SECOND DIVISION
IN
THE MATTER OF THE G.R.
No. 167193
PETITION
FOR HABEAS CORPUS
Present:
PUNO,* J., Chairperson,
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ,**
AZCUNA,
and
GARCIA,
JJ.
ENGR.
ASHRAF KUNTING,
Petitioner. Promulgated:
April
19, 2006
x
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
x
DECISION
AZCUNA, J.:
This is a petition for the issuance
of a writ of habeas corpus directing Police Chief Superintendent Ismael R. Rafanan and General
Robert Delfin,[1] Philippine
National Police (PNP) Intelligence Chief, to bring petitioner Ashraf Kunting before this Court
and show cause why he is illegally detained.
The antecedents are as follows:
On
Petitioner was immediately flown to
the
In a letter dated
In a letter dated
x x x
The
undersigned referred the matter to Hon. Danilo M. Bucoy, Presiding Judge of this Court, who issued the Alias
Warrant of Arrest in the herein mentioned case (Criminal Case No. 3674-1187)
and per his instruction, accused As[h]raf Kunting y Barreto [may be]
temporarily detained thereat by virtue of the Alias Warrant of Arrest issued in
this case, however considering that the accused is a high security risk, he
should be brought to Isabela, Basilan
as soon as the necessary security escort can be provided for his transfer,
where the proper commitment order can be issued as the herein mentioned case is
about to be submitted by the prosecution.
Thank
you ever so much for your usual cooperation extended to the Court.[2]
On
On November 5, 2003, PNP-IG Director
Arturo C. Lomibao wrote a letter to Chief State
Prosecutor Jovencito R. Zuño,
Department of Justice (DOJ), requesting
for representation and a motion to be filed for the transfer of the venue
of the trial from Isabela City, Basilan
to Pasig City, for the following reasons: (1) Several intelligence reports have been
received by the PNP-IG stating that
utmost effort will be exerted by the Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG) to recover the custody of Kunting from the PNP considering his importance to the ASG;
and (2) there is a big possibility that Kunting may be recovered by the ASG if he will be detained
in Basilan due to inadequate security facility in the
municipal jail and its proximity to the area of operation of the ASG.
On August 13, 2004, the RTC rendered
a decision against petitioner’s co-accused in the consolidated Criminal Case
Nos. 3608-1164, 3537-1129, 3674-1187, and 3611-1165, finding 17 of the accused, who were tried, guilty of
the crime/s charged.
On
In a letter dated
On March 15, 2005, Police Inspector Amado L. Barbasa, Jr., OIC, Legal
Affairs Division, PNP-IG, filed with the RTC a Motion to Defer Implementation
of the Order dated February 11, 2005, citing, among other grounds, the existence
of a pending motion for the transfer of the venue of the trial of Criminal Case
No. 3537-1129 against Kunting, which was allegedly
filed by the DOJ before this Court. Police Inspector Barbasa
prayed that the Order of the RTC dated
On
Kunting asserted that
he never participated in the kidnapping incident, so he promptly filed an
Urgent Motion for Reinvestigation on
The main issue is whether the
petition for habeas corpus can prosper.
Under Section 1, Rule 102 of the
Rules of Court, the writ of habeas corpus extends to “all case of
illegal confinement or detention by which any person is deprived of his
liberty, or by which the rightful custody of any person is withheld from the person
entitled thereto.” The remedy of habeas corpus has one objective: to
inquire into the cause of detention of a person,[3] and
if found illegal, the court orders the release of the detainee.[4] If, however, the detention is proven lawful,
then the habeas corpus proceedings terminate.[5]
Section 4, Rule 102 of the Rules of
Court provides when the writ is not allowed:
SEC. 4. When writ
not allowed or discharge authorized.—If it appears that the person alleged
to be restrained of his liberty is in the custody of an officer under
process issued by a court or judge or by virtue of a judgment or order of a
court of record, and that the court or judge had jurisdiction to issue the
process, render the judgment, or make the order, the writ shall not be allowed;
or if the jurisdiction appears after the writ is allowed, the person shall not
be discharged by reason of any informality or defect in the process, judgment,
or order. Nor shall anything in this rule be held to authorize the discharge
of a person charged with or convicted of an offense in the
In this case, Kunting’s
detention by the PNP-IG was under process issued by the RTC. He was arrested by
the PNP by virtue of the alias order of arrest issued by Judge Danilo M. Bucoy, RTC, Branch 2,
Moreover, Kunting was
charged with four counts of Kidnapping for Ransom and Serious Illegal Detention
in Criminal Case Nos. 3608-1164, 3537-1129, 3674-1187, and 3611-1165. In accordance with the last sentence of Section
4 above, the writ cannot be issued and Kunting cannot
be discharged since he has been charged with a criminal offense. Bernarte v. Court
of Appeals[7]
holds that “once the person detained is duly charged in court, he may no longer
question his detention by a petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas
corpus.”
Nevertheless, this Court notes that
the RTC in its Order dated February 11, 2005 reiterated its Order dated
September 15, 2003, directing the Police Superintendent and Chief, Legal
Affairs Division, PNP-IG, Camp Crame, Quezon City, to turn over
Kunting to the court. TThe trial court has been waiting for
two years for the PNP-IG to turn over the person of Kunting
for the trial of his case. The PNP-IG
has delayed the turn over because it is waiting for the DOJ to request for the
transfer of venue of the trial of the case from In the absence of evidence that the DOJ has indeed filed a motion for the
transfer of venue, In its Comment, the Office of the Solicitor
General stated that the PNP-IG is presently awaiting the resolution of the
Motion for Transfer of Venue it requested from the DOJ. In this regard, t the
Police Chief Superintendent is, therefore, directed to take positive steps
towards action on said motion.comply with the Order of the trial court,
dated February 11, 2005, to turn over the body
of petitioner Kunting to the trial court..
WHEREFORE, the instant petition for habeas
corpus is hereby DISMISSED.
No costs.
SO ORDERED.
ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
Associate Justice
WE
CONCUR:
(On Leave)
REYNATO S. PUNO
Chairperson
Associate Justice
ANGELINA SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ RENATO C. CORONA
Associate Justice
Associate Justice
Acting Chairperson
CANCIO C.
GARCIA
Associate
Justice
ATTESTATION
I attest that the conclusions in the above Decision were reached in
consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the
Court’s Division.
ANGELINA
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ
Associate Justice
Acting Chairperson,
Second Division
CERTIFICATION
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution and the
Division Acting Chairperson’s Attestation, it is hereby certified that the
conclusions in the above Decision had been reached in consultation before the
case was assigned to the writer of the opinion of the Court’s Division.
ARTEMIO V. PANGANIBAN
Chief Justice
* On Leave.
** Acting
Chairperson.
[1] In
his Comment, Police Chief Superintendent Ismael R. Rafanan stated that Police Director Robert C. Delfin retired from the PNP on
[2] Rollo,
p. 131.
[3] In
the Matter of the Petition for Habeas Corpus of Capt. Gary Alejano,
et al., G.R. No. 160792, August 25, 2005.
[4] In
Re: Azucena L. Garcia, G.R. No.
141443,
[5] Supra,
note 1.
[6] Emphasis
supplied.
[7] G.R.
No. 107741,