. The defense was
then given an opportunity to make comments with regards to the evidences and either admit the
same or not. They ended up admitting most (if not all as I am uncertain) evidences presented by
the prosecution. The judge then noted that for the time being, the PNP shall have custody over
the evidences. He then scheduled another hearing for this case.
 This was my first time to attend a court hearing and my first take-away is that there is a
great discrepancy between what is shown in movies and TV shows and in real life. In popular
media, everything is exaggerated and dramatic to make the scenes intense. Only the “exciting”
parts are shown and the step-by-step processes are often sidetracked. In reality, court
proceedings take time and are not as “thrilling” or “suspenseful” as in films. Nevertheless, it is
necessary to go through these processes because the ultimate goal is to deliver justice to the
aggrieved and retribution for the accused. Another realization is that because hearings are
lengthy and that some accused individuals make it a point to slow down the proceedings, a lot of
cases are archived and others remain pending. This adds to the delay and proves the maxim
“justice delayed is justice denied.” A final take-away is that defense lawyers must always be
present side by side the accused. In the two cases above, one lawyer failed to show up, while the
other came in late. Although I understand that they also have other cases to deal with, this other
form of delay can cause harm to the proceedings especially for the accused if they are not guilty
of the charge.