VS. SANDIGANBAYAN, JUSTICES FRANCIS E. GARCHITORENA, MINITA V.

Ruling

WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, finding that no evidence exist to indict the respondent for violating Sec. 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019, let this case be DISMISSED for lack of merit and/or evidence." [19] Petitioners further alleged that there is a complete absence of evidence to prove the non-delivery of the subject materials. The statement of accused Macabunga that he did not make deliveries of the subject materials is inadmissible under the rule of "res inter alios acta, alteri nocere non debit" Petitioners alleged that under Rule 130, Section 28 of the Revised Rules of Court, which provides that "the rights of a party cannot be prejudiced by an act, declaration, or omission of another, except as hereinafter provided" that the relationship between Macabunga and the petitioners does not make out an exception under Rule 130, Section 30 (admission by co-conspirator) for the simple reason that they were not co-conspirators. Respondent Ombudsman stressed that the issues raised are matters of defense that could be submitted before the Sandiganbayan at the trial. The affidavits of the sixteen market vendors and the municipal engineers Villanueva, Olegario and Nacion are questionable since the affidavits were similarly worded. To further emphasize the point, the Ombudsman alleged that Municipal Engineers Olegario and Nacion, who both claimed to be at the site when the gravel and sand were delivered were unable to present any delivery receipts to prove the quantity of the gravel and sand that Rosales Lumber and Hardware actually delivered. [20] We find the petition without merit. The prosecution of offenses committed by public officers is vested in the Office of the Ombudsman. The Court has consistently refrained from interfering with the Ombudsman in the exercise of its powers, and respects the initiative and independence inherent in the Ombudsman who, "beholden to no one, acts as the champion of the people and the preserver of the integrity of public service." [21] The rule is based not only upon constitutional considerations but upon practical ones as well. If it were otherwise, the courts would be gravely hampered by innumerable petitions questioning the dismissal of investigatory proceedings before the Ombudsman, in much the same way that the courts would be swamped if they would be compelled to review the exercise of discretion on the part of our prosecutors each time they decide to file an information in court or throw out a complaint. [22] The main function of the government prosecutor during preliminary investigation is merely to determine the existence of probable cause, and to file the corresponding information if he finds it to be so. "And, probable cause has been defined as 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." [23] To repeat, it is well settle