578 Phil. 486
LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.:
That on or about March 23, 1998, in the municipality of Sorsogon, province of Sorsogon, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to defraud, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously, make, draw, and issue to apply on account and/or for value received a DBP Check No. 0859279 payable to EFREN R. ABLES in the amount of TWENTY THOUSAND PESOS (P20,000.00), Philippine Currency, knowing fully well that at the time of issue, accused did not have sufficient fund and/or his account is already closed with the drawee bank and that upon presentment of the check for payment on May 27, 1998, the same was dishonored and/or refused payment by the drawee bank for the reason that the account of the said accused is already closed and/or without sufficient fund and despite repeated demands after receipt of notice of said dishonor and thereafter made by Efren R. Ables, accused refused and still refuses to pay the latter, to his damage and prejudice in the aforementioned amount of P20,000.00, Philippine Currency.When arraigned on April 13, 1999, petitioner pleaded "Not Guilty" [4] to the offense charged. During the trial on the merits, the prosecution presented the testimonies of private complainant Efren R. Ables and Valentin Luzuriaga, a bank teller of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). The prosecution presented Exhibits "A" to "E" with submarkings consisting of the check issued by the petitioner, the demand letter sent by private complainant to petitioner and bank records to show that the said check was dishonored as the account was closed even before the said check was issued. All of the aforesaid exhibits were admitted by the trial court in its Order dated August 27, 2001. On the other hand, petitioner did not present any witness but only offered his documentary evidence, consisting of: Exh. 1- the said demand letter of the private complainant; Exh. 1-A - stamp "Return to Sender" on the envelope of Exh. 1; Exh. 2 - the Transcript of Stenographic Notes (TSN of the Hearing on December 20, 1999); Exh. 2-a, page 9 of the said TSN; and Exh. 2-b, the No. 5 question and answer in Exh. 2.
Contrary to law. [3]
WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused Jude Joby G. Lopez guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of ESTAFA defined and penalized under Art. 315, par. 2 (d) of the Revised Penal Code as amended by R.A. 4885 and taking into consideration the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court hereby sentences him to suffer an imprisonment of Six (6) years and One (1) day of prision mayor as minimum to Twelve (12) years and One (1) day of reclusion temporal as maximum and to indemnify the private complainant, Efren Ables in the amount of P20,000.00 Philippine currency and to pay the costs.In his Motion for Reconsideration, petitioner, citing the case of Pacheco v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 126670, December 2, 1999, 319 SCRA 595), argued that Ables knew at the time of the issuance of the check that accused had no funds in the bank and therefore, the element of deceit was absent. The said Motion for Reconsideration was denied by the trial court.
SO ORDERED.[5]
2. By means of the following false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud:By settled jurisprudence, the elements of the crime of estafa, as defined in the above quoted provision of law, are as follows: (1) the offender has postdated or issued a check in payment of an obligation contracted at the time of the postdating or issuance; (2) at the time of postdating or issuance of said check, the offender has no funds in the bank or the funds deposited are not sufficient to cover the amount of the check; and (3) the payee has been defrauded. Damage and deceit are essential elements of the offense and must be established with satisfactory proof to warrant conviction, while the false pretense or fraudulent act must be committed prior to, or simultaneous with, the issuance of the bad check. The drawer of the dishonored check is given three days from receipt of the notice of dishonor to cover the amount of the check, otherwise, a prima facie presumption of deceit arises.[6]
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d) By postdating a check, or issuing a check in payment of an obligation when the offender had no funds in the bank, or his funds deposited therein were not sufficient to cover the amount of the check. The failure of the drawer of the check to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within three (3) days from receipt of notice from the bank and/or payee or holder that said check has been dishonored for lack or insufficiency of funds shall be prima facie evidence of deceit constituting false pretense or fraudulent act.
Indisputably, on March 23, 1998, appellant issued and postdated a check with a value equivalent to the sum of P20,000.00 which he obtained from Efren. He accomplished deceit when he led Efren to believe that, prior to, or simultaneous with, their arrangement, the subject check is good upon its maturity on April 30, 1998. However, the check turned out to be worthless because, when Efren deposited it with the Legaspi Savings Bank, the same was dishonored due to "Account Closed". Evidently, Efren was prejudiced and damaged by appellant's fraudulent ploy.[8]In the motion for reconsideration of the decision of the trial court finding petitioner guilty of the crime of estafa, the latter raised only the issue of whether or not deceit was proven by the prosecution. Petitioner likewise dwelt on the said issue in his appeal to the CA.
As against appellant's insistence, the prima facie presumption of deceit perforce applies here. It must be noted that exactly on the same day, May 29, 1998, after Efren received the Debit Memo (Exh. "B") on the rubber check from the Legaspi Savings Bank, he called, then sent a demand letter (Exh. "C") to, appellant, informing him of its dishonor.[9] (Emphasis supplied)We sustain the CA. The receipt by the drawer of the notice of dishonor is not an element of the offense. The presumption only dispenses with the presentation of evidence of deceit if such notification is received and the drawer of the check failed to deposit the amount necessary to cover his check within three (3) days from receipt of the notice of dishonor of the check. The presumption indulged in by law does not preclude the presentation of other evidence to prove deceit. It is not disputed by petitioner that, as found by the CA, respondent Ables "called" up petitioner to inform him of the dishonor of the check. Moreover, when petitioner issued the check in question on March 23, 1998, he knew that his current account with the DBP was a closed account as early as January 27, 1998.
Sec. 114 - When notice need not be given to drawer. -Notice of dishonor is not required to be given to the drawer in either of the following cases:Since petitioner's bank account was already closed even before the issuance of the subject check, he had no right to expect or require the drawee bank to honor his check. By virtue of the aforequoted provision of law, petitioner is not entitled to be given a notice of dishonor.
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d. Where the drawer has no right to expect or require that the drawee or acceptor will honor the check.
SECTION 1. Any person who shall defraud another by means of false pretenses or fraudulent acts as defined in paragraph 2(d) of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 4885, shall be punished by:The Indeterminate Sentence Law provides that if an offense is punished by the Revised Penal Code or its amendments, the court shall sentence the accused to an indeterminate penalty, the maximum term of which shall be that which, in view of the attending circumstances, can be properly imposed under the rules of the Revised Penal Code, while the minimum term of which shall be within the range of the penalty next lower to that prescribed by the Code for the offense.
1st. The penalty of reclusion temporal if the amount of the fraud is over 12,000 pesos but does not exceed 22,000 pesos, and if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional 10,000 pesos but the total penalty which may be imposed shall in no case exceed thirty years. In such cases, and in connection with the accessory penalties which may be imposed under the Revised Penal Code, the penalty shall be termed reclusion perpetua;
2nd. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period, if the amount of the fraud is over 6,000 pesos but does not exceed 12,000 pesos;
3rd. The penalty of prision mayor in its medium period, if such amount is over 200 pesos but does not exceed 6,000 pesos; and
4th. By prision mayor in its minimum period, if such amount does not exceed 200 pesos.