544 Phil. 237
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
Criminal Case No. 98-1611Petitioner was arraigned on August 18, 1998, and pleaded not guilty to both charges.[6] Pre-trial ensued and the cases were jointly tried. The prosecution presented its witnesses, after which the Siguion Reyna, Montecillio and Ongsiako Law Offices (SRMO) as private prosecutor filed a Formal Offer of Evidence.[7] Petitioner opposed the pleading, contending that the private complainant was represented by the ACCRA Law Offices and the Balgos and Perez Law Office during trial, and it was only after the prosecution had rested its case that SRMO entered its appearance as private prosecutor representing the PCIB. Since the ACCRA and Balgos and Perez Law Offices had not withdrawn their appearance, SRMO had no personality to appear as private prosecutor. Under the Informations, the private complainant is Caltex and not PCIB; hence, the Formal Offer of Evidence filed by SRMO should be stricken from the records.
That on or about the 24th day of September 1997 in the City of Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, a place within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, a private individual, with intent to defraud and intent to gain, without the knowledge and consent of Caltex Philippines, Inc. through its duly authorized officers/representatives, and by means of falsification of commercial document, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously defraud Caltex Phils., Inc., in the following manner, to wit: said accused, having obtained possession of PCIBank check no. 72922 dated September 15, 1997 payable to Dante R. Gutierrez, in the amount of Php1,790,757.50 with intent to defraud or cause damage to complainant Caltex Phils., Inc., willfully, unlawfully and feloniously affixed or caused to be affixed signatures purporting to be those of Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco, Caltex authorized officers/signatories, and of payee Dante R. Gutierrez, causing it to appear that Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco have participated in the issuance of PCIBank check no. 72922 and that Dante R. Gutierrez had endorsed it, when in truth and in fact, as said accused well knew, such was not the case, since said check previously stolen from Payables Section of CALTEX, was neither duly signed by Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco nor endorsed by Dante R. Gutierrez, after the check, a commercial document, was falsified in the manner above set forth, the said accused purporting himself to be the payee, Dante R. Gutierrez, deposited the check with Banco De Oro under Account No. 2004-0047245-7, thereby appropriating the proceeds of the falsified but cleared check, to the damage and prejudice of complainant herein represented by Ramon Romano, in the amount of Php1,790,757.50.
Criminal Case No. 98-1612
That on or about the 15th day of October 1997 in the City of Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, a place within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, a private individual, with intent to defraud and intent to gain, without the knowledge and consent of Caltex Philippines, Inc. through its duly authorized officers/representatives, and by means of falsification of commercial document, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously defraud Caltex Phils., Inc., in the following manner, to wit: said accused, having obtained possession of PCIBank check no. 74001 dated October 13, 1997 payable to Dante R. Gutierrez, in the amount of Php5,790,570.25 with intent to defraud or cause damage to complainant Caltex Phils., Inc., willfully, unlawfully and feloniously affixed or caused to be affixed signatures purporting to be those of Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco, Caltex authorized officers/signatories, and of payee Dante R. Gutierrez, causing it to appear that Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco have participated in the issuance of PCIBank check no. 74001 and that Dante R. Gutierrez had endorsed