766 Phil. 750
LEONEN, J.:
"Bakit niya babawiin ang aking saka?" tanong ni Tata Selo. "Dinaya ko na ba siya sa partihan? Tinuso ko na ba siya? Siya ang may-ari ng lupa at kasama lang niya ako. Hindi ba't kaya maraming nagagalit sa akin ay dahil sa ayaw kong magpamigay ng kahit isang pinangko kung anihan?"The uncontested declaration of the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board that Monico Ligtas was a tenant negates a finding of theft beyond reasonable doubt. Tenants having rights to the harvest cannot be deemed to have taken their own produce.
Hindi pa rin umaalis sa harap ng istaked si Tata Selo. Nakahawak pa rin siya sa rehas. Nakatingin siya sa labas ngunit wala siyang sino mang tinitingnan.. . .
"Binabawi po niya ang aking saka," sumbong ni Tata Selo. "Saan papo ako pupunta kung wala na akong saka?". . .
Habang nakakapit sa rehas at nakatingin sa labas, sinasabi niyang lahat ay kinuha na sa kanila, lahat, ay! ang lahat ay kinuha na sa kanila. . .- "TataSelo" (1963) by Rogelio R. Sikat
That on or about the 29th day of June 2000 at Sitio Lamak, Barangay San Juan, Municipality of Sogod, Province of Southern Leyte, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent of gain, entered into the abaca plantation belonging to one Anecita Pacate, and once inside the plantation, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously harvested 1,000 kilos of abaca fibers, valued at Php29,000.00 at Php29.00 per kilo, without the consent of said owner, Anecita Pacate, to her damage and prejudice in the aforestated amount of Twenty Nine Thousand Pesos (Php29,000.00), Philippine currency.Ligtas pleaded not guilty.[9]
CONTRARY TO LAW.[8]
WHEREFORE, finding the accused Monico Ligtas guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Theft, this court hereby renders judgment, sentencing him:SO ORDERED.[33]
- To suffer the indeterminate penalty of four (4) years, nine (9) months and ten (10) days as minimum to eight (8) years and eight (8) months as maximum;
- To indemnify the offende[d] party:
- The amount of P29,000.00 for the value of the abaca stole[n];
- The amount of P5000.00 as moral damages;
- The amount of P10,000.00 as litigation expenses/attorney's fees;
- To pay the costs.
Jurisprudence is replete with cases declaring that "findings of or certifications issued by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, or his authorized representative, in a given locality concerning the presence or absence of a tenancy relationship between the contending parties, are merely preliminary or provisional and are not binding upon the courts.["][38]As to the ownership of the land, the Court of Appeals held that Ligtas had taken conflicting positions. While he claimed to be a legitimate tenant, Ligtas also assailed Anecita Pacate's title over the land. Under Rule 131, Section 2 of the Rules of Court, a tenant cannot deny the title of his or her landlord at the time of the commencement of the tenancy relation.[39]
WHEREFORE, the instant Appeal is DISMISSED. Accordingly, the assailed Decision dated . . . August 16, 2006 of the Regional Trial Court of Sogod, Southern Leyte, Branch 39, in Criminal Case No. R-225, finding accused-appellant Monico Ligtas guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Theft under Article 308 of the Revised Penal Code, is hereby AFFIRMED in all respects.Ligtas filed a Motion for Reconsideration,[53] which the Court of Appeals denied on February 2, 2012.[54]
SO ORDERED.[52]
A question of law exists when the doubt or controversy concerns the correct application of law or jurisprudence to a certain set of facts; or when the issue does not call for an examination of the probative value of the evidence presented, the truth or falsehood of facts being admitted. A question of fact exists when the doubt or difference arises as to the truth or falsehood of facts or when the query invites calibration of the whole evidence considering mainly the credibility of the witnesses, the existence and relevancy of specific surrounding circumstances as well as their relation to each other and to the whole, and the probability of the situation.[61] (Emphasis supplied)Petitioner admits that the Petition raises substantially factual issues that are beyond the scope of the Rule he seeks redress from.[62] However, there are exceptions to the rule that only questions of law should be the subject of a petition for review under Rule 45:
