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PCGG vs. Hon. Desierto as Ombudsman etc. [Decision]

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON GOOD GOVERNMENT (PCGG), PETITIONER, VS. HON. ANIANO A. DESIERTO AS OMBUDSMAN, HERMINIO T. DISINI, PACIENCIA ESCOLIN-DISINI, ANGEL E. DISINI, LILIANA L. DISINI AND LEA E. DISINI, RESPONDENTS.

G.R. No. 132120 | 2003-02-10

D E C I S I O N
 
PANGANIBAN, J.:
 
The Office of the Ombudsman is endowed with a wide latitude of investigatory and prosecutory prerogatives in the exercise of its power to pass upon criminal complaints. However, such power is not absolute; it cannot be exercised arbitrarily or capriciously. Verily, when it is gravely abused through a gross misappreciation of evidence and a whimsical dismissal of a complaint, this Court has the constitutional duty to reverse the ombudsman. The present Petition is one such exception, involving serious allegations of multimillion-dollar bribes and unlawful commissions. At the center of all these is...