FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 201644. September 24, 2014.]

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES , petitioner, vs . JOSE C. GO and AIDA C.

DELA ROSA , respondents.

DECISION

PERLAS-BERNABE , J : p

Assailed in this petition for review on certiorari 1 are the Decision 2 dated September
28, 2011 and the Resolution 3 dated April 17, 2012 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R.
SP No. 108319 which reversed and set aside the Orders dated December 10, 2008 4 and
February 12, 2009 5 of the Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 42 (RTC) in Crim. Case
Nos. 00-186069-75, and dismissed the charges against respondents Jose C. Go (Go) and
Aida C. Dela Rosa (Dela Rosa) on the ground that their constitutional right to speedy trial
has been violated.
The Facts
On September 28, 2000, seven (7) Informations — stemming from a criminal
complaint instituted by private complainant Philippine Deposit Insurance
Corp oration (PDIC) — were led before the RTC against various accused, including Go
and Dela Rosa (respondents), 6 charging them of E s t afa through Falsi cation of
Commercial Documents for allegedly defrauding Orient Commercial Banking Corporation
of the amount of P159,000,000.00. 7 After numerous postponements, respondents were
finally arraigned on November 13, 2001 and trial on the merits then ensued. 8
However, the trial of the case was marred by a series of
postponements/cancellation of hearings caused mainly by the prosecution, 9 resulting in
its inability to nish its presentation of evidence despite the lapse of almost ve (5) years.
10 This prompted respondents to le, on December 11, 2007, a Motion to Dismiss 1 1
for failure to prosecute and for violation of their right to speedy trial , 12 claiming
that the prosecution was afforded all the opportunity to complete and terminate its case,
but still to no avail.
The RTC Ruling
In an Omnibus Order 13 dated January 9, 2008, the RTC dismissed the criminal
cases, ruling that the respondents' right to speedy trial was violated as they were
compelled to wait for ve (5) years without the prosecution completing its presentation of
evidence due to its neglect. 14
Dissatis ed, the prosecution moved for reconsideration 15 which, in an Order 16
dated December 10, 2008, was granted by the RTC in the interest of justice, thus resulting
in the reinstatement of the criminal cases against respondents.
This time, it was the respondents who moved for reconsideration 17 which was,
however, denied by the RTC in an Order 18 dated February 12, 2009. This prompted them
to le a petition for certiorari 19 before the CA, docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 108319. A
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 copy of said petition was served, however, only on the private complainant , i.e. ,
the PDIC, 2 0 and not the People of the Philippines (the People), through the
O ce of the Solicitor General (OSG), as it was not even impleaded as party to
the case. 2 1
The Proceedings Before the CA
In a Decision 22 dated September 28, 2011, the CA, without rst ordering the
respondents to implead the People, annulled and set aside the assailed orders of the RTC,
and consequently dismissed the criminal cases against respondents. 23
It ruled that the prosecution's prolonged delay in presenting its witnesses and
exhibits, and in ling its formal offer of evidence was vexatious, capricious, and oppressive
to respondents, 24 thereby violating their right to speedy trial. It further held that double
jeopardy had already attached in favor of respondents, considering that the criminal cases
against them were dismissed due to violation of the right to speedy trial. 25
Aggrieved, the PDIC moved for reconsideration which was, however, denied by the
CA in a Resolution 26 dated April 17, 2012.
On May 2, 2012, the PDIC transmitted copies of the aforesaid CA Decision and
Resolution to the OSG. 27 Thereafter, or on June 18, 2012, the OSG led the instant
petition, 28 imputing grave abuse of discretion on the part of the CA in giving due course to
respondents' certiorari petition and proceeding to decide the case. It contends, among
others, that the People — the petitioner in this case — was neither impleaded nor served a
copy of said petition, thereby violating its right to due process of law and rendering the CA
without any authority or jurisdiction to promulgate its issuances reversing the RTC Orders
and dismissing the criminal cases pending before it. 29 STaAcC

