After being junked twice by the Department of Justice, the "Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Homicide" case against actor Richard Gutierrez has now been elevated to the Court of Appeals.

 Lorayne Pardo and her lawyers—Atty. Firdausi Abbas, Atty. Ombra Jainal, Atty. Rizaldy Mariano, and Atty. Ricardo Moreno of the Abbas Law Firm—filed the Petition for Certiorari with the Court of Appeals  last June 21.

In her 34-page Petition for Certiorari, Lorayne Pardo petitioned the Court to: (1) Set aside the two DOJ Resolutions that ordered the case to be dismissed, (2) Affirm the resolution of the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Cavite "insofar as the filing of an Information for Reckless Imprudence Resulting in Homicide" against the actor, and (3) to appreciate the qualifying circumstance of "abandonment of victim" under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code.

Pardo's Grounds for Petition were as follows: (1) That the DOJ "acted with grave abuse of discretion" when it granted Gutierrez's Petition for Review (thereby dismissing the criminal complaint against Gutierrez), and (2) that the DOJ "acted with grave abuse of discretion" when it dismissed Pardo's Petition for Review (which sought to include the qualifying circumstance of "abandonment of victim" to increase the imposable penalty such that he would not be eligible for parole if convicted).

Lorayne, 30, filed the criminal case against the 26-year old actor last July 23, 2009, two months after the death of her husband Nomar Pardo.

Nomar, Richard's personal assistant, died on May 22 last year when  the Nissan Skyline that the actor was driving crashed in Silang, Cavite. The 42-year-old Nomar, who was seated in the back of the car, was thrown out of the rear window, and was declared "Dead On Arrival" at a Silang hospital. (CLICK HERE to read related story)

In Lorayne's complaint, she accused the actor of driving the sports car "fast and with reckless imprudence" and of leaving her husband on the scene of the crash without giving him immediate assistance.

Gutierrez, however, denied both accusations in his counter-affidavit and in subsequent interviews to the press.

Cavite Provincial Chief Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco believed the accusation that the actor had been "overspeeding," and he found "probable cause" to charge Richard with reckless imprudence resulting to homicide on September 18, 2009. Velasco, however, did not include the qualifying circumstance of abandonment in the charge. (CLICK HERE to read related story)

In response, Gutierrez's lawyers—Atty. Gener Asuncion and Atty. Sheryl Mallari of the Belo Gozon Elma Parel Asuncion Lucila (BGEPAL) Law Offices—petitioned the DOJ on October 7, 2009 to reverse the prosecutor's finding of probable cause.

Pardo also petitioned the DOJ on the same date to include in the charge the qualifying circumstance of abandonment of the victim, which would have increased the penalty for reckless imprudence that could be imposed on Gutierrez to more than six (6) years of imprisonment.

On March 1 this year, the DOJ through former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera issued a Resolution that granted Gutierrez's petition, thereby resulting in the case's dismissal. (CLICK HERE to read related story)

In response, Pardo's camp filed on March 22 a motion for reconsideration of the DOJ resolution. This motion was denied by former Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra on May 28, thus causing Pardo to file a Petition for Certiorari with the CA on June 21.

RECENT DEVELOPMENT. The Pardo camp also recently filed five other cases related to the criminal case against Richard Gutierrez.

These are: (1) a disbarment case against former Justice Secretaries Devanadera and Agra; (2) a disbarment case against Quezon City Judge Ofelia Arellano-Marquez, the judge who approved the bail posted by the actor on September 23, 2009; (3) a criminal case against Dr. Jose Oreta Jr. of St. Luke's Medical Center, the doctor who issued for the actor last February 9 a medical certificate to excuse him from his scheduled arraignment the next day; (4) an administrative case against Gutierrez and his lawyers Atty. Asuncion and Atty. Mallari for using the said medical certificate in Court; and, (5) a case to revoke the notarial authority of Atty. Christine Bio, the lawyer who notarized the actor's medical certificate.