THIRD DIVISION
G.R. No. 205760, November 09, 2015
FRANCISCO T. INOCENCIO, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
R E S O L U T I O N
REYES, J.:
The instant Petition for Review on Certiorari1 assails the Decision2 and Resolution3 of the Court of Appeals (CA), dated September 20, 2012 and February 13, 2013, respectively, in CA-G.R. CR No. 30621, which modified the Joint Decision4 rendered on March 25, 2006 by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Mandaluyong City, Branch 214, convicting Francisco T. Inocencio (petitioner) of two counts of Theft.
Petitioner was an employee of the then Far East Bank and Trust Company (FEBTC) from April 1978 to August 1998. Petitioner's last position therein was manager of the Automated feller Machine (ATM) Services Department Cash Management Division. As manager of said division, petitioner had control, possession, and custody of bank money amounting up to One Hundred Million Pesos. As an FEBTC employee, petitioner had an FEBTC payroll/ATM account. Through his ATM card and its Personalized Identification Number known only to him, petitioner could inquire about his balance, transfer money to and from his ATM account, and pay his bills.
Sometime in 1998, Liza Sarao (Sarao), an audit officer at FEBTC's Boni Avenue [Mandaluyong City] branch, conducted a special audit on said branch to investigate reported anomalous transactions performed by petitioner and the branch trade officer, Ma. Milagros T. Clemente (Clemente).
Sarao alleged, inter alia, that: (1) on February 9, 1994, Clemente fraudulently credited the amount of One Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Six Hundred Thirty-Four Pesos and Seventy-Four Centavos (Php 1,150,634.74) to FEBTC Account No. 515-12910-8, belonging to her relative, Theresa Clemente;5 (2) One Million Two Hundred Sixty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Four Pesos and Fifty Centavos (Php 1,262,774.50) was fraudulently transferred to petitioner's FEBTC Account No. 5115-12827-6 in three (3) transactions: (a) Five Hundred Sixty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Four Pesos and Fifty-Two Centavos (Php 562,774.52); (b) Four Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 400,000.00); and (c) Three Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 300,000.00); and (3) Petitioner later withdrew the whole amount, as evidenced by the deposit and withdrawal slips stored in FEBTC's Central Operations] Department.
Sarao also claimed that the funding of petitioner's FEBTC Account No. 5115-12827-6 came from unauthorized terminations of the placements of other FEBTC clients. Bank records did not show that petitioner had placements in FEBTC.
Florentino Bartolome, Jr. (Bartolome), officer-in-charge of the records unit of FEBTC under its Central Operations Department in Intramuros, Manila, received a request to retrieve documents concerning the theft cases against petitioner. Using the available microfilm, microfiche6 and CD-ROM's in his office, Bartolome was able to retrieve certain documents, which he presented in court. Ma. Theresa Vierneza (Vierneza), Head of the Information Technology Group of FEBTC, confirmed that the documents presented and identified by Bartolome were the same documents processed by Bartolome's office.7 (Citations omitted and emphasis in the original)cralawlawlibrary
WHEREFORE, judgment is rendered by this court finding the [petitioner] GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of theft as follows:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
In Criminal Case No. MC 99-1456, [the petitioner] is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of TWELVE (12) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY to TWENTY (20) YEARS and to indemnify [FEBTC] the amount of P1,262,774.50.
In Criminal Case No. MC 99-1457, [the petitioner] is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of TWELVE (12) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY to TWENTY (20) YEARS and to indemnify [FEBTC] the amount of P450,000.00.
[In the] [m]eantime, for failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the [petitioner] in Criminal Cases Nos. MC[ ]99-1458, MC[ ]99-1459 and MC[ ]99-1460, [the petitioner] is hereby ACQUITTED of the charge[s] in these cases.
SO ORDERED.10ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
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WHEREFORE, the instant appeal is PARTIALLY GRANTED.
The 25 March 2006 Decision of the [RTC] ofMandaluyong City, Branch 214 is hereby MODIFIED to read as follows:"WHEREFORE, judgment is rendered by this Court finding the [petitioner] GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Theft as follows:In Criminal Case No. MC[ ]99-1456, [the petitioner] is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment in the minimum period of SIX (6) YEARS to a maximum period of TWENTY (20) YEARS and to indemnify [FEBTC] in [sic] the amount of P1,262,774.50.SO ORDERED.14 (Emphasis in the original)cralawlawlibrary
In Criminal Case No. MC[ ]99-1457, [the petitioner] is hereby ACQUITTED for failure of the prosecution to prove the [petitioner's] guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
[In the] [m]eantime, for failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the [petitioner] in Criminal Cases Nos. MC[ ]99-1458, MC[ [99-1459 and MC[ ]99-1460, [the petitioner] is hereby ACQUITTED of the charge[s] in these cases.
SO ORDERED."