The Issue Before the Court

The central issue to resolve is whether or not the criminal cases against
respondents were properly dismissed by the CA on certiorari, without the People, as
represented by the OSG, having been impleaded.
The Court's Ruling
The petition is meritorious.
Respondents' certiorari petition in CA-G.R. SP No. 108319 that sought the dismissal
of the criminal cases against them should not have been resolved by the CA, without the
People, as represented by the OSG, having rst been impleaded. This stems from the
recognition that the People is an indispensable party to the proceedings.
I n Vda. de Manguerra v. Risos , where the petition for certiorari led with the [CA]
failed to implead the People of the Philippines as an indispensable party, the Court held:
It is undisputed that in their petition for certiorari before the CA,
respondents failed to implead the People of the Philippines as a party thereto.
Because of this, the petition was obviously defective. As provided in Section 5,
Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, all criminal actions are
prosecuted under the direction and control of the public prosecutor. Therefore, it
behooved the petitioners (respondents herein) to implead the People of the
Philippines as respondent in the CA case to enable the Solicitor General to
comment on the petition. 30
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 While the failure to implead an indispensable party is not per se a ground for the
dismissal of an action, considering that said party may still be added by order of the court,
on motion of the party or on its own initiative at any stage of the action and/or such times
as are just, 31 it remains essential — as it is jurisdictional — that any indispensable party be
impleaded in the proceedings before the court renders judgment. This is because the
absence of such indispensable party renders all subsequent actions of the court null and
void for want of authority to act, not only as to the absent parties but even as to those
present. As explained in Lotte Phil. Co., Inc. v. Dela Cruz: 32
An indispensable party is a party-in-interest without whom no nal
determination can be had of an action, and who shall be joined either as plaintiffs
or defendants. The joinder of indispensable parties is mandatory. The presence of
indispensable parties is necessary to vest the court with jurisdiction, which is "the
authority to hear and determine a cause, the right to act in a case." Thus, without
the presence of indispensable parties to a suit or proceeding, judgment of a court
cannot attain real nality. The absence of an indispensable party renders all
subsequent actions of the court null and void for want of authority to act, not only
as to the absent parties but even as to those present. 3 3

In this case, it is evident that the CA proceeded to render judgment, i.e., the
September 28, 2011 Decision and April 17, 2012 Resolution, without an indispensable
party, i.e., the People, having been impleaded. Thus, in light of the foregoing discussion,
these issuances should be set aside and the case be remanded to the said court.
Consequently, the CA is directed to (a) reinstate respondents' certiorari petition, and (b)
order said respondents to implead the People as a party to the proceedings and thereby
furnish its counsel, the OSG, a copy of the aforementioned pleading. That being said, there
would be no need to touch on the other issues herein raised.
WHEREFORE , the petition is GRANTED . The Decision dated September 28, 2011
and the Resolution dated April 17, 2012 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No.
108319 are hereby SET ASIDE . The case is REMANDED to the CA under the parameters
above-stated.
SO ORDERED.
Sereno, C.J., Leonardo-de Castro, Bersamin and Perez, JJ., concur.

Footnotes
1. Rollo, pp. 9-59.

2. Id. at 65-99. Penned by Associate Justice Elihu A. Ybañez with Associate Justices Remedios
A. Salazar-Fernando and Michael P. Elbinias, concurring.

3. Id. at 101-102.
4. Id. at 103-104. Penned by Presiding Judge Dinnah C. Aguila-Topacio.
5. Id. at 105.

6. Also indicted in Crim. Case Nos. 00-186069-75 were Richard L. Hsu and Arnulfo Aurellano; id.
at 12.

7. See id. at 78.

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 8. See id. at 67-68.
9. Id. at 122.

10. Id. at 283.

11. Id. at 282-285.

12. Id. at 284.

13. Id. at 286-290. Penned by Presiding Judge Vedasto B. Marco.

14. See id. at 289-290.

15. Id. at 291-315.
16. Id. at 103-104.

17. Id. at 327-340.

18. Id. at 105.

19. Id. at 120-151.

20. See id. at 151.

21. See id. at 120-121.

22. Id. at 65-99.
23. Id. at 98.

24. Id. at 92.

25. See id. at 93-94.

26. Id. at 101-102.

27. Id. at 13.

28. Id. at 9-59.

29. See id. at 26-32.
30. Vda. de Manguerra v. Risos, 585 Phil. 490, 497 (2008), cited in Cobarrubias v. People, 612
Phil. 984, 990 (2009).
31. See id.

32. G.R. No. 166302, July 28, 2005, 464 SCRA 591.
33. Id. at 595-596; citations omitted.

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