"x x x.
The only issue for our determination is whether the filing by the OSG of the petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals is within the reglementary period.
Section 4, Rule 65 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, reads in part:
SEC. 4. When and where petition filed. – The petition (for certiorari) may be filed not later than sixty (60) days from notice of the judgment, order, or resolution. In case a motion for reconsideration or new trial is timely filed, whether such motion is required or not, the sixty (60) day period shall be counted from notice of the denial of said motion.
x x x
In criminal actions brought before the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court, the authority to represent the State is solely vested in the OSG. This is pursuant to Section 35 (1), Chapter 12, Title III, Book III of the Administrative Code of 1987, as amended, providing that the OSG shall represent the Government in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals in all criminal proceedings. In People v. Eduarte,[2]People v. Nano,[3] and People v. Mendoza,[4] we ruled that “only the Solicitor General may bring or defend actions on behalf of the People of the Philippines
Under Section 5, Rule 110 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure, as amended, “All criminal actions, either commenced by complaint or by information, shall be prosecuted under the direction and control of a public prosecutor.” The rule is that when a party is represented by counsel in an action in court, notices of all kinds, including motions, pleadings, and orders must be served on said counsel and notice to him is notice to the client.[5] The RTC sent a copy of its Order dated November 9, 2000 to the Olongapo City Prosecutor who received it on November 22, 2000 . Perforce, it follows that the running of the 60-day period to file a petition for certiorari must commence from that date, not from January 3, 2001 , as claimed by the Solicitor General.
It appears that the Olongapo City Prosecutor did not act with dispatch in sending the questioned Order to the OSG. He received it onNovember 22, 2000 . But it was only on January 3, 2001 , or after 41 days, when the OSG received the same. In turn, the latter filed with the Court of Appeals the petition only on March 5, 2001 , or after 43 days. Clearly, a total of 84 days had elapsed from receipt of the challenged Order by the Olongapo City Prosecutor before the Solicitor General filed the petition for certiorari with the Court of Appeals.
In Yutingco v. Court of Appeals,[6] we explained that the 60-day period was set “to avoid any unreasonable delay that would violate the constitutional rights of parties to a speedy disposition of their cases” and for this reason, “ought to be considered inextendible.”
Thus, we hold that the Court of Appeals did not err in dismissing the petition for certiorari for having been filed late.
x x x."