it, when in truth and in fact, as said accused well knew, such was not the case, since said check previously stolen from Payables Section of CALTEX, was neither duly signed by Ramon Romano and Victor Goquingco nor endorsed by Dante R. Gutierrez, after the check, a commercial document, was falsified in the manner above set forth, the said accused purporting himself to be the payee, Dante R. Gutierrez, deposited the check with Banco De Oro under Account No. 2004-0047245-7, thereby appropriating the proceeds of the falsified but cleared check, to the damage and prejudice of complainant herein represented by Ramon Romano, in the amount of Php5,790,570.25.[5]
According to petitioner, damage or injury to the offended party is an essential element of estafa. The amendment of the Informations substituting the PCIBank for Caltex as the offended party would prejudice his rights since he is deprived of a defense available before the amendment, and which would be unavailable if the Informations are amended. Petitioner further insisted that the ruling in the Sayson case did not apply to this case.IRESPONDENT JUDGE GRIEVEOUSLY (SIC) ERRED IN RENDERING ITS ORDER ISSUED WITH GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION TANTAMOUNT TO LACK OF OR IN EXCESS OF JURISDICTION BY ALLOWING THE SUBSTITUTION OF PRIVATE COMPLAINANT, AFTER THE ACUSED WAS ALREADY ARRAIGNED AND PROSECUTION HAS ALREADY TERMINATED PRESENTING ITS EVIDENCE THEREBY PATENTLY VIOLATING THE STRICT CONDITION IMPOSED UPON BY RULE 110 SEC. 14 RULES ON CRIMINAL ROCEDURE.IIAND AS A COROLLARY GROUND RESPONDENT JUDGE COMMITTED GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN EXCESS OF JURISDICTION IN RENDERING AN ORDER RECOGNIZING THE APPEARANCE OF A NEW PROSECUTOR WITHOUT WRITTEN OR EVEN ORAL WITHDRAWAL OF THE COUNSEL ON RECORD.[14]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the petition to annul the orders dated July 18, 2001 and November 14, 2001 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 63, Makati City in Criminal Case Nos. 98-1611 and 98-1612 is hereby DENIED and consequently DISMISSED.The appellate court declared that when PCIB restored the amount of the checks to Caltex, it was subrogated to the latter's right against petitioner. It further declared that in offenses against property, the designation of the name of the offended party is not absolutely indispensable for as long as the criminal act charged in the complaint or information can be properly identified. The appellate court cited the rulings of this Court in People v. Ho[16] and People v. Reyes.[17]SO ORDERED.[15]
- THE PEOPLE V. YU CHAI HO 53 PHILIPPINES 874 IS INAPPLICABLE TO THE CASE AT BAR CONSIDERING THE PACTS ARE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT.
- LIKEWISE, THE CASE OF PEOPLE VS. REYES CA, 50 (2) OG 665, NOVEMBER 11, 1953 HAS NO MATERIAL BEARING TO THE PRESENT CASE.
- THE SUBSTITUTION OF PCIBANK WILL SUBSTANTIALLY PREJUDICE THE RIGHTS OF THE PETITIONER HENCE, IT IS PROHIBITED BY SEC. 14 OF RULE 110.
- THERE IS NO VALID SUBROGATION BETWEEN CALTEX AND PCIBANK. ASSUMING THERE IS, THE CIVIL CASE SHOULD BE DISMISSED TO PROSECUTE.
- THE TWIN INFORMATIONS UPON WHICH PETITIONER WAS INDICTED, ARRAIGNED, PRE-TRIAL HELD AND PUBLIC PROSECUTOR TERMINATED THE PRESENTATION OF ITS EVIDENCE IN CHIEF ARE DEFECTIVE AND VOID, HENCE THE DISMISSAL IS IN ORDER.
- PETITIONER TIMELY OBJECTED TO THE APPEARANCE OF PRIVATE PROSECUTOR FOR PCIBANK.
- THE FINDINGS OF MATERIAL FACTS ARE NOT SUPORTED BY THE RECORD NOR EVIDENCE AND BASED ON MISAPPRECIATION OF FACTS.
- PETITIONER'S SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION DID NOT VIOLATE THE OMNIBUS MOTION RULE UNDER SEC. 8, RULE 15 OF THE 1997 RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.[19]
ART. 104. What is included in civil liability. - The civil liability established in Articles 100, 101, 102 and 103 of this Code includes:On the other hand, Section 14, Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure states:
- Restitution;
- Reparation of the damage caused;
- Indemnification for consequential damages.
