The Unlawyer

In an earlier entry I mentioned that Australian blogger Brian Gorrell may be indicted by a Philippine prosecutor for the crime of libel. This next entry will explain whether or not a Philippine court may exercise jurisdiction over him. To do that, I will briefly explain some aspects of the Philippines’ criminal justice system.

Philippine law requires that before any person may be charged with a crime, the injured party must first file a complaint, together with such evidence he may have on hand, with the prosecutor’s office in the community where the crime was committed and submit his case to what Philippine criminal procedure calls a preliminary investigation.

What is the purpose of preliminary investigation? It may be found in the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure:

“Preliminary investigation is an inquiry or proceeding to determine whether there is sufficient ground to engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the respondent is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial.”

As the maximum penalty for each count of libel is prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods – anywhere from six (6) months and one (1) day to four (4) years and two (2) months imprisonment – an expedited form of preliminary investigation where the participation of the respondent is not required is actually authorized by law, but it is highly likely that Mr. Gorrell will charged with more than just one, so a prosecutor may opt for the regular process.

So, unless the complaint is utterly lacking in merit, the investigating prosecutor to whom the case is assigned will now summon the respondent to reply to the complaint, and supply him the opportunity to submit such evidence as to refute his opponent’s allegations as well. The parties are then allowed a period of time to submit their respective rebuttals of each other’s positions. An informal, clarificatory hearing may also be conducted afterwards. Then, the parties are allowed to submit closing arguments before the case is finally resolved.

If indeed Mr. Gorrell is named as a respondent in any complaint for libel, he may choose to participate or not. If he does not, the investigating prosecutor may proceed with the case even in his absence and render a decision based on the evidence he has on hand – that is, the evidence submitted by the complainant.

The investigating prosecutor will now determine if there is probable cause whether or not to indict Mr. Gorrell for libel, that is if there is a “well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the respondent is probably guilty thereof, and should be held for trial.”

We now assume that Mr. Gorrell is indicted for libel.

At this point, a criminal case for that crime will be filed against him in court. If the judge finds that there is probable cause to support the charge, he will then issue a warrant of arrest, which authorizes a Philippine law enforcement officer to seize him anywhere he may be found in the Philippines, detain him, and deliver him to the court that issued the same.

Assuming once more that Mr. Gorrell is indeed arrested, he will soon be taken to court and made to attend his arraignment, where he shall be informed orally of the crime he is charged of, and given the opportunity to enter his plea. Then and only then can that court acquire jurisdiction over his person, and thus proceed to try his case.

Some might want to deprecate arraignment as a mere technicality but it is not: it is an important component of due process as it provides an opportunity for the accused to be officially notified of the charges against him and to reply if he is guilty or not. Many convictions have been reversed because the court which rendered the same failed to meticulously observe the rules on arraignment.

As Mr. Gorrell is safely in Australia, any warrant of arrest issued against him will be returned unserved to the court that issued it. The case will not be dismissed but will be archived instead, and there it will rest. Most likely his particulars will be entered in a database maintained by Philippine immigration authorities, who will be on the lookout for him if he tries to enter the Philippines, and execute the warrant if he does so.

To conclude: yes, Mr. Gorrell may be indicted for the crime of libel. That case may be filed against him in court. For as long, however, as the court is unable to obtain jurisdiction over him, that case will not prosper.