CA junks mandamus petition vs DOJ chief

MANILA, Philippines — Citing the principle of separation of powers, the Court of Appeals has dismissed a petition for mandamus seeking to compel the Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary to rule on petitions for review that remained pending since 2020.

In a nine-page ruling, the court said the secretary of justice has the discretion and authority to decide how or when to settle the petitions for review and could not be ordered to rule within a specific amount of time.

“To compel the (DOJ) secretary to take action would, in our view, amount to judicial interference with the exercise of the secretary’s discretion and would violate the well-established principle of separation of powers,” the ruling read.

Thus, the appellate court dismissed the petition for mandamus filed by eight petitioners who wanted the DOJ to resolve a dispute over the control of their family’s company.

In their petition for mandamus, they said there are 23 pending petitions for review and motions for reconsideration filed before the DOJ between 2020 and 2022.

However, the court said it cannot issue a writ for mandamus as the functions of the prosecutors and the secretary of justice, in determining probable cause during a preliminary investigation, are not ministerial but discretionary.

The decision, penned by Fifth Division Associate Justice Ramon Cruz and concurred in by Associate Justices Tita Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon and Emily San Gaspar-Gito, added that the DOJ rules do not strictly bind the justice secretary to resolve the incidents pending for review within a definite period.