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Neri Vs Sandiganbayan
Neri Vs Sandiganbayan
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* THIRD DIVISION.
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(1982), joint trial is permissible „where the [actions] arise from the
same act, event or transaction, involve the same or like issues, and
depend largely or substantially on the same evidence, provided that
the court has jurisdiction over the cases to be consolidated and that
a joint trial will not give one party an undue advantage or prejudice
the substantial rights of any of the parties.‰ More elaborately, joint
trial is proper where the offenses charged are similar, related, or
connected, or are of the same or similar character or class, or
involve or arose out of the same or related or connected acts,
occurrences, transactions, series of events, or chain of
circumstances, or are based on acts or transactions constituting
parts of a common scheme or plan, or are of the same pattern and
committed in the same manner, or where there is a common
element of substantial importance in their commission, or where
the same, or much the same, evidence will be
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VELASCO, JR., J.:
The Case
Assailed and sought to be nullified in this Petition for
Certiorari, Prohibition and Mandamus under Rule 65, with
application tor preliminary injunction and a temporary
restrain-
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1 Rollo, pp. 41-43. Approved by Associate Justices Roland B. Jurado,
Alexander Gesmundo and Alex L. Quiroz.
2 Id., at pp. 44-47.
3 Stands for Zhing Xing Telecommunications Equipment, Inc.
4 Abalos, Jose Miguel T. Arroyo and Leandro R. Mendoza.
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5 The 6th witness, Edzel Regalado, concluded his testimony on June
23, 2011, records, Vol. 2, p. 119.
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6 Records, Vol. 2, pp. 135, 140.
7 Id., Vol. 3, pp. 137-145.
8 Rollo, p. 56.
9 Id., at p. 85, ProsecutionÊs Reply to the Opposition to Motion for
Consolidation.
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ing with the ZTE officials about the NBN Project; (d) he is
the principal witness and, in fact, already finished
testifying, in the Abalos case; (e) the trial in the Neri and
Abalos cases are both in the advanced stages already; and
(f) the motion is but a ploy to further delay the prosecution
of SB-10-CRM-0099, considering the prosecutionÊs failure to
present any more witnesses during the last two (2)
scheduled hearings.
To the opposition, the prosecution interposed a reply
basically advancing the same practical and economic
reasons why a consolidation order should issue.
By Resolution dated February 3, 2012, the
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10 Id., at p. 43.
11 G.R. Nos. 182382-83, February 24, 2010, 613 SCRA 528.
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The Issues
Petitioner Neri is now before the Court on the
submission that the assailed consolidation order is void for
having been issued with grave abuse of discretion.
Specifically, petitioners allege that respondent court
gravely erred:
[A] x x x in ordering a consolidation of the subject criminal cases when
the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure does not allow a
consolidation of criminal cases, only a consolidation of trials or joint
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[E] x x x in not finding that the proposed consolidation was just a ploy
by the prosecution to further delay the prosecution of x x x SB-10-
CRM-0099 because during the last two (2) hearings it has failed to
present any more prosecution witnesses and there appears to be no
more willing witnesses to testify against the petitioner. x x x
[F] x x x in not finding that it would be incongruous or absurd to allow
consolidation because petitioner was the principal witness (as he
already finished testifying there) against Abalos in x x x SB-10-
CRM-0098.12
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12 Rollo, pp. 12-13. Original in uppercase.
13 Records, Vol. 3, pp. 182-184. Approved by Associate Justices
Gregory S. Ong, Jose R. Hernandez, and Maria Cristina J. Cornejo.
359
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14 Id., at p. 184.
15 Integrated Bar of the Philippines v. Atienza, G.R. No. 175241,
February 24, 2010, 613 SCRA 518, 523.
16 David v. Macapagal-Arroyo, G.R. Nos. 171396, etc., May 3, 2006,
489 SCRA 160, 215 (citations omitted); Acop v. Guingona, Jr., G.R. No.
134855, July 2, 2002, 383 SCRA 577.
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But there are also times when although the dispute has
disappeared, as in this case, it nevertheless cries out to be
resolved. Justice demands that we act then, not only for the
vindication of the outraged right, though gone, but also for
the guidance of and as a restraint upon the future.17
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18 Republic v. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division), G.R. No. 152375, December 13, 2011,
662 SCRA 152, 190; citing Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, Civil 2d
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19 Id., at pp. 191-192.
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20 Palanca v. Querubin, Nos. L-29510-31, November 29, 1969, 30
SCRA 738, 745.
21 Rollo, p. 42.
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22 201 Phil. 422, 426; 115 SCRA 843, 846 (1982); cited in People v.
Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 149495, August 21, 2003, 409 SCRA 419, 424.
23 Caños v. Peralta, id., at p. 440.
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24 G.R. No. 101302, January 25, 1995, 240 SCRA 490, 493.
25 Supra note 22, at pp. 425-426.
26 Santos v. Committee on Claims Settlement, G.R. No. 158071, April
2, 2009, 583 SCRA 152, 159-160.
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27 G.R. No. 179061, July 13, 2009, 592 SCRA 534, 540.
28 Rollo, pp. 49, 50.
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29 Id., at pp. 53-54.
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1. Benjamin Abalos
2. Jose de Venecia Jr.
3. Jose de Venecia III
4. Rodolfo Noel „Jun‰ Lozada
5. Dante Madriaga
6. Jarius Bondoc
7. Leo San Miguel
8. Sec. Margarito Teves
9. Representative of the Bureau of Immigration and
Deportation;
10. Employees of the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club
11. Airline Representatives (2)
12. Raquel Desiderio – DOTC, Asec. Administrative and
Legal Affairs
13. Atty. Frederick Fern Belandres, DOTC
14. Atty. Geronimo Quintos
15. Nilo Colinares
16. Elmer Soneja
17. Lorenzo Formoso
18. Records Custodian, DOTC
19. Senate Secretary or any of her duly authorized
representative
20. Director General of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee or
any of his duly authorized representative
21. Representative of NEDA;
22. ZTE Officials
23. Ramon Sales
24. Hon. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
25. Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo
26. Others.
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30 Records, Vol. 3, p. 12.
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31 Rollo, pp. 125-127.
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32 Records, Vol. 3, pp. 182-184.
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33 Supra note 22.
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34 Supra note 24, at pp. 493-494: see also Mari v. Gonzales, G.R. No.
187728, September 12, 2011, 657 SCRA 414, 423-426.
35 Dacanay, id., at p. 493.
36 Supra note 22, at p. 425.
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