Laurel  v.  Desierto  430  Phil  658  |  No.  145368    12  April  2002  |  Kapunan,  J.  Princess  Trisha  Joy  Z.  Uy  |  Law  110-­‐Criminal  Law  II  |  Grp3    Facts:    ! President  Cory  issued  Admin  Order  No.  223  –  Committee  for  the  preparation  of  the  National  Centennial  

Celebration.  The  committee  was  mandated  to  take  charge  of  the  nationwide  preparations  for  the  National  Celebration  of  the  Philippine  Centennial.  

! President  Fidel  Ramos  issued  an  EO  to  reconstitute  the  committee  and  appointed  VP  Laurel  as  chair.  ! A  corporation  named  Philippine  Centennial  Expo  ’98  Corporation  (Expocorp)  was  created.  Laurel  was  

elected  as  CEO  of  Expocorp.  ! Senator  Coseteng  delivered  a  privileged  speech  denouncing  alleged  anomalies  in  the  projects  of  the  

National  Centennial  Committee  (NCC).  ! President  Estrada  issued  an  AO  creating  a  committee  to  investigate  the  projects  of  NCC.  Rene  Saguisag  

was  appointed  as  chair  of  the  AdHoc  committee.  ! The  SBRC  (Senate  Blue  Ribbon)    recommended  that  Laurel  be  prosecuted  by  the  Ombudsman  for  

violating  the  anti-­‐graft  law.  ! The  AdHoc  committee  also  recommended  further  investigation  by  the  Ombudsman  of  Laurel.  ! The  Ecaluation  and  Preliminary  Investigation  Bureau  issued  a  resolution  finding  probable  cause  to  

indict  Laurel  before  the  Sandiganbayan.  ! Petitioner  assails  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ombudsman  claiming  that  he  is  not  a  public  officer.    Issue/Ratio:  WON  Laurel  is  a  public  officer.  YES    Neither  the  Consti  nor  the  Ombudsman  Act  defines  who  a  public  officer  is,  but  a  definition  Is  cited  in  jurisprudence:  

A  public  office  is  the  right,  authority  and  duty,  created  and  conferred  by  law,  by  which,  for  a  given  period,  either  fixed  by  law  or  enduring  at  the  pleasure  of  the  creating  power,  an  individual  is  invested  with  some  portion  of  the  sovereign  functions  of  the  government,  to  be  exercised  by  him  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  The  individual  so  invested  is  a  public  officer.    

 Characteristics  of  a  Public  Office:  

(1) Delegation  of  sovereign  functions    -­‐  NCC  was  delegated  with  executive  functions.  (2) Created  by  law  –  The  NCC  was  created  by  an  EO.  (3) Continuance  of  the  position  –  the  element  of  continuance  cannot  be  considered  indispensable,  for  ,  

if  the  other  elements  are  present,  it  can  make  no  difference  whether  there  be  but  on  act  or  a  series  of  acts  to  be  done,  -­‐  whether  their  office  expires  as  soon  as  the  one  act  is  done,  or  is  to  be  held  for  years  or  during  good  behavior.  

(4) The  designation  of  the  position  as  an  office.  –  NCC  performs  executive  functions  and  is,  therefore,  a  public  office.  

   

Who Are Public Officers?