Where the judgment of conviction is still pending appeal and has not yet therefore attained finality, as in the instant case, executive clemency may not yet be granted to the appellant.
The acceptance of the pardon shall not operate as an abandonment or waiver of the appeal.
Facts:
On November 1991, Francisco Salle, Jr. and Ricky Mengote were convicted of the compound crime of murder and destructive arson before the RTC of Quezon City. Salle and Mengote filed their Notice of Appeal which was accepted by the Supreme Court on March 24, 1993.
In 1994, Salle filed an Urgent Motion to Withdraw Appeal. The Court required Salle's counsel, Atty. Ida May La'o of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) to verify the voluntariness of the motion.
Atty. La'o manifested that Salle signed the motion without the assistance of counsel on his misimpression that the motion was necessary for his early release from the New Bilibid Prison following the grant of a conditional pardon by the President on December 9, 1993. She also stated that Mengote was also granted conditional pardon and that he immediately left for his province without consulting her. She prayed that the Court grant Salle's motion to withdraw his appeal.
On March 23, 1994, the Court granted Salle's motion.
After taking into consideration Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution which provides that the President may, except in cases of impeachment or as otherwise provided in the Constitution, grant pardon after conviction by final judgment, the Court required (1) the Solicitor General and the counsel for accused-appellants to submit their memoranda on the issue of the enforceability of the conditional pardon and (2) the Presidential Committee for the Grant of Bail, Release or Pardon to inform the Court why it recommended to the President the grant of the conditional pardon despite the pendency of the appeal.
In its Memorandum, the Office of the Solicitor General maintains that the conditional pardon granted to appellant Mengote is unenforceable because the judgment of conviction is not yet final in view of the pendency in this Court of his appeal.
On the other hand, the FLAG, through Atty. La'o, submits that the conditional pardon extended to Mengote is valid and enforceable. Citing Monsanto vs. Factoran, Jr., it argues that although Mengote did not file a motion to withdraw the appeal, he was deemed to have abandoned the appeal by his acceptance of the conditional pardon which resulted in the finality of his conviction.
Issue:
Whether or not a pardon granted to an accused during the pendency of his appeal from a judgment of conviction by the trial court is enforceable.
Held:
Section 19, Article VII thereof reads as follows:
“Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.
He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress.”
Where the pardoning power is subject to the limitation of conviction, it may be exercised at any time after conviction even if the judgment is on appeal. It is, of course, entirely different where the requirement is " final conviction, " as was mandated in the original provision of Section 14, Article IX of the 1973 Constitution, or "conviction by final judgment," as presently prescribed in Section 19, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution. In such a case, no pardon may be extended before a judgment of conviction becomes final.
A judgment of conviction becomes final (a) when no appeal is seasonably perfected, (b) when the accused commences to serve the sentence, (c) when the right to appeal is expressly waived in writing, except where the death penalty was imposed by the trial court, and (d) when the accused applies for probation, thereby waiving his right to appeal. Where the judgment of conviction is still pending appeal and has not yet therefore attained finality, as in the instant case, executive clemency may not yet be granted to the appellant.
The "conviction by final judgment" limitation under Section 19, Article VII of the present Constitution prohibits the grant of pardon, whether full or conditional, to an accused during the pendency of his appeal from his conviction by the trial court. Any application therefor, if one is made, should not be acted upon or the process toward its grant should not be begun unless the appeal is withdrawn. Accordingly, the agencies or instrumentalities of the Government concerned must require proof from the accused that he has not appealed from his conviction or that he has withdrawn his appeal. Such proof may be in the form of a certification issued by the trial court or the appellate court, as the case may be.
The acceptance of the pardon shall not operate as an abandonment or waiver of the appeal, and the release of an accused by virtue of a pardon, commutation of sentence, or parole before the withdrawal of an appeal shall render those responsible therefor administratively liable. Accordingly, those in custody of the accused must not solely rely on the pardon as a basis for the release of the accused from confinement.
WHEREFORE, counsel for accused-appellant Ricky Mengote y Cuntado is hereby given thirty (30) days from notice hereof within which to secure from the latter the withdrawal of his appeal and to submit it to this Court. The conditional pardon granted the said appellant shall be deemed to take effect only upon the grant of such withdrawal. In case of non-compliance with this Resolution, the Director of the Bureau of Corrections must exert every possible effort to take back into his custody the said appellant, for which purpose he may seek the assistance of the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation. (People vs. Francisco Salle, Jr. and Ricky Mengote, G.R. No. 103567, December 4, 1995)
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