519 Phil. 585
SANDOVAL-GUTIERREZ, J.:
Received from Mrs. Elizabeth Eusebio Calderon the heart-shaped diamond ring which in return Mrs. Potenciana Nieto and Mrs. Annie Andan had given the checks dated June 30, 1991 worth P23,000.00, August 30, 1991 worth P25,000.00, and Sept. 30, 1991 worth P25.000.00 as full payment of the said jewelry.
(Sgd.) DIGNA G. SEVILLA (Sgd.) ANICIA ANDAN
Witness Signature
Inasmuch as the three checks (PDB Check Nos. 14173188, 14173189, and 14173190) were all payable to cash, Elizabeth required petitioner to endorse them. The latter complied.
_______________________
Witness[2]
Complainant, however, was able to present in Court only Planters Development Bank (Check) No. 14173188, dated June 30, 1991, in the amount of P23,000.00 and the fact of its being dishonored. The other two checks were neither presented nor the fact of being dishonored proven. Likewise, the two checks were not mentioned in the demand letter marked as Exhibit 'C.' Although, therefore, it is clear from the records, in fact admitted by the accused, that the total amount of P23,000.00 as purchase price of the diamond ring has not been paid, the accused should only be held liable for the dishonor of the check above-stated as the dishonor of the two other checks was not proven in Court.Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration, but this was denied by the Appellate Court.
The contention of the petitioner that he did not commit estafa because he did not issue or indorse the postdated checks is devoid of merit. While it is true that he did not issue or indorse the postdated checks, his and Montuerto's concerted acts with common design and purpose in encashing the questioned checks indicate the presence of conspiracy as charged in the information filed against them.In the present case, while Potenciana, who remains at large, was the drawer of the checks, however, it was petitioner who directly and personally negotiated the same. It was she who signed the receipt evidencing the sale. It was she who handed the checks to Elizabeth and endorsed them as payment for the ring. It is thus clear that petitioner and Potenciana acted in concert for the purpose of inducing and defrauding Elizabeth to part with her jewelry.
But as correctly ruled by the Court of Appeals, even without discussing the existence of conspiracy, appellant cannot escape liability by the fact alone that he did not ascertain whether or not Montuerto had sufficient funds to cover the check (Decision, CA-G.R. No. 02173, p. 4, citing People vs. Isleta, 61 Phil. 332 [1935]).
It must be noted that when the petitioner was in need of money, he asked the financial assistance of his friend Montuerto, and the latter issued the two postdated checks. Since the petitioner could not encash the postdated checks at the banks, he and Montuerto went to another friend, Apolinario Mercado. Mercado brought and introduced the petitioner and Montuerto to complainant Josephine Serrano at the latter's office. Petitioner and Montuerto requested the complainant and her husband to exchange with cash the two postdated checks which they had in their possession. At first, the Serranos hesitated but with the assurance of Mercado and the petitioner to the complainant that the checks will be funded when encashed, the latter exchanged the two postdated checks with cash which she handed to the petitioner.
This issue has already been laid to rest by this Court in People v. Isleta and Nuevo (61 Phil. 334 [1935]) where appellant without having issued or indorsed the checks in question was held liable because of his guilty knowledge that his co-accused had no funds in the bank when he negotiated the checks.
(1) postdating or issuance of a check in payment of an obligation contracted at the time the check was issued;All these elements are present in this case. The prosecution proved that the checks were issued in payment of a simultaneous obligation, i.e., the checks were issued in payment for the ring. The checks bounced when Elizabeth deposited them for the reason "Account Closed." There is no showing whatsoever that before petitioner handed and endorsed the checks to Elizabeth, she took steps to ascertain that Potenciana has sufficient funds in her account. Upon being informed that the checks bounced, she failed to give an adequate explanation why Potenciana's account was closed. In Echaus v. Court of Appeals,[4] we ruled that "the fact that the postdated checks...were not covered by sufficient funds, when they fell due, in the absence of any explanation or justification by petitioner, satisfied the element of deceit in the crime of estafa, as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code."[5]
(2) lack of or insufficiency of funds to cover the check; and
(3) the payee was not informed by the offender and the payee did not know that the offender had no funds or insufficient funds.