SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 202 23/11/2017, 13:40

378 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Drilon vs. Court of Appeals

*
G.R. No. 91626. October 3, 1991.

FRANKLIN DRILON, in his capacity as Secretary of

Justice, SILVESTRE BELLO III, in his capacity as the
Undersecretary of Justice, and AURELIO TRAMPE, in his
capacity as the Acting City Fiscal of Iloilo, petitioners, vs.
THE HON. COURT OF APPEALS, RODOLFO GANZON,
and RAUL PAREDES, respondents.

Constitutional Law; Pardoning Power and Commutation of

Sentence of the President under the 1973 Constitution and the
present (1987) Constitution; The pardoning power of the President so
with the commutation of sentence is final and unappealable.·Under
the 1973 Constitution, as is under the present Charter, the
"pardoning power" of the President (that is, to grant reprieves,
commutations, and pardons, remit fines and forfeitures) is final and
unappealable so is commutation of sentence, in which the Chief
Executive reduces a sentence. It extinguishes criminal Iiability
partially, and has the effect of changing the penalty to a lesser one.
Same; Same; House arrest; The court cannot consider Ganzon's
house arrest because in no way is arrest a penalty and his
(Ganzon's) record as far as his house arrest is concerned no longer
exists.·The Court can not consider Ganzon's house arrest as a
continuation of his sentence. first. because in no way is arrest a
penalty, but rather a mere means of "taking. . . a person into
custody in order that he may be forthcoming to answer for the
commission of an offense," or, during early martial law, a means to
carry out Proclamation No. 1881, and second, because of the
records' own scant condition as the exact terms in his "house arrest"
(which, parenthetically, no longer exists.) Hence, the view of the
Court is that irrespective of the "pardon," Ganzon has served his
sentence and to reiterate, he can no longer be reinvestigated for the
same offense, much more undergo further imprisonment to
complete his service.

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