G.R. No. 167764

VICENTE FOZ, JR. and DANNY G.
FAJARDO, Petitioners,
Versus
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
G.R. No. 167764 October 9, 2009
PONENTE: DIOSDADO M. PERALTA
Associate Justice
FACTS:
That an Information is filed before the RTC of Iloilo City,

against petitioners Vicente Foz, Jr. and Danny G. Fajardo who
were charged with the crime of libel, both the accused as columnist
and Editor-Publisher, respectively, of Panay News, a daily
publication with a considerable circulation in the City of Iloilo. Dr.
Edgar Portigo, a physician and medical practitioner in Iloilo City,
and with the malicious intent of injuring and exposing said Dr.
Edgar Portigo to public hatred, contempt and ridicule, write and
publish in the regular issue of said daily publication.
Dr. Portigo was portrayed as wanting in high sense of

professional integrity, trust and responsibility expected of him as a
physician, which imputation and insinuation as both accused knew
were entirely false and malicious and without foundation in fact and
therefore highly libelous, offensive and derogatory to the good
name, character and reputation of the said Dr. Edgar Portigo.
Upon being arraigned, petitioners, assisted by counsel de

parte, pleaded not guilty to the crime charged in the Information.
Trial thereafter ensued. The RTC rendered its Decision finding
petitioners guilty as charged. Petitioners' motion for reconsideration
was denied. Dissatisfied, petitioners filed an appeal with the CA.
The CA rendered its assailed Decision which affirmed in toto the
RTC decision. Petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration, which
the CA denied.
ISSUE:
Whether or not proper venue for the action is instituted.
RULING:
The venue of the action was improperly laid.

Venue in criminal cases is an essential element of
jurisdiction. The Court held that it is a fundamental rule that for
jurisdiction to be acquired by courts in criminal cases the offense
should have been committed or any one of its essential ingredients
took place within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. Territorial
jurisdiction in criminal cases is the territory where the court has
jurisdiction to take cognizance or to try the offense allegedly
committed therein by the accused. Thus, it cannot take jurisdiction
over a person charged with an offense allegedly committed outside
of that limited territory. Furthermore, the jurisdiction of a court over
the criminal case is determined by the allegations in the complaint
or information. And once it is so shown, the court may validly take
cognizance of the case. However, if the evidence adduced during
the trial show that the offense was committed somewhere else, the
court should dismiss the action for want of jurisdiction.
Applying the foregoing law to this case, since Dr. Portigo is a

private individual at the time of the publication of the alleged
libelous article, the venue of the libel case may be in the province
or city where the libelous article was printed and first published, or
in the province where Dr. Portigo actually resided at the time of the
commission of the offense.
The Information filed against petitioners failed to allege the

residence of Dr. Portigo. While the Information alleges that "Dr.
Edgar Portigo is a physician and medical practitioner in Iloilo City,"
such allegation did not clearly and positively indicate that he was
actually residing in Iloilo City at the time of the commission of the
offense. It is possible that Dr. Portigo was actually residing in
another place.
Settled is the rule that jurisdiction of a court over a criminal

case is determined by the allegations of the complaint or
information, and the offense must have been committed or any one
of its essential ingredients took place within the territorial
jurisdiction of the court. Considering that the Information failed to
allege the venue requirements for a libel case under Article 360,
the Court finds that the RTC of Iloilo City had no jurisdiction to hear
this case. Thus, its decision convicting petitioners of the crime of
libel should be set aside for want of jurisdiction without prejudice to
its filing with the court of competent jurisdiction.

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VICENTE FOZ, JR. and DANNY G.

That an Information is filed before the RTC of Iloilo City,

Dr. Portigo was portrayed as wanting in high sense of

Upon being arraigned, petitioners, assisted by counsel de

Whether or not proper venue for the action is instituted.

The venue of the action was improperly laid.

Applying the foregoing law to this case, since Dr. Portigo is a

The Information filed against petitioners failed to allege the

Settled is the rule that jurisdiction of a court over a criminal

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