SC: Complainant in criminal case cannot challenge grant of bail, acquittal

The Supreme Court has reiterated that a complainant in a criminal case cannot challenge the grant of bail and acquittal of the accused.

The SC Second Division made this remark as it affirmed the bail grant and acquittal of former PASDA president Emmanuel Pascual. He was charged with three counts of qualified theft.

“The Court is constrained to dismiss the petition on the ground of lack of legal standing or personality of PASDA to question the acquittal of the accused,” it said in a 10-page decision promulgated in December 2023.

In October 2020, the Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 64 convicted Pascual, prompting him to file an appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA).

The appellate court granted his application for bail in March 2021 and eventually acquitted him of the charges based on reasonable doubt in September 2022. 

This led PASDA to file the present petition for certiorari before the SC in November 2022.

The SC cited its decision in Austria v. AAA, where it ruled that the private complainant has legal standing to assail the civil liability of the accused but not the criminal aspect of the case.

According to the Court, this is because the party affected by a dismissal of a criminal action is the State and not the private complainant.

“PASDA questioned before this Court the CA’s order granting bail pending appeal and judgment of acquittal. These matters necessarily involve the criminal aspect of the case which only the [Office of the Solicitor General] may bring or defend before this Court and the CA,” it said.

The Court also noted that PASDA did not request the conformity of the OSG.

Aside from this, the Court said that double jeopardy has set it.

“The Constitution is explicit that no person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense,” it said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News