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G.R. No. 137560 January 19, 2000

IN RE: PETITION FOR HABEAS CORPUS OF DAVID CRUZ y GONZAGA

MARIA CRUZ y GONZAGA and DAVID CRUZ y GONZAGA, petitioners,

TOPIC: RULE 102 HABEAS CORPUS PONENTE: PUNO, J.

CASE: This is a consolidated petition for certiorari and habeas corpus. The petition for certiorari was filed by David Cruz y
Gonzaga questioning the Resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 16944 which dismissed his appeal from
the judgment of conviction of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 167, Pasig, Metro Manila for failure to file appellant's brief.
The petition for habeas corpus was filed by David Cruz's mother, Maria Cruz y Gonzaga, against respondents
Superintendent of the National Penitentiary and the Director of the Bureau of Corrections.

FACTS:

1. Petitioner David Cruz y Gonzaga was charged before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 167, Pasig, Metro Manila
with a violation of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6425, the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972. He allegedly sold to another
person on April 11, 1992 dried marijuana fruiting tops weighing 2.70 grams. On September 23, 1993, the trial
court found David Cruz guilty of the crime charged and sentenced him to suffer life imprisonment with all the
accessory penalties of the law and to pay a fine of P20,000.00 and the costs.

2. David Cruz seasonably appealed to this Court. The First Division accepted his appeal and the case was docketed
as G.R. No. 113390. Meanwhile, David Cruz was transferred from the Municipal Jail to the New Bilibid Prisons.
His counsel of record, Atty. Carmelo L. Arcilla, was notified and required to file the appellant's brief within thirty
(30) days from notice. The notice was, however, returned unserved.

3. On October 3, 1994, we issued a Resolution referring the appeal to the Court of Appeals in view of the effectivity
of Republic Act No. 7659 and the promulgation of the case of People v. Martin Simon y Sunga.2 We noted that as
the quantity of the marijuana involved in the case was less than 750 grams, the imposable penalty on the
appellant was not life imprisonment but one within the range of prision correccional to reclusion temporal, in
accordance with the People v. Simon y Sunga ruling.

4. A second notice to file appellant's brief was sent to the new address of David Cruz's counsel, as furnished by
Cruz. The notice was again returned unserved.

5. On September 19, 1995, David Cruz filed with us an "Urgent Motion to Withdraw Appeal." Attached to the motion
was the Indorsement of Assistant Director Jesus P. Villanueva, Bureau of Corrections, stating that the legal
effects of the Motion were adequately explained to Cruz. The motion was referred to the Court of Appeals.

6. A third notice to file appellant's brief was sent to David Cruz's counsel which he received on June 8, 1996.
Despite this receipt, no appellant's brief was filed.

7. On September 18, 1996, the Court of Appeals issued another Resolution declaring David Cruz's appeal as
abandoned and dismissed the same.

8. This Resolution became final and executory on October 14, 1996, Judgment was entered on April 1, 1997. 6 In
1998, petitioner Maria Cruz sought the assistance of the Office of Legal Aid of the University of the Philippines
College of Law. Hence, this petition.

ISSUE: Whether or not the petition for habeas corpus should be granted.

HELD:

1. HABEAS CORPUS SHOULD BE GRANTED

2. An application for the writ of habeas corpus is made upon verified petition setting forth: (1) that the person in
whose behalf the application is made is imprisoned or restrained of his liberty; (2) the officer or name of the
person by whom he is imprisoned or restrained; (3) the place where he is imprisoned or restrained of his liberty;
and (4) a copy of the commitment or cause of detention of such person. 14 The writ of habeas corpus extends to all
cases of illegal confinement or detention by which any person is deprived of his liberty.
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3. Her son, David, was tried and convicted by the trial court for violation of Article II, Section 4 of the Dangerous
Drugs Act of 1972. He was convicted on September 27, 1993 and sentenced to life imprisonment and its
accessory penalties. He was committed to the National Penitentiary on October 13, 1993. On December 31,
1993, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7659 took effect. This law amended provisions of several penal laws, including the
Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.

4. The penalty for the illegal sale of marijuana under the old law was "life imprisonment to death." Under R.A. 7659,
the penalty depended on the quantity of the drug. The sale of "750 grams or more of indian hemp or marijuana"
became punishable by reclusion perpetua to death.9 The penalty for the sale of less than 750 grams of marijuana
was reduced to a range "from prision correccional to reclusion perpetua, depending upon the quantity" of the
drug.

5. In the instant case, the amount of marijuana for which David Cruz was convicted is 2.70 grams. The imposable
penalty for this amount under the Simon ruling is prision correccional which has a duration of six (6) months and
one (1) day to six (6) years. Presently, David Cruz has already served six (6) years and three (3) months of his
sentence which is way beyond the last day of prision correccional. The continued detention of Cruz at the
National Penitentiary has been admitted by the Solicitor General as already illegal.13 David Cruz should therefore
be released from prison without further delay.

IN VIEW WHEREOF, the petition is GRANTED. Let a writ of habeas corpus issue immediately. The Director, Bureau of
Corrections, is commanded to forthwith execute the writ for the discharge of DAVID CRUZ y GONZAGA from confinement
and RELEASE him, unless he is being detained for some other lawful cause, and to make due return of the writ. With
costs de oficio.

ADONIS VS TESORO

FACTS:

Adonis was convicted by the Regional Trial Court of Davao City (RTC), Branch 17 for Libel, filed against him by then
Representative Prospero Nograles. He was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of five (5) months and one (1) day of
arresto mayor maximum, as minimum penalty, to four (4) years, six (6) months and one (1) day of prision correccional
medium, as maximum penalty.

