Ivan Chris T.

Luzuriaga
LegRes 1-O
22 August 2015
Ms. Carla Delos Santos
2359 Havana st.,
Sta. Ana, Manila
To Ms. Delos Santos:
This is a response to your request for a legal opinion about where to file the case
regarding your brothers death and the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman and the DOJ.
Based on your letter, the following are the facts we were able to gather:
FACTS:
Your brother, Juanito Delos Santos, was an employee by the mayor as his personal
bodyguard. He resigned because he could no longer take the orders that the mayor would
want him to execute. On August 12, 2015, he was found dead along the highway of San
Pedro City. Autopsy report revealed that he sustained 17 gunshot wounds, majority of
which were fatal.
Your personal belief is that your brothers death can be traced from his resignation of his
position with the mayor. It is also in your belief that it was the mayor who ordered his
death.
ISSUES:
Based on the foregoing facts, the following issues are raised:
(1) Whether the criminal complaint of murder should be filed against the mayor
should be with the Department of Justice or the Ombudsman.
(2) Whether the case can be transferred to the Ombudsman if it is found that it is
within its jurisdiction and not of the Department of Justice.
(3) What are the cases under the primary jurisdiction of the Ombudsman?
(4) What are the cases under the concurrent jurisdiction of the Department of Justice
and the Ombudsman?
OUR OPINION:
As provided by Administrative Order No. 8, Ombudsman cases involving criminal
offenses may be subdivided into two classes, to wit, (1) those cognizable by the
Sandiganbayan, and (2) those falling under the jurisdiction of the regular courts. The
difference will be the authority to investigate, as distinguished from the authority to
prosecute, such cases:
The power to investigate or conduct a preliminary investigation in any Ombudsman case
may be exercised by any investigator or prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman, or

by any Provincial or City Prosecutor or their assistants, either in their regular capacities
or as deputized Ombudsman prosecutors.
The prosecution of cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan shall be under the direct
exclusive control and supervision of the Office of the Ombudsman. In cases cognizable
by the regular Courts, the control and supervision by the Office of Ombudsman is only in
Ombudsman cases in the sense defined above. The law recognizes a concurrence of
jurisdiction between the Office of the Ombudsman and other investigative agencies of the
government in the prosecution of cases cognizable by regular courts.
In the determination of the cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, Section 4 of Republic
Act No. 8249 provides that the Sandiganbayan shall have exclusive jurisdiction over
cases involving Graft and Corruption, Forfeiture of Illegally Acquired Wealth, Crimes
Committed by Public Officers, which include Bribery in any form, Heinous Crimes,
Money Laundering, Plunder and such related cases as provided by the aforementioned
section.
(1) With regard to the criminal complaint of murder, such cases may be filed with the
Office of the Ombudsman and/or with Department of Justice provided that such cases
do not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. It may be deduced
from the facts that the case at hand is not within the exclusive jurisdiction of the
Sandiganbayan since it does not involve any of the cases involved in Section 4 of R.A.
No. 8249.
(2) In view of the foregoing explanations, the DOJ may refer the jurisdiction if it is found
that the jurisdiction falls within the OMBs cognizance in such cases that may not involve
government officials involved in cases of Graft and Corruption, Forfeiture of Illegally
Acquired Wealth, etc. since those crimes are triable exclusively with the Sandiganbayan.
(3) Primary jurisdiction of the OMB is provided in the Memorandum of Agreement
between the OMB and DOJ that the OMB has primary jurisdiction in the investigation
and inquest proceedings over complaints for crimes cognizable by the Sandiganbayan.
It is further specified in The Ombudsman Act of 1989:
Section 15. Powers, Functions and Duties. The Office of the
Ombudsman shall have the following powers, functions and duties:
(1) Investigate and prosecute on its own or on complaint by any person,
any act or omission of any public officer or employee, office or
agency, when such act or omission appears to be illegal, unjust,
improper or inefficient.t has primary jurisdiction over cases cognizable
by the Sandiganbayan and, in the exercise of this primary jurisdiction,
it may take over, at any stage, from any investigatory agency of
Government, the investigation of such cases;

Ivan Chris T. Luzuriaga

LegRes 1-O
(4) When it comes to the concurrent jurisdiction of the OMB and the DOJ, it will all
depend on the nature of the case. They may have concurrent jurisdiction so long as
exclusivity is not an issue. Such is provided in the Memorandum of Agreement in the
OMB and DOJ in saying that they shall have concurrent jurisdiction over complaints for
crimes involving public officers and employees falling outside the exclusive jurisdiction
of the Sandiganbayan. As a rule, if any of the offices acquire jurisdiction over a case, it
shall acquire jurisdiction with the exclusive of the other provided, however, the OMB
may refer/endorse any complaint filed before it to any prosecution office of the DOJ
having jurisdiction of the complaint. If the preliminary investigation was done by the
OMB but referred to the DOJ for prosecution, reinvestigation may be done with the OMB
so long as the court orders the same.
Should you wish to pursue the filing of the petition, please find attached draft petition for
change of name for your comments. Please let us know if you require further clarification
or if a meeting would be useful.
Very truly yours,
Ivan Chris T. Luzuriaga
L-150555