This case has been cited 2 times or more.
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2007-02-06 |
CHICO-NAZARIO, J. |
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| The prosecution of offenses committed by public officers is vested in the Office of the Ombudsman. To insulate the Office from outside pressure and improper influence, the Constitution as well as R.A. 6770 has endowed it with wide latitude of investigatory and prosecutory powers virtually free from legislative, executive, or judicial intervention. This Court consistently refrains from interfering with the exercise of its powers, and respect the initiative and independence inherit in the Ombudsman who, "beholden to no one, acts as the champion of the people and the preserver of the integrity of the public service." In Maturan v. People,[41] we held:A policy of non-interference by the courts in the exercise of the Ombudsman's constitutionally mandated powers is based not only upon respect for the investigatory and prosecutory powers granted by the Constitution to the Office of the Ombudsman but upon practicality as well. Otherwise, the functions of the Court will be grievously hampered by innumerable petitions assailing the dismissal of investigatory proceedings conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman with regard to complaints filed before it, in much the same way that the courts would be extremely swamped if they were compelled to review the exercise of discretion on the part of the fiscals, or prosecuting attorneys, each time they decide to file an information in court or dismiss a complaint by private complainant." One final and significant observation. This Court noted that the present petition seeks the annulment of public respondent's Supplemental Resolution dated 12 July 2005 on the criminal (OMB-1-01-1083-K) and administrative (OMB-1-01-1036-K) complaints of private respondent. Procedurally, the remedy of an aggrieved party in criminal complaints before the public respondent where the latter found probable cause is to file with this Court a petition for certiorari under Rule 65.[42] Thus, we gave due course and resolved the issue of finding of probable cause in the criminal aspect of the instant petition. | |||||
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2006-07-27 |
CHICO-NAZARIO, J. |
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| In Maturan v. People,[14] we ruled:A policy of non-interference by the courts in the exercise of the Ombudsman's constitutionally mandated powers is based not only upon respect for the investigatory and prosecutory powers granted by the Constitution to the Office of the Ombudsman but upon practicality as well. Otherwise, the functions of the courts will be grievously hampered by innumerable petitions assailing the dismissal of investigatory proceedings conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman with regard to complaints filed before it, in much the same way that the courts would be extremely swamped if they were compelled to review the exercise of discretion on the part of the fiscals, or prosecuting attorneys, each time they decide to file an information in court or dismiss a complaint by a private complainant. | |||||