G.R. No. 169588 - JADEWELL PARKING SYSTEMS CORPORATION REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGER AND AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE NORMA TAN, VS. HON. JUDGE NELSON F. LIDUA SR., PRESIDING JUDGE OF THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT BRANCH 3, BAGUIO CITY, BENEDICTO BALAJADIA, EDWIN ANG, “JOHN DOES” AND “PETER DOES”.D E C I S I

Ruling

Accordingly, the car was then illegally parked and [left] unattended at a Loading and Unloading Zone. The value of the clamp belonging to Jadewell which was allegedly forcibly removed with a piece of metal is ?26,250.00. The fines of ?500.00 for illegal parking and the declamping fee of ?500.00 were also not paid by the respondents herein. In I.S. No., 2003-1997, Jadewell thru [sic] its General Manager Norina C. Tan, Renato B. Dulay and Ringo Sacliwan alleged in their affidavit-complaint that on May 7, 2003, along Upper Mabini Street, Baguio City, herein respondents Benedicto Balajadia, Jeffrey Walan and two (2) John Does forcibly removed the clamp on the wheel of a Nissan Cefiro car with Plate No. UTD 933, belonging to Jeffrey Walan which was then considered illegally parked for failure to pay the prescribed parking fee. Such car was earlier rendered immobile by such clamp by Jadewell personnel. After forcibly removing the clamp, respondents took and carried it away depriving its owner, Jadewell[,] its use and value which is ?26,250.00. According to complainants, the fine of ?500.00 and the declamping fee of ?500.00 were not paid by the respondents. [2] The incident resulted in two cases filed by petitioner and respondents against each other. Petitioner Jadewell filed two cases against respondents: Robbery under I.S. Nos. 2003-1996 and 2003-1997. Petitioner filed an Affidavit-Complaint against respondents Benedicto Balajadia, Jeffrey Walan, and three (3) John Does, one of whom was eventually identified as respondent Ramon Ang. The Affidavit-Complaint was filed with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Baguio City on May 23, 2003. [3] A preliminary investigation took place on May 28, 2003. Respondent Benedicto Balajadia likewise filed a case charging Jadewell president, Rogelio Tan, and four (4) of Jadewell's employees with Usurpation of Authority/Grave Coercion in I.S. No. 2003-1935. In his Counter-affidavit for the two cases he filed for himself and on behalf of his co-respondents, respondent Benedicto Balajadia denied that his car was parked illegally. He admitted that he removed the clamp restricting the wheel of his car since he alleged that the placing of a clamp on the wheel of the vehicle was an illegal act. He alleged further that he removed the clamp not to steal it but to remove the vehicle from its clamp so that he and his family could continue using the car. He also confirmed that he had the clamp with him, and he intended to use it as a piece of evidence to support the Complaint he filed against Jadewell. [4] In the Resolution [5] of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of San Fernando City, La Union, Acting City Prosecutor Mario Anacleto Banez found probable cause to file a case of Usurpation of Authority against the petitioner. Regarding the case of Robbery against respondents, Prosecutor Banez stated that: We find no probable cause to charge respondents in these two (2) cases for the felony of Robbery. The elements of Robbery,