Section 14. Amendment or substitution. - A complaint or information may be amended, in form or in substance, without leave of court, at any time before the accused enters his plea. After the plea and during the trial, a formal amendment may only be made with leave of court and when it can be done without causing prejudice to the rights of the accused.Thus, before the accused enters his plea, a formal or substantial amendment of the complaint or information may be made without leave of court. After the entry of a plea, only a formal amendment may be made but with leave of court and if it does not prejudice the rights of the accused. After arraignment, a substantial amendment is proscribed except if the same is beneficial to the accused.[23]
However, any amendment before plea, which downgrades the nature of the offense charged in or excludes any accused from the complaint or information, can be made only upon motion by the prosecutor, with notice to the offended party and with leave of court. The court shall state its reasons in resolving the motion and copies of its order shall be furnished all parties, especially the offended party.
Petitioner was charged of the crime of estafa complex with falsification document. In estafa one of the essential elements "to prejudice of another" as mandated by article 315 of the Revise Penal Code.Petitioner's argument on subrogation is misplaced. The Court agrees with respondent PCIB's comment that petitioner failed to make a distinction between legal and conventional subrogation. Subrogation is the transfer of all the rights of the creditor to a third person, who substitutes him in all his rights.[28] It may either be legal or conventional. Legal subrogation is that which takes place without agreement but by operation of law because of certain acts.[29] Instances of legal subrogation are those provided in Article 1302[30] of the Civil Code. Conventional subrogation, on the other hand, is that which takes place by agreement of the parties.[31] Thus, petitioner's acquiescence is not necessary for subrogation to take place because the instant case is one of legal subrogation that occurs by operation of law, and without need of the debtor's knowledge.The element of "to the prejudice of another" being as essential element of the felony should be clearly indicated and charged in the information with TRUTH AND LEGAL PRECISION.
This is not so in the case of petitioner, the twin information filed against him alleged the felony committed " to the damage and prejudice of Caltex." This allegation is UNTRUE and FALSE for there is no question that as early as March 24, 1998 or THREE (3) LONG MONTHS before the twin information were filed on June 29, 1998, the prejudice party is already PCIBank since the latter Re-Credit the value of the checks to Caltex as early as March 24, 1998. In effect, assuming there is valid subrogation as the subject decision concluded, the subrogation took place an occurred on March 24, 1998 THREE (3) MONTHS before the twin information were filed.The phrase "to the prejudice to another" as element of the felony is limited to the person DEFRAUDED in the very act of embezzlement. It should not be expanded to other persons which the loss may ultimately fall as a result of a contract which contract herein petitioner is total stranger.
In this case, there is no question that the very act of commission of the offense of September 24, 1997 and October 15, 1997 respectively, Caltex was the one defrauded by the act of the felony.In the light of these facts, petitioner submits that the twin information are DEFECTIVE AND VOID due to the FALSE ALLEGATIONS that the offense was committed to the prejudice of Caltex when it truth and in fact the one prejudiced here was PCIBank.
The twin information being DEFECTIVE AND VOID, the same should be dismissed without prejudice to the filing of another information which should state the offense was committed to the prejudice of PCIBank if it still legally possible without prejudicing substantial and statutory rights of the petitioner.[27]
We do not however, think that the fiscal erred in alleging that the commission of the crime resulted to the prejudice of Wm. H. Anderson & Co. It is true that originally the International Banking Corporation was the prejudiced party, but Wm. H. Anderson & Co. compensated it for its loss and thus became subrogated to all its rights against the defendant (article 1839, Civil Code). Wm. H. Anderson & Co., therefore, stood exactly in the shoes of the International Banking Corporation in relation to the defendant's acts, and the commission of the crime resulted to the prejudice of the firm previously to the filing of the information in the case. The loss suffered by the firm was the ultimate result of the defendant's unlawful acts, and we see no valid reason why this fact should not be stated in the information; it stands to reason that, in the crime of estafa, the damage resulting therefrom need not necessarily occur simultaneously with the acts constituting the other essential elements of the crime.Thus, being subrogated to the right of Caltex, PCIB, through counsel, has the right to intervene in the proceedings, and under substantive laws is entitled to restitution of its properties or funds, reparation, or indemnification.