February 20, 2007 - He began serving his sentence at the Davao Prisons and Penal Farm.

A second libel case was likewise filed against Adonis by Jeanette L. Leuterio, pending before the RTC of Davao City

On December 11, 2007 - the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP) issued an order for the Discharge on Parole of seven (7)
inmates in various jails in the country, which included Adonis.

May 2, 2008 - The said document was received by the City Parole and Probation Office of Davao.

January 25, 2008 - SC issued Administrative Circular No. 08-2008, the subject of which is the "Guidelines in the
Observance of a Rule of Preference in the Imposition of Penalties in Libel Cases."

April 18, 2008 – Adonis filed with the RTC Branch 17 a Motion to Reopen Case (With Leave of Court),8 praying for his
immediate release from detention and for the modification of his sentence to payment of fine pursuant to the said Circular.

May 26, 2008 - Adonis moved for his provisional release from detention. The motion was granted by Presiding Judge
George Omelio in open court and he was allowed to post bail in the amount of ₱5,000.

Trial court issued an Order directing the Chief of Davao Penal Colony "to release the accused Alexis Adonis unless he is
being held for some other crimes or offenses."11 On the same date, the said order was served to the respondent,12 but
the release of Adonis was not effected.

On May 30, 2008, Adonis filed the instant petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus alleging that his liberty was
restrained by the respondent for no valid reason.13

The respondent consequently filed his Comment.14 Adonis then filed on October 27, 2008 an Urgent Motion to Resolve15
and on November 7, 2008 a Manifestation and Motion,16 reiterating all his previous prayers.
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On February 11, 2009, the Court received the letter from the respondent, informing the Court that Adonis had been
released from confinement on December 23, 2008 after accepting the conditions set forth in his parole and with the advise
to report to the City Parole and Probation Officer of Davao.

The petition is without merit.

The ultimate purpose of the writ of habeas corpus is to relieve a person from unlawful restraint. The writ exists as a
speedy and effectual remedy to relieve persons from unlawful restraint and as an effective defense of personal freedom. It
is issued only for the lone purpose of obtaining relief for those illegally confined or imprisoned without sufficient legal
basis. It is not issued when the person is in custody because of a judicial process or a valid judgment.18

Section 4, Rule 102 of the Revised Rules of Court provides when a writ must not be allowed or discharge authorized, to
wit:

SEC. 4. When writ not allowed or discharge authorized.― If it appears that the person alleged to be restrained of his
liberty is in the custody of an officer under process issued by a court or judge or by virtue of a judgment or order of a court
of record, and that the court or judge had jurisdiction to issue the process, render the judgment, or make the order, the
writ shall not be allowed; or if the jurisdiction appears after the writ is allowed, the person shall not be discharged by
reason of any informality or defect in the process, judgment, or order. Nor shall anything in this rule be held to authorize
the discharge of a person charged with or convicted of an offense in the Philippines, or of a person suffering imprisonment
under lawful judgment.

In the instant case, Adonis was convicted for libel by the RTC Branch 17, in Criminal Case No. 48679-2001.1âwphi1
Since his detention was by virtue of a final judgment, he is not entitled to the Writ of Habeas Corpus. He was serving his
sentence when the BPP granted him parole, along with six (6) others, on December 11, 2007.19 While it is true that a
convict may be released from prison on parole when he had served the minimum period of his sentence; the pendency of
another criminal case, however, is a ground for the disqualification of such convict from being released on parole.20
Notably, at the time he was granted the parole, the second libel case was pending before the RTC Branch 14.21 In fact,
even when the instant petition was filed, Criminal Case No. 48719-01 was still pending. The issuance of the writ under
such circumstance was, therefore, proscribed. There was basis for the respondent to deny his immediate release at that
time.

Further, Adonis seeks the retroactive application of Administrative Circular No. 08-2008, citing Fermin v. People,22where
the Court preferred the imposition of the fine rather than imprisonment under the circumstances of the case.
Administrative Circular No. 08-2008, was issued on January 25, 2008 and provides the "guidelines in the observance of a
rule of preference in the imposition of penalties in libel cases." The pertinent portions read as follows:

All courts and judges concerned should henceforth take note of the foregoing rule of preference set by the Supreme Court
on the matter of the imposition of penalties for the crime of libel bearing in mind the following principles:

1. This Administrative Circular does not remove imprisonment as an alternative penalty for the crime libel under Article
355 of the Revised Penal Code;

2. The Judges concerned may, in the exercise of sound discretion, and taking into consideration the peculiar
circumstances of each case, determine whether the imposition of a fame alone would best serve the interests of justice or
whether forbearing to impose imprisonment would depreciate the seriousness of the offense, work violence on the social
order, or otherwise be contrary to the imperative of justice;

3. Should only a fine be imposed and the accused be unable to pay the fine, there is no legal obstacle to the application of
the Revised Penal Code provision on subsidiary imprisonment.23 (Emphasis ours)

A clear reading of the Administration Circular No. 08-2008 and considering the attendant circumstances of the case, the
benefits of the administrative circular can not be given retroactive effect in Criminal Case No. 48679-2001. It is too late in
the day for Adonis to raise such argument considering that Criminal Case No. 48679-2001 has already become final and
executory; and he had, in fact, already commenced serving his sentence. Eventually, he was released from confinement
on December 23, 2008 after accepting the conditions of the parole granted to him.

WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED.