Certiorari even if Appeal Available

It must be remembered that a wide breadth of discretion is granted a court of justice in certiorari proceedings. The Court has not too infrequently given due course to a petition for certiorari, even when the proper remedy would have been an appeal, where valid and compelling considerations would warrant such a recourse. Moreover, the Court allowed a Rule 65 petition, despite the availability of plain, speedy or adequate remedy, in view of the importance of the issues raised therein. The rules were also relaxed by the Court after considering the public interest involved in the case; when public welfare and the advancement of public policy dictates; when the broader interest of justice so requires; when the writs issued are null and void; or when the questioned order amounts to an oppressive exercise of judicial authority. (People's Broadcasting v. Secretary of DOLE, G.R. No. 179652, May 8, 2009)