Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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*SECOND DIVISION.
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SERENO, J.:
Before this Court is a Petition for Review filed by the
Republic of the Philippines assailing the Resolutions1
issued by the Sandiganbayan in connection with an alleged
portion of the Marcoses supposed ill-gotten wealth.
This case involves P200 billion of the Marcoses alleged
accumulated ill-gotten wealth. It also includes the alleged
use of the media networks IBC-13, BBC-2 and RPN-9 for
the Marcos familys personal benefit; the alleged use of De
Soleil Apparel for dollar salting; and the alleged illegal
acquisition and operation of the bus company Pantranco
North Express, Inc. (Pantranco).
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1Penned by Associate Justice Gregory S. Ong, with Associate Justices
Jose R. Hernandez and Rodolfo A. Ponferrada, concurring; Rollo, pp. 119-
246.
371
The Facts
After the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, the
first executive act of then President Corazon C. Aquino was
to create the Presidential Commission on Good
Government (PCGG). Pursuant to Executive Order No. 1,
the PCGG was given the following mandate:
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2Rollo, pp. 742-778.
3Id., at pp. 763-765.
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4Presidential Decree No. 1883, Sec. 2 defines salting of foreign exchange as
when any person engaged in the business of exporting underdeclares or
undervalues his exports, either as to price or quantity, or any person engaged in
the business of importation overvalues or overdeclares his importations, either as
to price or quantity, for the purpose of salting and retaining foreign exchange
abroad in violation of existing laws and Central Bank rules and regulations.
5Rollo, pp. 765-771.
375
cealed such title, funds and interest through the use of relatives,
business associates, nominees, agents, or dummies. Defendants
are, therefore, solidarily liable to Plaintiff to return and reconvey
all such funds and other property unlawfully acquired by them
estimated at TWO HUNDRED BILLION PESOS, or
alternatively, to pay Plaintiff, solidarily, by way of indemnity, the
damage caused to Plaintiff equivalent to the amount of such funds
or the value of other property not returned or restored to Plaintiff,
plus interest thereon from the date of unlawful acquisition until
full payment thereof.
34. Third Cause of Action: UNJUST ENRICHMENT
Defendants illegally accumulated funds and other property
whose estimated value is P200 billion in violation of the laws of
the Philippines and in breach of their official functions and
fiduciary obligations. Defendants, therefore, have unjustly
enriched themselves to the grave and irreparable damage and
prejudice of Plaintiff. Defendants have an obligation at law,
independently of breach of trust and abuse of right and power,
and as an alternative, to solidarily return to Plaintiff such funds
and other property with which Defendants, in gross evident bad
faith, have unjustly enriched themselves or, in default thereof,
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restore to Plaintiff the amount of such funds and the value of the
other property including those which may have been wasted,
and/or lost estimated at P200 billion with interest thereon from
the date of unlawful acquisition until full payment thereof.
35. Fourth Cause of Action: ACCOUNTING
The Commission, acting pursuant to the provisions of the
applicable law, believe that Defendants, acting singly or
collectively, in unlawful concert with one another, and with the
active collaboration of third persons, subject of separate suits,
acquired funds, assets and property during the incumbency of
Defendant public officers, manifestly out of proportion to their
salaries, to their other lawful income and income from
legitimately acquired property. Consequently, they are required
to show to the satisfaction of this Honorable Court that they have
lawfully acquired all such funds, assets and property which are in
excess of their legal net income, and for this Honorable Court to
decree that the Defendants are under obligation to account to
Plaintiff with respect to all legal or beneficial interests in funds,
properties and assets of whatever kind and wherever located in
excess of the lawful earnings or lawful income from legitimately
acquired property.
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6Rollo, pp. 796-800.
7Id., at pp. 119-236.
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8 Affidavit of Ramon S. Monzon.
9 TSN taken during the hearing held before the PCGG on the 6th
Floor, Philcomcen Building, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig, Metro Manila, on 8
June 1987.
10Affidavit of Yeung Kwok Ying.
11 Letter of Paulino Petralba to Yeung Chun Kam, Yeung Chun Ho,
and Arcie Chan.
12Affidavit of Rodolfo V. Puno.
13 Max B. Potenciano, Max Joseph A. Potenciano, and Dolores A.
Potenciano were owners of Batangas Laguna Tayabas Bus Company
(BLTBCo.). In line with the governments privatization pro-
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gram, the assets of Pantranco were sold to the BLTBCo. in 1985. The
Potencianos thereafter incorporated Pantranco as a private corporation.
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16Attached as Annex A to the Complaint is a list of assets and other
properties purported to be owned by Ferdinand E. Marcos, Imelda R.
Marcos, and their immediate family.
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17 (2) The President and the Vice-President shall not, during their
tenure, hold any other office, except when otherwise provided in this
Constitution, nor may they practice any profession, participate directly or
indirectly in any business, or be financially interested directly or
indirectly in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege
granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality
thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporation.
18Rollo, pp. 318-325.
19Id., at pp. 350-455.
20Id., at pp. 247-255.
21Id., at p. 313.
22Id., at pp. 316-317.
23Id., at pp. 256-312.
24Id., at pp. 456-473.
25Id., at pp. 475-479
26Id., at pp. 480-493.
