EN BANC
February 7, 2017
G.R. No. 191416
MAYOR WILLIAM N. MAMBA, ATTY. FRANCISCO N. MAMBA, JR., ARIEL MALANA, NARDING AGGANGAN, JOMARI SAGALON, JUN CINABRE, FREDERICK BALIGOD, ROMMEL ENCOLLADO, JOSEPH TUMALIUAN, and RANDY DAYAG, Petitioners
vs.
LEOMAR BUENO, Respondent
D E C I S I O N
REYES, J.:
This is a Petition for Review on Certiorari1 filed in relation to Section 19 of A.M. No. 07-9-12-SC,2 seeking to annul and set aside the Decision3 dated January 18, 2010 and Resolution4 dated March 2, 2010 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP. No. 00038, which granted the petition for the issuance of a writ of amparo filed by Leomar Bueno (respondent) against Mayor William N. Mamba (Mayor Mamba), Atty. Francisco N. Mamba, Jr. (Atty. Mamba), Ariel Malana (Malana), Narding Aggangan (Aggangan), Jomari Sagalon (Sagalon), Jun Cinabre (Cinabre), Frederick Baligod (Baligod), Rommel Encollado (Encollado ), Joseph Tumaliuan (Tumaliuan), and Randy Dayag (Dayag) (collectively, the petitioners).
The Facts
On June 13, 2009, the canteen owned by Emelita N. Mamba (Emelita) in Tuao, Cagayan was robbed. Emelita is the mother of Mayor Mamba, then Mayor of the Municipality of Tuao, Cagayan and Atty. Mamba, then a Malacafiang official.5 The Task Force Lingkod Bayan (Task Force), an agency created by the Sangguniang Bayan of Tuao to help the local police force in maintaining peace and order in the municipality, undertook an investigation on the robbery.6
On June 14, 2009, several members of the Task Force, Malana, Aggangan and Sagalon, together with barangay officials Cinabre and Encollado, went to the. house of the respondent, then still a minor, to invite him for questioning on his supposed involvement in the robbery. The respondent and his mother, Maritess Bueno (Maritess ), acceded to the invitation. Thereupon, the respondent was brought to the Tuao police station.7
The parties gave different accounts of what happened after the respondent was brought to the Tuao police station.
The petitioners claim that:
When they reached the Tuao police station, there were no police investigators or any representative from the local Social Welfare and Development (SWD) office and, hence, the investigation could not proceed. At that time, Raymund Rodriguez (Raymund), allegedly an eyewitness to the robbery, was at the police station. Raymund pointed to the respondent as among those who robbed the store; the respondent then told Raymund that he would kill him for ratting him out.8 The petitioners allege that prior to the robbery of the canteen, the respondent approached Raymund and his brother Robin and proposed to them that they rob the canteen. The latter, however, declined the offer. Later that night, Raymund saw the respondent and Lorenzo Haber (Haber) robbing the canteen. Thereafter, Robin reported the incident to the Task Force.9
The petitioners further claim that at the time of the robbery, Mayor Mamba and Atty. Mamba were not around since they previously left Tuao, Cagayan for Manila on June 10, 2009. Mayor Mamba was on official leave for 10 days, from June 10, 2009 until June 20, 2009, while Atty. Mamba had to report for work in Malacañang.10
The respondent's custody was then referred to the Task Force. Haber was later invited to the police station for questioning regarding his involvement in the robbery. However, his custody was likewise referred to the Task Force since there were still no police investigators.11
On June 17, 2009, Atty. Mamba arrived in Tuao, Cagayan. While going out of his residence, Maritess approached Atty. Mamba and asked him about her son. Atty. Mamba told her that he does not know her son and that if the respondent indeed committed a crime, she should not tolerate what her son was doing.12
On June 18, 2009, while the members of the Task Force were on their way to bring the respondent and Haber to the police station, they were met by Police Superintendent Joselito Buenaobra (P/Supt. Buenaobra) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Cagayan Regional Office. Thereafter, the respondent's custody was transferred to the PNP Cagayan Regional Office.13
Maritess then went to the office of Mayor Mamba, but she was told to come back at later date since Mayor Mamba was still on official leave. When Mayor Mamba arrived in Tuao on June 20, 2009, a conference was immediately held. Maritess requested that the members of the Task Force be brought to Mayor Mamba's office. Almost all of the members of the Task Force arrived. However, Maritess was unable to pinpoint who among them took custody of his son. Mayor Mamba then advised her to file a complaint in court should she be able to identify the responsible persons.14
On the other hand, the respondent alleges that:
At around 3:00 p.m. of June 14, 2009, Tumaliuan and Dayag, both members of the Task Force, upon the order of Baligod, then Municipal Administrator of Tuao, fetched the respondent from the police station and brought .him to Mayor Mamba's house.15 Sometime in the evening of even date, the respondent was made to board a white van driven by Aggangan. Inside the van, he was beaten with a gun by Malana, who later threatened him that he would be killed. Thereafter, he was brought back to Mayor Mamba's house.16
