Benefit of acquittal of co-accused on appeal

Dear PAO,

My brother entered a guilty plea to a lesser offense under a plea bargaining arrangement. Recently, we discovered that his co-accused, who were facing the same charges as my brother, were acquitted on appeal. Please clarify if my brother might also benefit from this acquittal.

Mike

Dear Mike,

The answer to your question is yes. Your brother may benefit from the subsequent acquittal on appeal of his other co-accused. To elucidate this point, allow me to lead your attention to the pertinent rules and jurisprudence.

To begin with, Section 11 (a) of Rule 122 of the Rules of Court provides that:

“Section 11. Effect of appeal by any of several accused.

“(a) An appeal taken by one or more of several accused shall not affect those who did not appeal, except insofar as the judgment of the appellate court is favorable and applicable to the latter;” (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

Applying the afore-mentioned rules of procedure, the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh in the recent case of People v. Cordova (GR 267265, Jan. 24, 2024), citing previous jurisprudence, held that despite the previous finality of judgment against one of several accused who plea bargained, he or she may still be benefited by the subsequent acquittal of his or her co-accused on appeal, viz.:

“The records of the case reveal that Del Rosario was one of Edwin’s and Taladua’s co-accused in the case before the RTC. However, before the presentation of the prosecution’s evidence, Del Rosario filed a Motion to Plea Bargain, praying that she be allowed to withdraw her ‘not guilty’ plea of violation of Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165, and instead enter a plea of guilty to violation of Section 12, Article II of R.A. 9165 in accordance with A.M. No. 18-03-16-SC. Del Rosario’s Motion to Plea Bargain was granted by the RTC, in its Order, dated March 25, 2019, and convicted her of the lesser offense of violation of Section 12, Article II of R.A. No. 9165.

“The Court rules that notwithstanding the finality of Del Rosario’s conviction, she must benefit from the subsequent acquittal of her co-accused pursuant to Section 11 (a), Rule 122 of the Rules of Court xxx

“Based on the above provision, a favorable judgment such as an acquittal ‘shall benefit the co-accused who did not appeal or those who appealed from their judgments of conviction but for one reason or another, the conviction became final and executory.’ This is in line with the principle earlier stated that an appeal of a criminal case throws the entire case open for review by the higher tribunal.

“In Fuentes v. People, the Court applied the above rule to a similar criminal proceeding involving violation of Section 11, Article II of R.A. No. 9165. In the said case, although two (2) Informations were separately filed against petitioner Edwin Fuentes (Fuentes) and his co-accused, the acquittal of Fuentes during appeal was used as basis in acquitting his co-accused who did not appeal his conviction, considering that the criminal case against said co-accused arose from the same set of facts as the case against Fuentes. x x x

“In the present case, Edwin, Taladua, and Del Rosario were simultaneously arrested by the buy-bust team. Additionally, the marking and inventory of dangerous drugs allegedly seized from Edwin, Taladua, and Del Rosario were conducted only after the arrival of the insulating witnesses. As such, the acquittal of Edwin and Taladua on the basis of non-observance of the chain of custody rule squarely applies to Del Rosario. The evidence against and the conviction of Edwin, Taladua, and Del Rosario are inextricably linked.” (Emphasis and underscoring supplied)

By squarely applying the foregoing decision to your question, your brother may benefit from the subsequent acquittal of his co-accused on appeal. This is especially true if the decision acquitting his co-accused were based on the same facts, which led him to enter plea bargaining to a lesser offense. Thus, despite the earlier finality of your brother’s case, since an acquittal is a favorable judgment — the same will also reap in your brother’s favor, i.e., his acquittal despite his earlier plea of guilty for a lesser offense pursuant to the plea bargaining procedure.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated on.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected].