CRIMINAL PROCEDURE | VILLAROSA, ET AL. V. THE HONORABLE OMBUDSMAN AND ROLANDO C. BASILLO, G.R. NO. 221418, 23 JANUARY 2019

VILLAROSA, ET AL. V. THE HONORABLE OMBUDSMAN AND ROLANDO C. BASILLO,

G.R. NO. 221418, 23 JANUARY 2019

 

TOPIC/DOCTRINE

A finding of probable cause needs only to rest on evidence showing that, more likely than not, a crime has been committed and was committed by the suspects.

 

FACTS

For this Court’s consideration is the Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court dated December 1, 2015 of petitioners Jose T. Villarosa, Carlito T. Cajayon and Pablo I. Alvaro that seeks to reverse and set aside the Joint Resolution1 dated March 23, 2015 and the Order2 dated July 29, 2015 of the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) in OMB-L-C-11-0652-J finding probable cause against petitioners for the crime of Technical Malversation and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 3019.

 

ISSUE

Whether finding of probable cause should be based on absolute certainty of guilt.

 

RULING

NO.

The court ruled that A finding of probable cause needs only to rest on evidence showing that, more likely than not, a crime has been committed and was committed by the suspects. Probable cause need not be based on clear and convincing evidence of guilt, neither on evidence establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt and, definitely, not on evidence establishing absolute certainty of guilt. As well put in Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160 (1949), while probable cause demands more than “bare suspicion,” it requires “less than evidence which would justify. . . conviction.” A finding of probable cause merely binds over the suspect to stand trial. It is not a pronouncement of guilt. Both the Constitution and Republic Act (RA) No. 6770, or The Ombudsman Act of 1989, give the Ombudsman wide latitude to act on criminal complaints against public officials and government employees. The Supreme Court’s (SC’s) consistent policy has been to maintain noninterference in the determination by the Ombudsman of the existence of probable cause. The Supreme Court (SC) is not precluded from reviewing the Ombudsman’s action when there is a charge of grave abuse of discretion. For the present petition to prosper, petitioners must show this Court that the Ombudsman conducted the preliminary investigation in such a way that amounted to a virtual refusal to perform a duty mandated by law, which petitioners have failed to do.







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