[B]ased on the records, [the petitioner] admitted ownership of the following bank accounts: (1) 2100-93570-4; (2) 0101-90300-6; (3) 5115-12827-6; and (4) 5015-01498-9. These accounts, per records of the bank, were the very accounts where the claimed illegally-credited amounts were kept before they were ultimately withdrawn or otherwise disposed of by [the petitioner]. Especially so that [the petitioner] further admitted that the checks issued to allow the removal of the money from the bank were signed by him.x x x xPertinently, a conspiracy is proved by evidence of actual cooperation; of acts indicative of an agreement, a common purpose or design, a concerted action or concurrence of sentiments to commit the felony and actually pursue it.
xxx (T]he elements of theft are as follows:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
"1. That there be taking of personal property;
2. That said property belongs to another;
3. That the taking be done with intent to gain;
4. That the taking be done without the consent of the owner; and
5. That the taking be accomplished without the use of violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things." x x x
In Criminal Case [No.] MC 99-1456 committed on February 9, 1994, both the taking of the money and the conspiracy were sufficiently proved by the prosecution by way of circumstantial evidence and/or judicial admissions of [the petitioner] himself establishing: (1) that [the petitioner] opened and owns the four subject accounts in the bank; (2) that money belonging to the bank amounting to One Million One Hundred Fifty Thousand Six Hundred Thirty-One Pesos and Seventy-Four centavos (P1,150,631.74) was transferred by [Clemente] as proceeds from placement to the account of one Teresita Clemente; (3) that on the same day, the amount of One Million Two Hundred Sixty-Two Thousand Seven Hundred Seventy-Four Pesos and Fifty centavos (P1,262,774.50) was transferred by [Clemente] from Teresita Clcmente's account to Jthe petitioner's] account number 5115-12827-6; (4) that the same money ultimately ended up in [the petitioner's Current] [A]ccount [NJumber 5015-01498-9; and (5) that [the petitioner] finally disposed of the money by issuing a check for the same amount.
While no direct evidence was established showing that (the petitioner] literally and physically took the money from the bank, We agree with the court a quo's finding that there was, indeed, enough circumstantial evidence proving his guilt. Such pieces of evidence prevent Us from reversing the lower court's conviction in MC 99-1456.
More so that Section 4 of Rule 133 of the Rules of Court provides:"SEC. 4. Circumstantial evidence, when sufficient. -Circumstantial evidence is sufficient for conviction if:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryThe combination of all the foregoing circumstances undeniably, and beyond reasonable doubt, show that [the petitioner], conspiring with Clemente, TOOK money BELONGING TO THE BANK with INTENT TO GAIN but without use of violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things.
(a) There is more than one circumstance;
(b) The facts from which the inferences are derived arc proven; and
(c) The combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt."
Pitted against the [petitioner's] defense of denial, We are convinced that there is sufficient evidence establishing his guilt of theft in MC 99-1456 beyond reasonable doubt. Well established is the rule that denials if unsubstantiated by clear and convincing evidence are negative, self-serving evidence which deserve no weight in law and cannot be given greater evidentiary weight over the testimony of credible witnesses who testify on affirmative matters.
[The petitioner] further attempts to cast doubt on his conviction by claiming that there was no allegation of conspiracy in the Informations filed against him.
x x x x
It is settled that the act of conspiring and all the elements of the crime is required to be alleged in the complaint or information only when conspiracy is charged as a crime.
The requirements on sufficiency of allegations are different when conspiracy is not charged as a crime in itself but only as the mode of committing the crime as in the case at bar. There is less necessity of reciting its particularities in the Information because conspiracy is not the gravamen of the offense charged.
Besides, it is settled that an information alleging conspiracy can stand even if only one person is charged (except that the court cannot pass verdict on the co-conspirators who were not charged in the information).
Criminal Case No. MC 99-1457
In Criminal Case No. MC[ ]99-1457, however, it is Our view that the prosecution failed to prove [the petitioner's] participation in the theft alleged when it failed to present in evidence the check allegedly issued by the latter in order to supposedly withdraw the money from the bank. Without this evidence linking [the petitioner] to the theft in Criminal Case No. MC 99-1457, his right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty stands.
The penalty for simple theft under the Revised Penal Code is as follows:"Art. 309. Penalties. Any person guilty of theft shall be punished by:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryThe penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods has a range of six (6) years and one (1) day to ten (10) years. Its maximum period is eight (8) years, eight (8) months and one (1) day to ten (10) years; since the incremental penalty in the instant case exceeds the maximum of twenty (20) years, following the above provision, the maximum impossible penalty for [the petitioner] is 20 years.
1. The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if the value of the thing stolen is more than 12,000 pesos but does not exceed 22,000 pesos; but if the value of the thing stolen exceeds the latter amount, the penalty shall be the maximum period of the one prescribed in this paragraph, and one year for each additional ten thousand pesos, but the total of the penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty years. In such cases, and in connection with the accessory penalties which may be imposed and for the purpose of the other provisions of this Code, the penalty shall be termed prision mayor or reclusion temporal, as the case may be."
