SIXTO M. BAYAS and ERNESTO T. MATUDAY, petitioners, vs.

THE SANDIGANBAYAN (FIRST DIVISION), THE PEOPLE

2002-11-12 | G.R. Nos. 143689-91

Doctrine:

Once the stipulations are reduced into writing and signed by the parties and their counsels, they become binding
on the parties who made them. They become judicial admissions of the fact or facts stipulated. Even if placed at
a disadvantageous position, a party may not be allowed to rescind them unilaterally; it must assume the
consequences of the disadvantage.[30] If the accused are allowed to plead guilty under appropriate
circumstances, by parity of reasoning, they should likewise be allowed to enter into a fair and true pretrial
agreement under appropriate circumstances.

Three Informations[ were filed before the SBN, charging Petitioners Ernesto T. Matuday and Sixto M. Bayas with
violation of Section 3(e) of RA No. 3019, as amended; and two counts of malversation through falsification penalized
under Article 217, in relation to Article 171, of the Revised Penal Code. They were charged in their capacities as
municipal mayor and municipal treasurer, respectively, of the Municipality of Kabayan, Province of Benguet.

During their arraignment petitioners pled "not guilty."

Pre-trial conference was thrice cancelled and reset due to the counsel for the accused (Atty. Molintas) being
unprepared and or sick. Nonetheless, the Sandiganbayan urged the accused to discuss with their counsel the
stipulation of facts drafted by Ombudsman Prosecutor II Evelyn T. Lucero. They were asked to do so, so that at the
resumption of the pretrial on December 10, 1999, they could expeditiously pass upon all other matters that still
remained to be resolved.

Subsequently, a the parties submitted a Joint Stipulation of Facts and Documents," which had been duly signed by
the two accused and their counsel and Prosecutor Lucero.

They agreed among others that Accused Ernesto Matuday was then the Municipal Mayor and accused Sixto Bayas
was and still the Municipal Treasurer and designated Municipal Accountant both of Kabayan, Benguet during the
period relevant to this case and Both of the accused admit the disbursement of the amount of P510,000.00 and
P55,000.00. They also submitted several documents as evidence.

However, the pretrial conference was again scuttled due to the absence of Atty. Molintas. The hearing was
rescheduled however, he later moved to withdraw as counsel for the accused. His motion was granted by the anti-
graft court and the pretrial was rescheduled to give the accused ample time to employ a new counsel.

Hence, the accused, represented by their new counsel, Atty. Cecilia M. Cinco, moved to withdraw the Joint
Stipulation of Facts and Documents. Specifically, they sought to withdraw, first, Stipulation 1(b) which states that
"Both the accused admit the disbursement of the amount of P510,000.00 and P55,000.00"; invoking their
constitutional right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Sandiganbayan: Denied the motion to withdraw since there was express statement from Atty. Cortes that neither
fraud nor any other mistake of a serious character vitiated the consent of the parties when they affixed their
conformity to the stipulations of facts. MR also denied. Elevated to SC.

Issue:

1. W/N petitioners may be allowed to withdraw unilaterally from the Joint Stipulation of Facts and Documents. - NO

2. W/N there is a law or rule which would bar petitioners from withdrawing their Joint Stipulation of Facts and
Documents from the respondent Sandiganbayan. - YES

3. W/N Sandiganbayan acted with GRADALEJ – NO.

Held:

1. NO. Once validly entered into, stipulations will not be set aside unless for good cause.[14] They should be
enforced especially when they are not false, unreasonable or against good morals and sound public policy.
When made before the court, they are conclusive. And the party who validly made them can be relieved
therefrom only upon a showing of collusion, duress, fraud, misrepresentation as to facts, and undue
influence; or upon a showing of sufficient cause on such terms as will serve justice in a particular case.
Moreover, the power to relieve a party from a stipulation validly made lies in the court's sound discretion
which, unless exercised with grave abuse, will not be disturbed on appeal
 While petitioners wish to be relieved from the stipulations, they, however, do not allege that these were
false or misleading or were obtained through force or fraud. On the contrary, they do not dispute the finding
of the anti-graft court that no fraud or serious mistake vitiated their and their counsel's consent to the
signing of these stipulations. They even admitted, in answer to its query, that they had freely given their
consent.

Petitioners fail to appreciate the indispensable role of stipulations in the speedy disposition of cases. The
new Rules on Criminal Procedure mandate parties to agree on matters of facts, issues and evidence. Such
stipulations are greatly favored because they simplify, shorten or settle litigations in a faster and more
convenient manner. They save costs, time and resources of the parties and, at the same time, help unclog
court dockets.

Argument on incompetence of the accused former counsel - To be a ground for relief against a stipulation,
a mistake must be one of fact -- not, as in this case, a mere lack of full knowledge of fact because of failure
to exercise due diligence in ascertaining it. It is hornbook doctrine that parties are bound by the action or
the inaction of their counsel. To all intents and purposes, the acts of a lawyer in the defense or the
prosecution of a case are the acts of the client. The rule extends even to the mistakes and the simple
negligence committed by the counsel.

Ruling on alleged violation of consti right to be presumed innocent - There is nothing irregular or unlawful
in stipulating facts in criminal cases. The policy encouraging it is consistent with the doctrine of waiver,
which recognizes that "x x x everyone has a right to waive and agree to waive the advantage of a law or rule
made solely for the benefit and protection of the individual in his private capacity, if it can be dispensed
with and relinquished without infringing on any public right and without detriment to the community at
large." In the present case, the Joint Stipulation made by the prosecution and petitioners was a waiver of
the right to present evidence on the facts and the documents freely admitted by them. There could have
been no impairment of petitioners' right to be presumed innocent, right to due process or right against self-
incrimination because the waiver was voluntary, made with the assistance of counsel and is sanctioned
by the Rules on Criminal Procedure.

2. YES, Sec 2, Rule 118. A pretrial agreement to be binding on the accused, it must satisfy the following
conditions: (1) the agreement or admission must be in writing, and (2) it must be signed by both the accused
and their counsel. The court's approval, mentioned in the last sentence of the above-quoted Section, is not
needed to make the stipulations binding on the parties. Such approval is necessary merely to emphasize
the supervision by the court over the case and to enable it to control the flow of the proceedings.

Another cogent reason why the Joint Stipulation should be binding. It must be noted that the SBN could not
fully act on the matter, not through its fault, but because of the continued absence of petitioners' counsel.
Verily, the records reveal that at the intended completion of the pretrial on January 14, 2000, it could not
pass upon the Joint Stipulation because he was absent. Also, the pretrial conference had to be re-scheduled
six times, just to ensure the attendance of the parties and their counsels and to prepare them for the
conference.

3. NO GRADALEJ. Petitioners in this case failed to prove that the Sandiganbayan committed grave abuse of
discretion in disallowing them to withdraw the stipulations that they had freely and voluntarily entered
into. Also, no bad faith or malice was or can be imputed to the anti-graft court for failing to immediately
act upon the Joint Stipulation. The delay was due, not to its deliberate evasion of its duty, but to the
continued absence of petitioners' counsel.