By Rico Mirasol OsmeΓ±a The Court of Appeals (CA) has declared NULL AND VOID the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman involving Customs Officer Jaybee Raul Cometa, after ruling that the Ombudsman acted without jurisdiction over the administrative case. In a Decision promulgated by the Court’s Sixteenth Division, the appellate court held that jurisdiction over the administrative proceedings had already been validly acquired by the Bureau of Customs (BOC). Consequently, the Ombudsman’s Decision, together with the proceedings arising from it, was set aside for having been issued without jurisdiction. The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Carlito B. Calpatura and concurred in by Associate Justices Pedro B. Corales and Michael P. Ong. The Court explained that once a government agency has lawfully acquired jurisdiction over an administrative case, that jurisdiction continues until the case is finally resolved. It further held that another government agency exercising concurrent authority cannot subsequently assume jurisdiction after proceedings have already commenced before the first agency. According to the Court, the Bureau of Customs had already exercised jurisdiction after directing Cometa to answer the complaint and affording him the opportunity to request a formal administrative investigation. Having already taken cognizance of the case, jurisdiction properly remained with the Bureau of Customs. The Court likewise rejected the argument that the Bureau of Customs lost jurisdiction after the case was referred to the Office of the Ombudsman. It ruled that jurisdiction, once validly acquired, is not lost by referral or by the subsequent acts of the parties. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals held that the Office of the Ombudsman acted without or in excess of its jurisdiction in rendering its Decision. The appellate court therefore declared the Ombudsman’s Decision dated August 13, 2019, together with its Order dated September 13, 2019, NULL AND VOID. The dispositive portion of the Decision states: “WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition is GRANTED. The Decision dated August 13, 2019 and the Order dated September 13, 2019 of the Office of the Ombudsman in OMB-C-A-19-0155 are declared NULL AND VOID and are SET ASIDE.” The Court of Appeals likewise directed the Office of the Ombudsman to return the records of the case to the Bureau of Customs for the continuation of the administrative proceedings in accordance with law. At the time relevant to the administrative proceedings, Jaybee Raul Cometa was serving as the Chief of the Risk Management Office of the Bureau of Customs, a national-level position responsible for overseeing the agency’s risk management functions. The administrative complaint was initially taken cognizance of by the Bureau of Customs before it was subsequently acted upon by the Office of the Ombudsman. Cometa thereafter filed a petition before the Court of Appeals, arguing that the Office of the Ombudsman no longer had jurisdiction because the Bureau of Customs had already validly acquired jurisdiction over the administrative case. After reviewing the records and the applicable law, the Court of Appeals agreed that jurisdiction had already attached to the Bureau of Customs. It ruled that the Office of the Ombudsman could no longer validly exercise jurisdiction over the same administrative case. The Court’s Decision set aside the Office of the Ombudsman’s August 13, 2019 Decision and September 13, 2019 Order, and directed that the records of the case be returned to the Bureau of Customs for further proceedings in accordance with law.
