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Petitioner Vs Vs Respondent: Special First Division
Petitioner Vs Vs Respondent: Special First Division
RESOLUTION
YNARES-SANTIAGO , J : p
On the basis of the foregoing facts, petitioner was charged with and convicted of
Arbitrary Detention by the Sandiganbayan in Criminal Case No. 24986. On petition for
review, we rendered judgment as follows:
WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the petition is hereby DENIED. The
Decision of the Sandiganbayan in Criminal Case No. 24986, dated July 5, 2001
nding petitioner BENITO ASTORGA guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime
of Arbitrary Detention and sentencing him to suffer the indeterminate penalty of
four (4) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to one (1) year and eight (8)
months of prision correccional, as maximum, is AFFIRMED in toto.
Costs de oficio.
SO ORDERED.
Petitioner led a Motion for Reconsideration, which was denied with nality on
January 12, 2004. 1 Petitioner then led an “Urgent Motion for Leave to File Second Motion
for Reconsideration” 2 with attached “Motion for Reconsideration,” 3 wherein he makes the
following submissions:
a We were on our way to Barangay Sta. Rita in Daram but on our way we saw
a boat being constructed there so we proceeded to Barangay Lucodlucod
CD Technologies Asia, Inc. 2020 cdasiaonline.com
(sic).
a Yes sir.
q And you ate dinner between 5:00 o’clock to 2:00 o’clock in the morning of
September 2, is that correct?
q And Mayor Astorga brought you to a house where you had dinner?
a Yes sir. cTSDAH
a I know they had wine but with respect to us we had no wine sir.
AJ NARIO:
q While you were taking your dinner from 7 to 8:00 o’clock Mayor Astorga
was with you having dinner?
a Yes Your Honor.
q You did not hear the conversation between the Mayor and the foresters, the
complainants here?
a I could not hear anything important because they were just laughing.
q And then according to you there was laughter what was the cause of this
laughter?
The testimonial evidence likewise shows that there was no actual restraint imposed
on the private offended parties. SPO1 Capoquian in fact testi ed that they were free to
leave the house and roam around the barangay. Furthermore, he admitted that it was
raining at that time. Hence, it is possible that petitioner prevented the team from leaving
the island because it was unsafe for them to travel by boat.
ATTY. JUMAMIL:
q It was raining at that time, is that correct?
a It was not raining at the day but after we ate in the evening it rained.
q It was raining hard in fact after 8:00 p.m. up to 1:00 o’clock in the morning
is that correct?
a A little bit hard I don’t know when the rain stopped, sir.
q It is possible that it rain . . . the rain stopped at 1:00 o’clock in the morning
of September 2?
a I don’t remember sir.
a No Your Honor.
q Up to what point did you reach when you were allegedly prevented to go
somewhere?
a They did not say anything sir.
q But on your part can you just leave that place or somebody will prevent you
to go somewhere else?
a What I felt I will not be able to leave because we were already told not to
leave the barangay.
q In other words, you can go places in that barangay but you are not
supposed to leave that barangay, is this Barangay Daram?
a Barangay Lucoblucob, Your Honor.
q On your part according to you you can go places if you want although in
your impression you cannot leave the barangay. How about the other
companions like Mr. Simon, Cruz and Maniscan, can they leave the place?
a No Your Honor. CSHEca
Mr. Elpidio Simon, one of the private offended parties, took the witness stand on
August 16, 2000 but did not complete his testimony-in-chief due to lack of material time.
His testimony only covered preliminary matters and did not touch on the circumstances of
the alleged detention. 1 1
On August 23, 2000, all the private offended parties, namely, Elpidio E. Simon,
Moises de la Cruz, Renato Militante, Crisanto Pelias and Wenefredo Maniscan, executed a
Joint Affidavit of Desistance stating, in pertinent part:
xxx xxx xxx;
9. That upon our return to our respective o cial stations we reported the
incident to our supervisors who required us to submit our affidavit;
10. That at present our differences had already been reconciled and both
parties had already express apologies and are personally no longer
interested to pursue the case against the Mayor, hence, this a davit of
desistance;
xxx xxx xxx. 1 2
Thereafter, the private offended parties did not appear anymore in court to testify.
This notwithstanding, the Sandiganbayan convicted petitioner of the crime of Arbitrary
Detention on the basis of the testimonies of SPO1 Capoquian and SPO3 Cinco, the police
escorts of the DENR Team. AHDacC
Footnotes
1. Rollo, p. 197.
2. Id., pp. 198-199.
3. Id., pp. 202-216.
4. Id., pp. 204-213.
5. Id., pp. 217-223.