385
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27Id., at p. 494.
28Id., at pp. 497-503.
29Id., at pp. 504-507.
30Id., at pp. 512-515.
31Id., at pp. 516-519.
32Id., at pp. 526-528.
33Id., at p. 65.
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The judges and sages of the law have laid it down that there
is but one general rule of evidence, the best that the nature
of the case will admit.
The rule is, that if the writings have subscribing
witnesses to them, they must be proved by those witnesses.
The first ground judges have gone upon in departing from
strict rules, is an absolute strict necessity. Secondly, a presumed
necessity. In the case of writings, subscribed by witnesses, if all
are dead, the proof of one of their hands is sufficient to establish
the deed: where an original is lost, a copy may be admitted; if no
copy, then a proof by witnesses who have heard the deed, and yet
it is a thing the law abhors to admit the memory of man for
evidence.
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3426 E.R. 15 (1745).
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evidence. The reason for this rule is that they are not
generally prepared by the affiant, but by another one who
uses his or her own language in writing the affiant's
statements, parts of which may thus be either omitted or
misunderstood by the one writing them. Moreover, the
adverse party is deprived of the opportunity to cross-
examine the affiants. For this reason, affidavits are
generally rejected for being hearsay, unless the affiants
themselves are placed on the witness stand to testify
thereon.36
As to the copy of the TSN of the proceedings before the
PCGG, while it may be considered as a public document
since it was taken in the course of the PCGGs exercise of
its mandate, it was not attested to by the legal custodian to
be a correct copy of the original. This omission falls short of
the requirement of Rule 132, Secs. 24 and 25 of the Rules of
Court.37
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35RULES OF COURT, Rule 130, Sec. 36.
36 Peoples Bank and Trust Company v. Leonidas, G.R. No. 47815, 11
March 1992, 207 SCRA 164.
37 SECTION 24. Proof of official record.The record of public
documents referred to in paragraph (a) of Section 19, when admissible for
any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a
copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of the record, or by his
deputy, and accompanied, if the record is not kept in the Philippines, with
a certificate that such officer has the
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custody. If the office in which the record is kept is in a foreign country, the
certificate may be made by a secretary of the embassy or legation, consul general,
consul, vice consul, or consular agent or by any officer in the foreign service of the
Philippines stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept, and
authenticated by the seal of his office.
SECTION 25. What attestation of copy must state.Whenever a copy of a
document or record is attested for the purpose of evidence, the attestation must
state, in substance, that the copy is a correct copy of the original, or a specific part
thereof, as the case may be. The attestation must be under the official seal of the
attesting officer, if there be any, or if he be the clerk of a court having a seal, under
the seal of such court.
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38Rollo, pp. 221-222.
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39Id., at pp. 771-773.
40Sumaljag v. Spouses Literato, G.R. No. 149787, 18 June 2008, 555
SCRA 53.
41G.R. Nos. 130371 &130855, 4 August 2009, 595 SCRA 43.
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42Macababbad, Jr. v. Masirag, G.R. No. 161237, 14 January 2009, 576
SCRA 70.
43Rollo, pp. 776-778.
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44CIVIL CODE, Art. 774.
4573 Phil. 628; 197 SCRA 409 (1942).
394
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46274 Phil. 691; 197 SCRA 409 (1991).
396
PEA-PTGWO
The PEA-PTGWO Demurrer to Evidence was granted
primarily as a consequence of the prosecutions failure to
establish that the assets of Pantranco were ill-gotten, as
discussed earlier. Thus, we find no error in the assailed
Order of the Sandiganbayan.
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47Id., at pp. 58-59.
397
A Final Note
As earlier adverted to, the best evidence rule has been
recognized as an evidentiary standard since the 18th
century. For three centuries, it has been practiced as one
of the most basic rules in law. It is difficult to conceive that
one could have finished law school and passed the bar
examinations without knowing such elementary rule. Thus,
it is deeply disturbing that the PCGG and the Office of the
Solicitor General (OSG)the very agencies sworn to
protect the interest of the state and its peoplecould
conduct their prosecution in the manner that they did. To
emphasize, the PCGG is a highly specialized office focused
on the recovery of ill-gotten wealth, while the OSG is the
principal legal defender of the government. The lawyers of
these government agencies are expected to be the best in
the legal profession.
However, despite having the expansive resources of
government, the members of the prosecution did not even
bother to provide any reason whatsoever for their failure to
present the original documents or the witnesses to support
the governments claims. Even worse was presenting in
evidence a photocopy of the TSN of the PCGG proceedings
instead of the original, or a certified true copy of the
original, which the prosecutors themselves should have had
in their custody. Such manner of legal practice deserves the
reproof of this Court. We are constrained to call attention
to this apparently serious failure to follow a most basic rule
in law, given the special circumstances surrounding this
case.
The public prosecutors should employ and use all
government resources and powers efficiently, effectively,
honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage of
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48 R.A. 6713, Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public
Officials and Employees, Sec. 4(a) and (b).
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49Mayer v. State Bar, 2 Cal.2d, 71.
50Code of Professional Responsibility, Canon 12.
51Id., Canon 17.
52Id., Canon 18.
53429 Phil. 70; 379 SCRA 345 (2002).
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o0o
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