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Milo v. Salanga

A barrio captain and others were charged with arbitrarily detaining and assaulting Armando Valdez. The barrio captain filed a motion to quash arguing he was not a public officer. The court granted the motion. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that barrio captains have authority similar to mayors to detain people and maintain peace and order, making them public officers who can be charged with arbitrary detention. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.

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206 views1 page

Milo v. Salanga

A barrio captain and others were charged with arbitrarily detaining and assaulting Armando Valdez. The barrio captain filed a motion to quash arguing he was not a public officer. The court granted the motion. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that barrio captains have authority similar to mayors to detain people and maintain peace and order, making them public officers who can be charged with arbitrary detention. The Supreme Court remanded the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.

Uploaded by

Marc Virtucio
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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RAMON S.

MILO, in his capacity as Assistant Provincial Fiscal of Pangasinan, and ARMANDO VALDEZ, petitioners,
vs.ANGELITO C. SALANGA, in his capacity as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan (Branch IV), and
JUAN TUVERA, SR., respondents.
July 20, 1987
GANCAYCO, J.

Short version: A barrio captain was charged with Arbitrary Detention. A motion to file based on the fact that he was not
a public officer was granted. SC reversed.

FACTS: Juan Tuvera, Sr., a barrio captain, with the aid of some others, maltreated Armando Valdez by hitting with butts
of their guns and fists blows and without legal grounds, Juan Tuvera, Sr., Cpl. Tomas Mendoza and Pat. Rodolfo Mangsat,
members of the police force of Mangsat, Pangasinan locked Valdez inside the municipal jail of Manaoag, Pangasinan for
about eleven hours.An information was filed against Tuvera and he filed a motion to quash on the ground that the facts
charged do not constitute an offense, and that the proofs adduced at the investigation are not sufficient to support the
filing of the information. Assistant Provincial Fiscal Ramon S. Milo filed an opposition. Consequently, averring that
Tuvera was not a public officer who can be charged with Arbitrary Detention, respondent Judge Salanga granted the
motion to quash in an order.

ISSUES: Whether or not Tuvera, Sr., a barrio captain is a public officer who can be liable for the crime of Arbitrary
Detention-YES

HELD: Long before Presidential Decree 299 was signed into law, barrio lieutenants (who were later named barrio
captains and now barangay captains) were recognized as persons in authority. In various cases, the Court deemed them
as persons in authority, and convicted them of Arbitrary Detention.The public officers liable for Arbitrary Detention
must be vested with authority to detain or order the detention of persons accused of a crime. One need not be a police
officer to be chargeable with Arbitrary Detention. It is accepted that other public officers like judges and mayors, who
act with abuse of their functions, may be guilty of this crime. A perusal of the powers and function vested in mayors
would show that they are similar to those of a barrio captain except that in the case of the latter, his territorial
jurisdiction is smaller. Having the same duty of maintaining peace and order, both must be and are given the authority
to detain or order detention. Noteworthy is the fact that even private respondent Tuvera himself admitted that with the
aid of his rural police, he as a barrio captain, could have led the arrest of petitioner Valdez. The public officers liable for
Arbitrary Detention must be vested with authority to detain or order the detention of persons accused of a crime. Such
public officers are the policemen and other agents of the law, the judges or mayors.

DISPOSITIVE: WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the Petition for certiorari is GRANTED. The questioned Order of
April 25, 1973 in Criminal Case No. D-529 is hereby set aside. Let this case be remanded to the appropriate trial court for
further proceedings. No pronouncement as to costs.

SO ORDERED.

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