G.R. No.

175013, June 1, 2007

Beltran vs People

Facts: These are consolidated petitions for the writs of prohibition and certiorari to enjoin petitioners
prosecution for Rebellion and to set aside the rulings of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the
Regional Trial Court of Makati City (RTC Makati) on the investigation and prosecution of petitioners
cases. Petitioner in G.R. No. 175013, Crispin B. Beltran (Beltran), and petitioners in G.R. Nos. 172074-76,
are members of the House of Representatives representing various party-list groups. Petitioners all face
charges for Rebellion under Article 134 in relation to Article 135 of the Revised Penal Code in two
criminal cases pending with the RTC Makati.
Beltran was arrested without a warrant and the arresting officers did not inform Beltran of the
crime for which he was arrested. On that evening, Beltran was subjected to an inquest at the Quezon
City Hall of Justice for Inciting to Sedition under Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code based on a speech
Beltran allegedly gave during a rally in Quezon City on 24 February 2006, on the occasion of the 20th
anniversary of the EDSA Revolution. The inquest was based on the joint affidavit of Beltrans arresting
officers who claimed to have been present at the rally.
The authorities brought back Beltran to Camp Crame where he was subjected to a second
inquest, this time for Rebellion. The letters referred to the DOJ for appropriate action the results of the
CIDGs investigation implicating Beltran, the petitioners in G.R. Nos. 172074-76, San Juan, and several
others as leaders and promoters of an alleged foiled plot to overthrow the Arroyo government. The
plot was supposed to be carried out jointly by members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
and the Makabayang Kawal ng Pilipinas (MKP), which have formed a tactical alliance.
The DOJ panel of prosecutors issued a Resolution finding probable cause to indict Beltran and
San Juan as leaders/promoters of Rebellion. The Information alleged that Beltran, San Juan, and other
individuals conspiring and confederating with each other, x x x, did then and there willfully, unlawfully,
and feloniously form a tactical alliance between the CPP/NPA, renamed as Partidong Komunista ng
Pilipinas (PKP) and its armed regular members as Katipunan ng Anak ng Bayan (KAB) with the
Makabayang Kawal ng Pilipinas (MKP) and thereby rise publicly and take up arms against the duly
constituted government.
In his Comment to the petition, the Solicitor General claims that Beltrans inquest for Rebellion
was valid and that the RTC Makati correctly found probable cause to try Beltran for such felony.

Issue: Whether the inquest proceeding against Beltran for Rebellion was valid and (b) whether there is
probable cause to indict Beltran for Rebellion.

Held: The Inquest Proceeding against Beltran for Rebellion is Void. Inquest proceedings are proper only
when the accused has been lawfully arrested without warrant.
The joint affidavit of Beltrans arresting officers states that the officers arrested Beltran, without
a warrant, for Inciting to Sedition, and not for Rebellion. Thus, the inquest prosecutor could only have
conducted as he did conduct an inquest for Inciting to Sedition and no other. Consequently, when
another group of prosecutors subjected Beltran to a second inquest proceeding for Rebellion, they
overstepped their authority rendering the second inquest void. None of Beltrans arresting officers saw
Beltran commit, in their presence, the crime of Rebellion. Nor did they have personal knowledge of facts
and circumstances that Beltran had just committed Rebellion, sufficient to form probable cause to
believe that he had committed Rebellion. What these arresting officers alleged in their affidavit is that
they saw and heard Beltran make an allegedly seditious speech on 24 February 2006.
If the arrest was not properly effected, the inquest officer should proceed under Section 9 of
Circular No. 61 which provides:
Where Arrest Not Properly Effected. Should the Inquest Officer find that the arrest was not
made in accordance with the Rules, he shall:
a) recommend the release of the person arrested or detained;
b) note down the disposition on the referral document;
c) prepare a brief memorandum indicating the reasons for the action taken; and
d) forward the same, together with the record of the case, to the City or Provincial
Prosecutor for appropriate action.

