Republic of the
Supreme Court
THIRD DIVISION
|
BUREAU OF CUSTOMS, Petitioner, |
G.R.
No. 190487 |
|
- versus
- |
Present: CARPIO MORALES, Chairperson,
J., |
|
PETER SHERMAN, MICHAEL WHELAN, TEODORO
B. LINGAN, ATTY. OFELIA B. CAJIGAL and the COURT OF TAX APPEALS, |
BRION, BERSAMIN, VILLARAMA, JR., SERENO, JJ.
|
|
Respondents. |
Promulgated: |
|
|
April
13, 2011 |
x-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x
D E C I S I O N
CARPIO
MORALES, J.
Mark
Sensing Philippines, Inc. (MSPI) caused the importation of 255, 870,000 pieces
of finished bet slips and 205, 200 rolls of finished thermal papers from June
2005 to January 2007. MSPI facilitated
the release of the shipment from the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ), where
it was brought, to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for its
lotto operations in
State
Prosecutor Rohaira Lao-Tamano, by Resolution of March 25, 2008,[5] found
probable cause against respondents and accordingly recommended the filing of
Information against them.
Respondents
filed a petition for review[6] before
the Secretary of Justice during the
pendency of which the Information was
filed on April 11, 2009 before the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA),[7] the
accusatory portion of which reads:
That on or about June 2005 to December 2007, in Manila City, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above named accused, in conspiracy with one another, made forty (40) unlawful importations of 255, 870 pieces of finished printed bet slips and 205, 200 rolls of finished thermal papers from Australia valued at approximately One Million Two Hundred Forty Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty US Dollars & Fourteen Cents (US$1,240,880.14), and caused the removal of said imported articles from the Clark Special Economic Zone and delivery thereof to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Offices without payment of its corresponding duties and taxes estimated at around Fifteen Million Nine Hundred Seventeen Thousand Six Hundred Eleven Pesos and Eighty Three Cents (Php15,917,611.83) in violation of Section 3601 in relation to Sections 2530 and 101 paragraph (f) of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines to the damage and prejudice of herein complainant.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[8]
Only
respondents Cajigal and Lingan were served warrants of arrest following which
they posted cash bail bonds.
By
Resolution of March 20, 2009,[9]
the Secretary of Justice reversed the
State Prosecutor’s Resolution and accordingly directed the withdrawal of the Information.
Petitioner’s
motion for reconsideration having been denied by Resolution of April 29, 2009,[10]
it elevated the case by certiorari before the Court of Appeals, docketed as CA
GR SP No. 10-9431.[11]
In
the meantime, Prosecutor Lao-Tamano filed before the CTA a Motion to Withdraw
Information with Leave of Court[12]
to which petitioner filed an Opposition.[13] Respondents, on their part, moved for the
dismissal of the Information.
The
CTA, by the herein assailed Resolution of September 3, 2009,[14] granted
the withdrawal of, and accordingly dismissed the Information.
Petitioner’s
motion for reconsideration filed on September 22, 2009[15]
was Noted Without Action by the CTA by Resolution of October 14, 2009, viz:
Considering that an Entry of Judgment was already issued in this case on September 23, 2009, no Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution dated September 3, 2009 having been filed by State Prosecutor Rohairah Lao-Tamano of the Department of Justice; the “Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution dated 3 September 2009” filed on September 22, 2009 by Atty. Christopher F.C. Bolastig of the Bureau of Customs is NOTED, without action.
SO ORDERED.[16] (emphasis partly in the original and partly supplied)
Hence,
petitioner’s present petition for certiorari.[17]
The
petition is bereft of merit.
It
is well-settled that prosecution of crimes pertains to the executive department
of the government whose principal power and responsibility is to insure that
laws are faithfully executed. Corollary to this power is the right to prosecute
violators.[18]
All criminal actions commenced by
complaint or information are prosecuted under the direction and control of public
prosecutors.[19] In the prosecution of special laws, the exigencies
of public service sometimes require the designation of special prosecutors from
different government agencies to assist the public prosecutor. The designation does not, however, detract
from the public prosecutor having control and supervision over the case.