x x x
Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law (RA 4103), the imposable penalty therefore shall be anywhere between two (2) years, four (4) months and one (1) day of prision correccional minimum to six (6) years of prision correccional maximum as minimum and the period oi twenty (20) years as maximum.15 (Citations omitted and emphasis in the original)cralawlawlibrary
Notably, in People v. Quillong, as pointed out by respondent, the Court ruled on how conspiracy as a mode of committing the offense should be alleged in the Information, viz:x x x xcralawlawlibrary
A conspiracy indictment need not, of course, aver all the components of conspiracy or allege all the details thereof, like the part that each of the parties therein have performed, the evidence proving the common design or the facts connecting all the accused with one another in the web of the conspiracy. Neither is it necessary to describe conspiracy with the same degree of particularity required in describing a substantive offense. It is enough that the indictment contains a statement of facts relied upon to be constitutive of the offense in ordinary and concise language, with as much certainty as the nature of the case will admit, in a manner that can enable a person of common understanding to know what is intended, and with such precision that the accused may plead his acquittal or conviction to a subsequent indictment based on the same facts. It is said, generally, that an indictment may be held sufficient "if it follows the words of the statute and reasonably informs the accused of the character of the offense he is charged with conspiring to commit, or, following the language of the statute, contains a sufficient statement of an overt act to effect the object of the conspiracy, or alleges both the conspiracy and the contemplated crime in the language of the respective statutes defining them (15A C.J.S. 842-844).
x x x Conspiracy arises when two or more persons come to an agreement concerning the commission of a felony and decide to commit it. Conspiracy comes to life at the very instant the plotters agree, expressly or impliedly, to commit the felony and forthwith to actually pursue it. Verily, the information must state that the accused have confederated to commit the crime or that there has been a community of design, a unity of purpose or an agreement to commit the felony among the accused. Such an allegation, in the absence of the usual usage of the words "conspired" or "confederated" or the phrase "acting in conspiracy," must aptly appear in the information in the form of definitive acts constituting conspiracy. In fine, the agreement to commit the crime, the unity of purpose or the community of design among the accused must be conveyed such as either by the use of the term "conspire" or its derivatives and synonyms or by allegations of basic facts constitutinu the conspiracy. Conspiracy must be alleged, not just inferred, in the information on which basis an accused can aptly enter his plea, a matter that is not to be confused with or likened to the adequacy of evidence that may be required to prove it. In establishing conspiracy when properly alleged, the evidence to support it need not necessarily be shown by direct proof but may be inferred from shown acts and conduct of the accused.30 (Citations omitted and underlining ours)
That on or about the 9th day of February 1994, in the City of Mandaluyong, Philippines, a place within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the [petitioner], with intent to gain and without the knowledge and consent of [FEBTC], Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong Branch, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously take, steal and carry away from [FEBTC] in the total amount of P1,262,774.50 with [Clemente], a Marketing Assistant/Trader of [FEBTC], Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong Branch, fraudulently and illegally crediting the aforesaid amount to the [petitioner's] Account Number 5115-12827-6 with [FHBTC], through credit memo and accounting entries to the damage and prejudice of [FEBTC] in the aforementioned amount.
CONTRARY TO LAW.31 (Italics ours)
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Endnotes:
* Additional Member per Raffle dated November 3, 2014 vice Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza.
1Rollo, pp. 7-30.
2 Penned by Associate Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso, with Associate Justices Jane Aurora C. Lantion and Eduardo 13. Peralta, Jr. concurring; id. at 33-60.
3 Id. at 61.
4 Rendered by Judge Edwin D. Sorongon; CA rollo, pp. 44-52.
5 Sometimes appears in the records as "Teresita Clemente."
6 A microfiche is a wide laser printer which utilizes film rolls and produces images or reports. All bank statements of the clients are stored in microfiche. FEBTC's Information Technology department downloads data from the mainframe (main computer with networks) into the microfiche; TSN lime 22 2000, pp. 8-9.
7Rollo, pp. 71-73.
8 Id. at 73-74.
9 CA rollo, pp. 19-28.
10 Id. at 52.
11 Id. at 47-49.
12 Id. at 50-51.
13 Id. at 51-52.
14Rollo, pp. 59-60.
15 Id. at 53-59.
16 Id. at 61.
17 Id. at 12-13.
18 Id. at 14-15.
19 Id. at 17.
20 Id. at 20.
21 Id. at 21.
22 Id. at 23-24.
23 Id. at 76.
24 Id. at 77-78.
25 Id. at 79.
26 Id. at 80; CA rollo, p.
27Rollo, pp. 80-81.
28 Id. at 51-52.
29 600 Phil. 475 (2009).
30 Id. at 494-495.
31 CA rollo, p. 19.
32 354 Phil. 463 (1998).
33 Id. at 471.
34Rollo, pp. 55-56.
35 RULES OF COURT, Rule 131, Section 3(d).
36 RULES OF COURT, Rule 131, Section 3(q).
37 TSN, February 10, 2004, p. 18; TSN, February 18, 2004, pp. 21-22.
38 TSN, July 6, 2004, pp. 4-5.
39 TSN, June 22, 2000, pp. 5-6
40 Id. at 13.
41 TSN, February 10, 2004, pp. 12-13.
42 TSN, July 6, 2004, pp. 3-4.
43 Id. at 6-7.
44People v. Del Monte, 575 Phil. 576, 588 (2008)
45 Id.
46Please see People v. Cruz, G.R. No. 201728, July 17, 2013, 701 SCRA 548, 559-560.