(1) when the findings are grounded entirely on speculation, surmises or conjectures, (2) when the inference made is manifestly mistaken, absurd or impossible, (3) when there is grave abuse of discretion, (4) when the judgment is based on misapprehension of facts, (5) when the findings of fact are conflicting, (6) when in making its findings, the CA went beyond the issues of the case, or its findings are contrary to the admissions of both the appellant and the appellee, (7) when the CA's findings are contrary to those by the trial court, (8) when the findings are conclusions without citation of specific evidence on which they are based, (9) when the acts set forth in the petition as well as in the petitioner's main and reply briefs are not disputed by the respondent, (10) when the findings of fact are premised on the supposed absence of evidence and contradicted by the evidence on record, or (11) when the CA manifestly overlooked certain relevant facts not disputed by the parties, which, if properly considered, would justify a different conclusion.[63] (Emphasis supplied, citation omitted)This court has held before that a re-examination of the facts of the case is justified "when certain material facts and circumstances had been overlooked by the trial court which, if taken into account, would alter the result of the case in that they would introduce an element of reasonable doubt which would entitle the accused to acquittal."[64]
While the DARAB . . . ruled that petitioner is a bonafide tenant of Pacate, courts are not authorized to take judicial notice of the contents of the records of other cases even when such cases have been tried or are pending in the same court, and notwithstanding the fact that both cases may have been heard or are actually pending before the same judge.[77] (Citation omitted)Moreover, according to respondent, petitioner invokes conflicting defenses: that there is a legitimate tenancy relationship between him and private complainant and that he did not take the abaca hemp.[78] Nevertheless, respondent maintains that petitioner failed to prove all the essential elements of a tenancy relationship between him and private complainant.[79] Private complainant did not consent to the alleged tenancy relationship.[80] Petitioner also failed to provide evidence as to any sharing of harvest between the parties.[81]
It is indeed a fundamental principle of administrative law that administrative cases are independent from criminal actions for the same act or omission. Thus, an absolution from a criminal charge is not a bar to an administrative prosecution, or vice versa. One thing is administrative liability; quite another thing is the criminal liability for the same act.However, this case does not involve an administrative charge stemming from the same set of facts involved in a criminal proceeding. This is not a case where one act results in both criminal and administrative liability. DARAB Case No. VIII-319-SL-2000 involves a determination of whether there exists a tenancy relationship between petitioner and private complainant, while Criminal Case No. R-225 involves determination of whether petitioner committed theft. However, the tenancy relationship is a factor in determining whether all the elements of theft were proven by the prosecution.
....
Thus, considering the difference in the quantum of evidence, as well as the procedure followed and the sanctions imposed in criminal and administrative proceedings, the findings and conclusions in one should not necessarily be binding on the other. Notably, the evidence presented in the administrative case may not necessarily be the same evidence to be presented in the criminal cases.[82] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted)
All the necessary requisites in order to establish tenancy relationship as required in the above-quoted Supreme Court ruling, has been established by the evidence submitted by plaintiff; And these evidences were not controverted by any evidence submitted by the respondent.The dispositive portion of the DARAB Decision provides:
In fine, this board found plaintiff a bonafide tenant of the land in question and as such is entitled to a security of tenure, in which case he shall not be dispossessed of his holdings by the landowner except for any of the causes provided by law and only after the same has been proved before, and the dispossession is authorized by the Court and in the judgment that is final and executory[.][83] (Citations omitted)
WHEREFORE, premises being considered, judgment is hereby rendered, finding Monico Ligtas a bonafide tenant of the land subject in this case and well described in paragraph three (3) in the complaint, and ordering as follows, to wit:Private complainant did not appeal the DARAB's findings.Other relief sought are hereby ordered dismissed for lack of evidence.
- The respondent and all other persons acting for and in her behalf to maintain plaintiff in the peaceful possession of the land in dispute;
- The MARO of Sogod, Southern Leyte, and concurrently the cluster Manager of Sogod Bay DAR Cluster to call the parties and assist them in the execution of a leasehold contract covering the land in dispute, and for the parties to respect and obey such call of the said MARO in compliance with the legal mandate.
- Ordering the respondent to pay plaintiff the amount of Five Thousand (P5,000.00) Pesos representing the expenses incurred by plaintiff in vindicating his right and other actual expenses incurred in this litigation.
No cost.
