November 1918 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
039 Phil 187:
EN BANC
[G.R. No. 14486. November 19, 1918. ]
MARIA CONCEJO BACAR and PASCUAL MAGBANUA, Petitioners, v. NICOLAS TORDECILLAS, as justice of the peace of the municipality of Sibalom, Province of Antique, Respondent.
Ramon Maza, Pedro Villavert and Tomas Villareal, for Petitioners.
The respondent in his own behalf.
SYLLABUS
In answering the foregoing allegations, the respondent alleged that he had jurisdiction to conduct said preliminary examination by virtue of the following order signed by the Honorable Norberto Romualdez, judge:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
"The justice of the peace of Sibalom, Antique, is hereby authorized to make the preliminary investigation of the accusation brought before him by Francisco Dominguez against Pascual Magbanua and Maria Concejo Bacar for the crime of adultery.
"Issued at Bacolod, Occidental Negros, for Antique, on May 6, 1918.
(Sgd.) "NORBERTO ROMUALDEZ,
"Judge of the Twenty-second District,
"On duty in the Seventeenth Judicial District."
The respondent alleges that by virtue of said order and by virtue of Section 211 of the Administrative Code of 1917, he had authority and jurisdiction to conduct said preliminary examination.
It is true, that under certain conditions, the judge of the district shall designate a justice of the peace of one municipality to act as justice of the peace in another. Those conditions are, that both the justice of the peace and the auxiliary justice shall be disqualified or unable to perform the regular duties of their office. If the office of the justice of the peace is vacant or the justice of the peace is absent or is disabled or disqualified, or resigns or is dead, then the auxiliary justice of the peace may act. And in case there is no auxiliary justice of the peace who is qualified to act, then, in that case, the judge of the district may designate the nearest justice of the peace of the province to act as justice of the peace in such municipality, etc., and when so appointed, shall have jurisdiction of the cases in said municipality, etc.
Under said Section (211), the judge of the district is not authorized to appoint a justice of the peace of another municipality to act until the above conditions are made to appear.
Inasmuch, therefore, as there is nothing in the record which shows that the regular justice of the peace of the municipality of San Jose, nor the auxiliary justice of the peace, were disqualified or unable to act for some reason or other, the judge of the district was without authority to appoint the justice of the peace of another municipality to act in their stead. The record not only shows that the justice of the peace was not disqualified to act, but that he was qualified to act and had acted in the premises.
From the foregoing it is clear that the respondent was without jurisdiction to hear and determine the question presented in the complaint before him.
Therefore, let the writ prayed for be issued, with costs. So ordered.
Torres, Araullo, Street, Malcolm and Avanceña, JJ., concur.