Sec. 6. Sufficiency of complaint or information. - A complaint or information is sufficient if it states the name of the accused; the designation of the offense by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense; the name of the offended party; the approximate time of the commission of the offense; and the place wherein the offense was committed.On the other hand, Section 12 of the same Rule provides:
When the offense is committed by more than one person, all of them shall be included in the complaint or information.
Section. 12. Name of the offended party. - The complaint or information must state the name and surname of the person against whom or against whose property the offense was committed, or any appellation or nickname by which such person has been or is known. If there is no better way of identifying him, he must be described under a fictitious name.In Sayson v. People,[33] the Court held that in case of offenses against property, the designation of the name of the offended party is not absolutely indispensable for as long as the criminal act charged in the complaint or information can be properly identified:(a) In offenses against property, if the name of the offended party is unknown, the property must be described with such particularity as to properly identify the offense charged.(b) If the true name of the person against whom or against whose property the offense was committed is thereafter disclosed or ascertained, the court must cause such true name to be inserted in the complaint or information and the record.
(c) If the offended party is a juridical person, it is sufficient to state its name, or any name or designation by which it is known or by which it may be identified, without need of averring that it is a juridical person or that it is organized in accordance with law. (12a)
The rules on criminal procedure require the complaint or information to state the name and surname of the person against whom or against whose property the offense was committed or any appellation or nickname by which such person has been or is known and if there is no better way of Identifying him, he must be described under a fictitious name (Rule 110, Section 11, Revised Rules of Court; now Rule 110, Section 12 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal Procedure.] In case of offenses against property, the designation of the name of the offended party is not absolutely indispensable for as long as the criminal act charged in the complaint or information can be properly identified. Thus, Rule 110, Section 11 of the Rules of Court provides that:Lastly, on petitioner's claim that he timely objected to the appearance of SRMO[34] as private prosecutor for PCIB, the Court agrees with the observation of the CA that contrary to his claim, petitioner did not question the said entry of appearance even as the RTC acknowledged the same on October 8, 1999.[35] Thus, petitioner cannot feign ignorance or surprise of the incident, which are "all water under the bridge for [his] failure to make a timely objection thereto."[36]
Section 11. Name of the offended party-...(a) In cases of offenses against property, if the name of the offended party is unknown, the property, subject matter of the offense, must be described with such particularity as to properly Identify the particular offense charged.In U.S. v. Kepner [1 Phil. 519 (1902)], this Court laid down the rule that when an offense shall have been described in the complaint with sufficient certainty as to Identify the act, an erroneous allegation as to the person injured shall be deemed immaterial as the same is a mere formal defect which did not tend to prejudice any substantial right of the defendant. Accordingly, in the aforementioned case, which had a factual backdrop similar to the instant case, where the defendant was charged with estafa for the misappropriation of the proceeds of a warrant which he had cashed without authority, the erroneous allegation in the complaint to the effect that the unlawful act was to the prejudice of the owner of the cheque, when in reality the bank which cashed it was the one which suffered a loss, was held to be immaterial on the ground that the subject matter of the estafa, the warrant, was described in the complaint with such particularity as to properly Identify the particular offense charged. In the instant suit for estafa which is a crime against property under the Revised Penal Code, since the check, which was the subject-matter of the offense, was described with such particularity as to properly identify the offense charged, it becomes immaterial, for purposes of convicting the accused, that it was established during the trial that the offended party was actually Mever Films and not Ernesto Rufino, Sr. nor Bank of America as alleged in the information.
(b) If in the course of the trial, the true name of the person against whom or against whose property the offense was committed is disclosed or ascertained, the court must cause the true name to be inserted in the complaint or information or record....