SO DECIDED.[84]
tenurial arrangements, whether leasehold, tenancy, stewardship or otherwise, over lands devoted to agriculture, including disputes concerning farmworkers associations or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of such tenurial arrangements.[89]In Salazar v. De Leon,[90] this court upheld the Department of Agrarian Reform's primary jurisdiction over agrarian disputes, which includes the relationship between landowners and tenants.[91] The DARAB Decision is conclusive and binding on courts when supported by substantial evidence.[92] This court ruled that administrative res judicata exists in that case:
Significantly, respondent did not appeal the Decision dated 17 November 1995 of the DARAB in DARAB Case # II-380-ISA'94; consequently, the same has attained finality and constitutes res judicata on the issue of petitioner's status as a tenant of respondent.In Encinas v. Agustin, Jr.,[94] this court clarified that res judicata applies only to decisions rendered by agencies in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings and not to purely administrative proceedings:
Res judicata is a concept applied in the review of lower court decisions in accordance with the hierarchy of courts. But jurisprudence has also recognized the rule of administrative res judicata: "The rule which forbids the reopening of a matter once judicially determined by competent authority applies as well to the judicial and quasi-judicial facts of public, executive or administrative officers and boards acting within their jurisdiction as to the judgments of courts having general judicial powers. It has been declared that whenever final adjudication of persons invested with power to decide on the property and rights of the citizen is examinable by the Supreme Court, upon a writ of error or a certiorari, such final adjudication may be pleaded as res judicata." To be sure, early jurisprudence was already mindful that the doctrine of res judicata cannot be said to apply exclusively to decisions rendered by what are usually understood as courts without unreasonably circumscribing the scope thereof; and that the more equitable attitude is to allow extension of the defense to decisions of bodies upon whom judicial powers have been conferred.[93] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted)
The CA was correct in ruling that the doctrine of res judicata applies only to judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings, and not to the exercise of administrative powers. Administrative powers here refer to those purely administrative in nature, as opposed to administrative proceedings that take on a quasi-judicial character.We find it necessary to clarify the two concepts of res judicata: bar by prior judgment and conclusiveness of judgment. In Social Security Commission v. Rizal Poultry and Livestock Association, Inc., et al.,[96] this court discussed and differentiated the two concepts of res judicata:
In administrative law, a quasi-judicial proceeding involves (a) taking and evaluating evidence; (b) determining facts based upon the evidence presented; and (c) rendering an order or decision supported by the facts proved. The exercise of quasi-judicial functions involves a determination, with respect to the matter in controversy, of what the law is; what the legal rights and obligations of the contending parties are; and based thereon and the facts obtaining, the adjudication of the respective rights and obligations of the parties.[95] (Citations omitted)
Res judicata embraces two concepts: (1) bar by prior judgment as enunciated in Rule 39, Section 47(b) of the Rules of Civil Procedure; and (2) conclusiveness of judgment in Rule 39, Section 47(c).In Martillano v. Court of Appeals,[98] the DARAB Decision finding for the existence of a tenancy relationship between the parties was declared by this court as conclusive on the parties.[99] As in this case, the DARAB Decision[100] in Martillano attained finality when the landowner did not appeal the Decision.[101] This court ruled that the doctrine of res judicata applies:
There is "bar by prior judgment" when, as between the first case where the judgment was rendered and the second case that is sought to be barred, there is identity of parties, subject matter, and causes of action. In this instance, the judgment in the first case constitutes an absolute bar to the second action.
But where there is identity of parties in the first and second cases, but no identity of causes of action, the first judgment is conclusive only as to those matters actually and directly controverted and determined and not as to matters merely involved therein. This is the concept of res judicata known as "conclusiveness of judgment." Stated differently, any right, fact or matter in issue directly adjudicated or necessarily involved in the determination of an action before a competent court in which judgment is rendered on the merits is conclusively settled by the judgment therein and cannot again be litigated between the parties and their privies, whether or not the claim, demand, purpose, or subject matter of the two actions is the same.
Thus, if a particular point or question is in issue in the second action, and the judgment will depend on the determination of that particular point or question, a former judgment between the same parties or their privies will be final and conclusive in the second if that same point or question was in issue and adjudicated in the first suit. Identity of cause of action is not required but merely identity of issue.