As
stated in the above-quoted ratio of
the October 14, 2009 Resolution of the CTA, it noted without action
petitioner’s motion for reconsideration, entry of judgment having been made as
no Motion for Execution was filed by the State Prosecutor.
By
merely noting without action petitioner’s motion for reconsideration, the CTA
did not gravely abuse its discretion. For,
as stated earlier, a public prosecutor has control and supervision over the
cases. The participation in the case of a private
complainant, like petitioner, is limited to that of a witness, both in the
criminal and civil aspect of the case.
Parenthetically,
petitioner is not represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) in
instituting the present petition, which contravenes established doctrine[20] that
“the OSG shall represent the Government of the
IN FINE, as petitioner’s motion for
reconsideration of the challenged CTA Resolution did not bear the imprimatur of
the public prosecutor to which the control of the prosecution of the case
belongs, the present petition fails.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED.
CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES
Associate Justice
WE
CONCUR:
|
ARTURO D. BRION Associate Justice |
LUCAS P. BERSAMIN Associate Justice |
|
MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR. Associate Justice |
MARIA Associate Justice |
ATTESTATION
I attest 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.
CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES
Associate
Justice
Chairperson
CERTIFICATION
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII
of the Constitution, and the Division Chairperson’s Attestation, I certify 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.
RENATO C. CORONA
Chief Justice
[1] Section 3601. Unlawful Importation. – Any person who shall fraudulently import or bring into the Philippines, or assist in so doing, any article, contrary to law, or shall receive, conceal, buy, sell or in any manner facilitate the transportation, concealment, or sale of such article after importation, knowing the same to be have been imported contrary to law shall be guilty of smuggling and shall be punished with:
x x x x
In applying the above scale of penalties, if the offender is an alien and the prescribed penalty is not death, he shall be deported after serving the sentence without further proceedings for deportation. If the offender is a government official or employee, the penalty shall be the maximum as hereinabove prescribed and the offender shall suffer an additional penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office, to vote and to participate in any public election.
When upon trial for violation of this section, the defendant is shown to have had possession of the article in question, possession shall be deemed sufficient evidence to authorize conviction unless the defendant shall explain the possession to the satisfaction of the court: Provided, however, That the payment of the tax due after apprehension shall not constitute a valid defense in any prosecution under this section.
[2] Section 2530. Property Subject to Forfeiture under Tariff and Customs Laws – Any vehicle, vessel or aircraft, cargo, article and other objects shall, under the following conditions be subject to forfeiture:
x x x x
(f) Any article the importation or exportation of which is effected or attempted contrary to law, or any article of prohibited importation or exportation, and all other articles which, in the opinion of the Collector, have been used, are or were entered to be used as instruments in the importation of exportation of the former:
(l) Any article sought to be imported or exported:
x x x x
5. Through any other practice or device contrary to law by means of which such article was entered through a customhouse to the prejudice of the government.
[3] Section 101. Prohibited
Importations. – The importation into the
x x x x
(f) Lottery and sweepstakes tickets except those authorized by the Philippine Government, advertisements thereof and list of drawings therein.
[4] Otherwise known as the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995.
[5] Rollo, pp. 375-386.
[6]
[7] The Court of Tax Appeals Second Division is composed of Associate Justices Juanito C. Castañeda (Chairperson), Erlinda P. Uy and Olga Palanca-Enriquez.
[8] Rollo, pp. 387-388.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15] Ibid.
[16]
[17]
[18] Webb
v. De
[19] Rules of Court, Rule 110, Sec. 5.
[20] Ong v. Genio, G.R. No. 182336,
[21] Citing Section 35 (1), Chapter 12, Title III, Book IV of the Administrative Code of 1987.