Facts: Felipe and Francisca were married. After a bitter quarrel, Felipe left the conjugal abode bringing with him their three sons. Francisca filed a petition for habeas corpus in the Court of Appeals for their 2 minor sons on the ground that Felipe’s act disrupted the children's education and deprived them of their mother’s care. Felipe filed a memorandum alleging that Francisca was unfit to take custody of their children and questioned the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals claiming that under Section 5(b) of RA 8369, family courts have exclusive original jurisdiction to hear and decide the petition for habeas corpus. Does the Court of Appeals have jurisdiction over habeas corpus cases involving custody of minors?
Held: The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction over habeas corpus case involving custody of minors. There is nothing in RA 8369 that revoked its jurisdiction to issue writs of habeas corpus involving the custody of minors. RA 8369 did not divest the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of their jurisdiction over habeas corpus cases involving the custody of minors.
The concurrent jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court with family courts in said cases was further affirmed by A.M. No. 03-03-04-SC (April 22, 2004) in Re: Rule on Custody of Minors and Writ of Habeas Corpus in Relation to Custody of Minors which provides that:
The concurrent jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court with family courts in said cases was further affirmed by A.M. No. 03-03-04-SC (April 22, 2004) in Re: Rule on Custody of Minors and Writ of Habeas Corpus in Relation to Custody of Minors which provides that:
Section 20. Petition for writ of habeas corpus. – A verified petition for a writ of habeas corpus involving custody of minors shall be filed with the Family Court. The writ shall be enforceable within its judicial region to which the Family Court belongs.
x x x x x x x x x
The petition may likewise be filed with the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or with any of its members and, if so granted, the writ shall be enforceable anywhere in the Philippines.
Moreover, a careful reading of Section 5(b) of RA 8369 reveals that family courts are vested with original exclusive jurisdiction in custody cases, not in habeas corpus cases. Writs of habeas corpus which may be issued exclusively by family courts under Section 5(b) of RA 8369 pertain to the ancillary remedy that may be availed of in conjunction with a petition for custody of minors under Rule 99 of the Rules of Court. In other words, the issuance of the writ is merely ancillary to the custody case pending before the family court. The writ must be issued by the same court to avoid splitting of jurisdiction, conflicting decisions, interference by a co-equal court and judicial instability.
The rule therefore is: when by law jurisdiction is conferred on a court or judicial officer, all auxiliary writs, processes and other means necessary to carry it into effect may be employed by such court or officer. Once a court acquires jurisdiction over the subject matter of a case, it does so to the exclusion of all other courts, including related incidents and ancillary matters. [Madrian vs. Madrian, 527 SCRA 487, GR No. 159374, July 12, 2007]