The elements of res judicata are: (1) the judgment sought to bar the new action must be final; (2) the decision must have been rendered by a court having jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties; (3) the disposition of the case must be a judgment on the merits; and (4) there must be as between the first and second action, identity of parties, subject matter, and causes of action. Should identity of parties, subject matter, and causes of action be shown in the two cases, then res judicata in its aspect as a "bar by prior judgment" would apply. If as between the two cases, only identity of parties can be shown, but not identical causes of action, then res judicata as "conclusiveness of judgment" applies.[97] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted)
Under the afore-cited sections of RA 6657, the Department of Agrarian Reform is empowered, through its adjudicating arm the regional and provincial adjudication boards, to resolve agrarian disputes and controversies on all matters pertaining to the implementation of the agrarian law. Section 51 thereof provides that the decision of the DARAB attains finality after the lapse of fifteen (15) days and no appeal was interposed therefrom by any of the parties.In Co v. People, et al.,[103] this court held that "the doctrine of conclusiveness of judgment also applies in criminal cases."[104] Petitioner in that case was charged with the violation of Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, for the alleged non-remittance of Social Security System contributions.[105] This court upheld the findings of the National Labor Relations Commission in a separate case, which declared the absence of an employer-employee relationship and had attained finality.[106] This court held that:
In the instant case, the determination of the DARAB in DARAB Case No. 062-Bul '89, there being no appeal interposed therefrom, attained finality. Accordingly, the matter regarding the status of Martillano as a tenant farmer and the validity of the CLT and Emancipation Patents issued in his favor are settled and no longer open to doubt and controversy.
....
We recall that DARAB Case 062-Bul '89 was for the cancellation of petitioner's CLT and Emancipation patents. The same effect is sought with the institution of DARAB Case No. 512-Bul '94, which is an action to withdraw and/or cancel administratively the CLT and Emancipation Patents issued to petitioner. Considering that DARAB Case 062-Bul '89 has attained finality prior to the filing of DARAB Case No. 512-Bul '94, no strenuous legal interpretation is necessary to understand that the issues raised in the prior case, i.e., DARAB Case No. 062-Bul '89, which have been resolved with finality, may not be litigated anew.
The instant case is complicated by the failure of the complainant to include Martillano as party-defendant in the case before the adjudication board and the DARAB, although he was finally impleaded on appeal before the Court of Appeals.
The belated inclusion of Martillano as respondent in the petition will not affect the applicability of the doctrine of bar by prior judgment. What is decisive is that the issues which have already been litigated in a final and executory judgment precludes, by the principle of bar by prior judgment, an aspect of the doctrine of res judicata, and even under the doctrine of "law of the case," the re-litigation of the same issue in another action. It is well established that when a right or fact has been judicially tried and determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, so long as it remains unreversed, it should be conclusive upon the parties and those in privity with them. The dictum therein laid down became the law of the case and what was once irrevocably established as the controlling legal rule or decision, continues to be binding between the same parties as long as the facts on which the decision was predicated, continue to be the facts of the case before the court. Hence, the binding effect and enforceability of that dictum can no longer be resurrected anew since said issue had already been resolved and finally laid to rest, if not by the principle of res judicata, at least by conclusiveness of judgment.[102] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted)
The reasons for establishing the principle of "conclusiveness of judgment" are founded on sound public policy. ... It is allowable to reason back from a judgment to the basis on which it stands, upon the obvious principle that where a conclusion is indisputable, and could have been drawn only from certain premises, the premises are equally indisputable with the conclusion. When a fact has been once determined in the course of a judicial proceeding, and a final judgment has been rendered in accordance therewith, it cannot be again litigated between the same parties without virtually impeaching the correctness of the former decision, which, from motives of public policy, the law does not permit to be done.In VHJ Construction and Development Corporation v. Court of Appeals,[108] this court ruled that tenancy relationship must be duly proven:
Res judicata has two concepts. The first is bar by prior judgment under Rule 39, Section 47 (b), and the second is conclusiveness of judgment under Rule 39, Section 47 (c). Both concepts are founded on the principle of estoppel, and are based on the salutary public policy against unnecessary multiplicity of suits. Like the splitting of causes of action, res judicata is in pursuance of such policy. Matters settled by a Court's final judgment should not be litigated upon or invoked again. Relitigation of issues already settled merely burdens the Courts and the taxpayers, creates uneasiness and confusion, and wastes valuable time and energy that could be devoted to worthier cases.[107] (Citations omitted)