That same evening, Haber, likewise a minor, was invited by the barangay captain in his place, accompanied by about 10 barangay tanods and two police officers, for questioning as regards the robbery of the canteen. Haber was brought to the police station where he spent the night.17
On June 15, 2009, Haber was brought to Mayor Mamba's house. The respondent and Haber were then tortured to force them to admit to their involvement in the robbery. They were made to roll on the grass while being kicked and beaten with a cue stick by Malana; hot wax was poured over their bodies to force them to admit to the robbery, but they denied any involvement therein. Thereafter, they were blindfolded and were questioned by Atty. Mamba regarding the robbery of the canteen. When his blindfold was taken off, the respondent saw Atty. Mamba sitting nearby.18 On June 16, 2009, Malana brought the respondent and Haber, together with Robin and Raymund, to the office of the Task Force, where they all spent the night.19
Meanwhile, Maritess went to the Tuao police station to look for her son; she was told that the respondent was brought to Mayor Mamba's house. However, when Maritess went to Mayor Mamba's house, she was not permitted to see her son. Maritess was able to talk to Mayor Mamba who told her that she should not condone the acts of her son. Maritess then sought the assistance of P/Supt. Buenaobra regarding the respondent's disappearance from the police station. The PNP Cagayan Regional Office was then preparing a case for habeas corpus when the respondent was released on June 18, 2009 to the local SWD office.20
Maritess then sought the assistance of the Regional Office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Cagayan as regards the case of the respondent.21 On August 25, 2009, the respondent, assisted by the CHR, filed a Petition for the Issuance of a Writ of Amparo with the CA.22
On September 14, 2009, the CA, gave due course to the petition and directed the issuance of the writ of amparo. On September 23, 2009, the petitioners filed their verified return.23
A summary hearing was thereafter conducted by the CA. The respondent presented in evidence his own testimony and the testimonies of Dr. Odessa B. Tiangco (Dr. Tiangco) of the Cagayan Valley Medical Center, provindal social welfare officer Elvira Layus (Layus), and Maritess.24 The petitioners, on the other hand, presented the testimony of Cinabre, Encollado, Baligod, and Robin.25
The CA further issued subpoena duces tecum ad testificandum to and heard the testimony of P/Supt. Buenaobra.26
On January 18, 2010, the CA rendered the herein assailed Decision,27 the decretal portion of which reads:
the Petition for a Writ of Amparo filed by [the respondent] is hereby GRANTED. Accordingly:WHEREFORE,
1. [The petitioners] are hereby enjoined from doing any act of physical or psychological violence that would harm or threaten [the respondent] and his family, including those who assisted him in the preparation of this present petition, especially the [CHR], Regional Office No. 02, Cagayan and his witnesses;
2. The Head of the PNP Regional Office of Cagayan, whoever is the incumbent, is hereby ordered to continue the investigation on the violation done against [the respondent], and using extraordinary diligence, to furnish this Court with a report regarding the said investigation. The investigation must be commenced as soon as possible but not more than 30 days from the receipt of this Decision.
3. [Mayor Mamba] is hereby ordered to provide assistance to the above PNP investigation including but not limited to the act of furnishing and/or providing the latter a list of the members of the Task Force who had direct involvement in the violation of [the respondent's] rights to life, liberty and security, including their identities and whereabouts, and to allow the investigation to run its course unhindered or influenced. He is further ordered to update and furnish this Court of the actions he has done or will be doing regarding this directive.
4. The Head of the PNP Regional Office of Cagayan and [Mayor Mamba] are ordered to update this Court regarding their reportorial duty under this Decision within ten (10) days from the commencement of the investigation, and thereafter, to make a quarterly report regarding the said investigation. The investigation should be completed within one year from the receipt of this Decision;
5. All findings resulting from the said investigation should be made available to [the respondent] and his counsel should they consider the same necessary to aid them in the filing of appropriate actions, criminal or otherwise, against those who are responsible for the violation of the former's rights.
Failure to comply with the above will render the Head of the PNP Regional Office of Cagayan and [Mayor Mamba] liable for contempt of this Court.
The Clerk of Court is hereby ordered to also furnish the Head of the PNP Regional Office of Cagayan a copy of this Decision.
SO ORDERED.28