For the failure of Beltrans panel of inquest prosecutors to comply with Section 7, Rule 112 in
relation to Section 5, Rule 113 and DOJ Circular No. 61, we declare Beltrans inquest void. Beltran would
have been entitled to a preliminary investigation had he not asked the trial court to make a judicial
determination of probable cause, which effectively took the place of such proceeding.

There is No Probable Cause to Indict Beltran for Rebellion. Probable cause is the existence of such
facts and circumstances as would excite the belief in a reasonable mind, acting on the facts within the
knowledge of the prosecutor, that the person charged was guilty of the crime for which he was
prosecuted.

The elements of Rebellion are:
1. That there be a (a) public uprising and (b) taking arms against the Government; and

2. That the purpose of the uprising or movement is either

(a) to remove from the allegiance to said Government or its laws:
(1) the territory of the Philippines or any part thereof; or
(2) any body of land, naval, or other armed forces; or
(b) to deprive the Chief Executive or Congress, wholly or partially, of any of their powers
and prerogatives

Thus, by its nature, rebellion is a crime of the masses or multitudes involving crowd action done in
furtherance of a political end.

We have gone over these documents and find merit in Beltrans contention that the same are
insufficient to show probable cause to indict him for Rebellion. The allegations in these affidavits are far
from the proof needed to indict Beltran for taking part in an armed public uprising against the
government. What these documents prove, at best, is that Beltran was in Bucal, Padre Garcia, Batangas
on 20 February 2006 and that 14 years earlier, he was present during the 1992 CPP Plenum. None of the
affidavits stated that Beltran committed specific acts of promoting, maintaining, or heading a rebellion
as found in the DOJ Resolution of 27 February 2006. None of the affidavits alleged that Beltran is a
leader of a rebellion. Beltrans alleged presence during the 1992 CPP Plenum does not automatically
make him a leader of a rebellion. Assuming that Beltran is a member of the CPP, which Beltran does not
acknowledge, mere membership in the CPP does not constitute rebellion.29[29] As for the alleged funding
of the CPPs military equipment from Beltrans congressional funds, Cachuelas affidavit merely
contained a general conclusion without any specific act showing such funding. Such a general
conclusion does not establish probable cause.
In his Comment to Beltrans petition, the Solicitor General points to Fuentes affidavit, dated 25
February 2006,] as basis for the finding of probable cause against Beltran as Fuentes provided details in
his statement regarding meetings Beltran and the other petitioners attended in 2005 and 2006 in which
plans to overthrow violently the Arroyo government were allegedly discussed, among others. The claim
is untenable. Fuentes affidavit was not part of the attachments the CIDG referred to the DOJ on 27
February 2006. Thus, the panel of inquest prosecutors did not have Fuentes affidavit in their possession
when they conducted the Rebellion inquest against Beltran on that day. Such belated submission, a tacit
admission of the dearth of evidence against Beltran during the inquest, does not improve the
prosecutions case. Assuming them to be true, what the allegations in Fuentes affidavit make out is a
case for Conspiracy to Commit Rebellion, punishable under Article 136 of the Revised Penal Code, not
Rebellion under Article 134. Attendance in meetings to discuss, among others, plans to bring down a
government is a mere preparatory step to commit the acts constituting Rebellion under Article 134.
Thus, the RTC Makati erred when it nevertheless found probable cause to try Beltran for Rebellion based
on the evidence before it.
To repeat, none of the affidavits alleges that Beltran is promoting, maintaining, or heading a
Rebellion. The Information in Criminal Case No. 06-452 itself does not make such allegation. Thus, even
assuming that the Information validly charges Beltran for taking part in a Rebellion, he is entitled to bail
as a matter of right since there is no allegation in the Information that he is a leader or promoter of the
Rebellion. However, the Information in fact merely charges Beltran for conspiring and confederating
with others in forming a tactical alliance to commit rebellion. As worded, the Information does not
charge Beltran with Rebellion but with Conspiracy to Commit Rebellion, a bailable offense