[G.R. No. 169440 : November 23, 2011]
GEMMA ONG A.K.A. MARIA TERESA GEMMA CATACUTAN, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT.
D E C I S I O N
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.:
Before Us is a petition for review on certiorari, filed under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court, to set aside and reverse the June 16, 2005 Decision1 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 28308, which affirmed the September 23, 2003 Decision2 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila, Branch 24 in Criminal Case No. 00-184454.
On July 28, 2000, petitioner Gemma Ong a.k.a. Maria Teresa Gemma Catacutan (Gemma) was charged before the RTC for Infringement under Section 155 in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code. The accusatory portion of the Information reads:
On August 1, 2000, Judge Rebecca G. Salvador of RTC Manila, Branch 1, issued a warrant of arrest against Gemma, but lifted4 and set aside5 the same after Gemma voluntarily surrendered on August 4, 2000, and filed a cash bond for P12,000.00.
Gemma pleaded not guilty to the charge upon arraignment on October 17, 2000.6 After the pre-trial conference on February 13, 2001,7 trial on the merits ensued.
The prosecution called to the witness stand the following: Roger Sherman Slagle, the Director of Operations of Philip Morris Malaysia, and Philip Morris Philippines, Inc.'s (PMPI) product/brand security expert, to testify that according to his examination, the products they seized at the subject premises were counterfeit cigarettes;8 as well as Jesse Lara, who, as then Senior Investigator III at the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Unit of the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB), Department of Finance, led the investigating team, to testify on the events that led to the arrest of Gemma.9 The prosecution also presented the billing accountant of Quasha Ancheta Peña & Nolasco Law Office (Quasha Law Office), Juliet Flores, to show that PMPI, being one of Quasha Law Office's clients, paid the amount of $4,069.12 for legal services rendered.10 The last witness for the prosecution was Atty. Alonzo Q. Ancheta, a senior law partner at Quasha Law Office, who testified that as the duly appointed Attorney-in-Fact of PMPI, he was in charge of the EIIB search operation in the subject premises. Atty. Ancheta said that while he was not personally present during the implementation of the search warrant, he sent Atty. Leonardo Salvador, who constantly reported the developments to him.11
The facts, as succinctly summarized by the Court of Appeals, are as follows:
On July 28, 2000, petitioner Gemma Ong a.k.a. Maria Teresa Gemma Catacutan (Gemma) was charged before the RTC for Infringement under Section 155 in relation to Section 170 of Republic Act No. 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code. The accusatory portion of the Information reads:
That sometime in September 25, 1998 and prior thereto at Sta. Cruz, Manila and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused did then and there, knowingly, maliciously, unlawfully and feloniously engage in the distribution, sale, [and] offering for sale of counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes which had caused confusion, deceiving the public that such cigarettes [were] Marlboro cigarettes and those of the Telengtan Brothers and Sons, Inc., doing business under the style of La Suerte Cigar and Cigarettes Factory, the exclusive manufacturer of Marlboro Cigarette in the Philippines and that of Philip Morris Products, Inc. (PMP7) the registered owner and proprietor of the MARLBORO trademark together with the devices, including the famous-Root Device, to their damage and prejudice, without the accused seeking their permit or authority to manufacture and distribute the same.3
On August 1, 2000, Judge Rebecca G. Salvador of RTC Manila, Branch 1, issued a warrant of arrest against Gemma, but lifted4 and set aside5 the same after Gemma voluntarily surrendered on August 4, 2000, and filed a cash bond for P12,000.00.
Gemma pleaded not guilty to the charge upon arraignment on October 17, 2000.6 After the pre-trial conference on February 13, 2001,7 trial on the merits ensued.
The prosecution called to the witness stand the following: Roger Sherman Slagle, the Director of Operations of Philip Morris Malaysia, and Philip Morris Philippines, Inc.'s (PMPI) product/brand security expert, to testify that according to his examination, the products they seized at the subject premises were counterfeit cigarettes;8 as well as Jesse Lara, who, as then Senior Investigator III at the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Unit of the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB), Department of Finance, led the investigating team, to testify on the events that led to the arrest of Gemma.9 The prosecution also presented the billing accountant of Quasha Ancheta Peña & Nolasco Law Office (Quasha Law Office), Juliet Flores, to show that PMPI, being one of Quasha Law Office's clients, paid the amount of $4,069.12 for legal services rendered.10 The last witness for the prosecution was Atty. Alonzo Q. Ancheta, a senior law partner at Quasha Law Office, who testified that as the duly appointed Attorney-in-Fact of PMPI, he was in charge of the EIIB search operation in the subject premises. Atty. Ancheta said that while he was not personally present during the implementation of the search warrant, he sent Atty. Leonardo Salvador, who constantly reported the developments to him.11
The facts, as succinctly summarized by the Court of Appeals, are as follows:
On September 10, 1998, Jesse S. Lara, then Senior Investigator III at the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Unit of the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB), Department of Finance, received reliable information that counterfeit "Marlboro"
