G.R. No. 145851 - ABELARDO B. LICAROS, VS. THE SANDIGANBAYAN AND THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR.DECISION - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, with all the more reason should the right to the speedy disposition of a case be looked upon with care and caution when that case has already been submitted to the court for decision. In Abadia v. Court of Appeals, [19] the Court had the occasion to rule on the nature and the extent as well as the broader protection afforded by the constitutional right to the speedy disposition of a case, as compared with the right to a speedy trial. Thus, it ratiocinated as follows: "The Bill of Rights provisions of the 1987 Constitution were precisely crafted to expand substantive fair trial rights and to protect citizens from procedural machinations which tend to nullify those rights. Moreover, Section 16, Article III of the Constitution extends the right to a speedy disposition of cases to cases `before all judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative bodies.' This protection extends to all citizens, x x x and covers the periods before, during and after the trial, affording broader protection than Section 14(2) which guarantees merely the right to a speedy trial." [20] (Emphasis supplied) It has been held that a breach of the right of the accused to the speedy disposition of a case may have consequential effects, but it is not enough that there be some procrastination in the proceedings. In order to justify the dismissal of a criminal case, it must be established that the proceedings have unquestionably been marred by vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays. [21] In the case before us, the failure of the Sandiganbayan to decide the case even after the lapse of more than ten years after it was submitted for decision involves more than just a mere procrastination in the proceedings. From the explanation given by the Sandiganbayan, it appears that the case was kept in idle slumber, allegedly due to reorganizations in the divisions and the lack of logistics and facilities for case records. Had it not been for the filing of this Petition for Mandamus, petitioner would not have seen any development in his case, much less the eventual disposition thereof. The case remains unresolved up to now, with only respondent court's assurance that at this time "work is being done on the case for the preparation and finalization of the decision." [22] In Guerrero v. Court of Appeals, [23] the Court denied a Petition seeking to dismiss a criminal case grounded on an alleged violation of the accused's right to a speedy disposition. However, the accused in the said case was deemed to have slept on his rights by not asserting them at the earliest possible opportunity. The Court explained its ruling in this wise: "In the case before us, the petitioner merely sat and waited after the case was submitted for resolution in 1979. It was only in 1989 when the case below was reraffled from the RTC of Caloocan City to the RTC of Navotas-Malabon and only after respondent trial judge of the latter court ordered on March 14, 1990 the parties to follow-up and complete the transc