[A] tenancy relationship cannot be presumed. There must be evidence to prove this allegation. The principal factor in determining whether a tenancy relationship exists is intent. Tenancy is not a purely factual relationship dependent on what the alleged tenant does upon the land. It is also a legal relationship.[109] (Citation omitted)The DARAB, in DARAB Case No. VIII-319-SL-2000, held that all the essential elements of a tenancy relationship were proven by petitioner.[110] It found that there was substantial evidence to support petitioner's claim as tenant of the land.[111] In rendering the Decision, the DARAB examined pleadings and affidavits of both petitioner and private complainant.[112] It was convinced by petitioner's evidence, which consisted of sworn statements of petitioner's witnesses that petitioner was installed as tenant by Andres Pacate sometime in 1993.[113] Petitioner and Andres Pacate had an agreement to share the produce after harvest.[114] However, Andres Pacate had died before the first harvest.[115] Petitioner then gave the landowner's share to private complainant, and had done so every harvest until he was disturbed in his cultivation of the land on June 29, 2000.[116]
That as early as the preliminary hearings of the case, the respondent has already shown her intention not to participate the proceedings of the case for reasons known only to her;It is true that trial courts are not mandated to take judicial notice of decisions of other courts or even records of other cases that have been tried or are pending in the same court or before the same judge.[119] In declaring that the DARAB's findings on the tenancy relationship between petitioner and private complainant are immaterial to the criminal case for theft, the Court of Appeals[120] relied on Rollo, et al. v. Leal Realty Centrum Co., Inc., et al.[121]
That despite the advi[c]e of the undersigned, respondent stood pat with her decision not to participate in the proceedings of the case;
That in view of this predicament, the undersigned can do nothing except to withdraw as he is now withdrawing as counsel for the respondent of the above-entitled casef.][118]
At the outset, the parties do not appear to be the landowner and the tenants. While it appears that there was personal cultivation by petitioners and their predecessors-in-interest of the subject landholding, what was established was that petitioners' claim of tenancy was founded on the self-serving testimony of petitioner Rodolfo Rollo that his predecessors-in-interest had been in possession of the landholding for more than 30 years and had engaged in a "50-50" sharing scheme with JOSEFINA and JOSEFINA's grandmother, the previous owner thereof. Self-serving statements in pleadings are inadequate; proof must be adduced. Such claims do not suffice absent concrete evidence to support them. The burden rests on the shoulders of petitioners to prove their affirmative allegation of tenancy, which burden they failed to discharge with substantial evidence. Such a juridical tie must be aptly shown. Simply put, he who alleges the affirmative of the issue has the burden of proof, and from the plaintiff in a civil case, the burden of proof never parts. The same rule applies to administrative cases. In fact, if the complainant, upon whom rests the burden of proving his cause of action, fails to show in a satisfactory manner the facts upon which he bases his claim, the respondent is under no obligation to prove his exception or defense....Thus, in Cornes, this court did not categorically hold that the DARAB's findings were merely provisional and, thus, not binding on courts. What was deemed as a preliminary determination of tenancy was the testimony of the Department of Agrarian Reform employee stating that the land involved was tenanted. Further, the tribunals had conflicting findings on whether petitioners were bona fide tenants.
Neither was it shown to the satisfaction of this Court that there existed a sharing of harvests in the context of a tenancy relationship between petitioners and/or their predecessors-in-interest and JOSEFINA. Jurisprudence is illuminating to the effect that to prove such sharing of harvests, a receipt or any other evidence must be presented. None was shown. No receipts were presented as testaments to the claimed sharing of harvests. The only evidence submitted to establish the purported sharing of harvests was the testimony of petitioner Rodolfo Rollo. The sharing arrangement cannot be deemed to have existed on the basis alone of petitioner Rodolfo Rollo's claim. It is self-serving and is without evidentiary value. Self-serving statements are deemed inadequate; competent proof must be adduced. If at all, the fact alone of sharing is not sufficient to establish a tenancy relationship.
We also sustain the conclusion reached by the Provincial Adjudicator and the Court of Appeals that the testimony of Araceli Pascua, an employee of the DAR in Victoria, Tarlac, that the subject landholding was tenanted cannot overcome substantial evidence to the contrary. To prove the alleged tenancy no reliance may be made upon the said public officer's testimony. What cannot be ignored is the precedent ruling of this Court that the findings of or certifications issued by the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, or his authorized representative, in a given locality concerning the presence or absence of a tenancy relationship between the contending parties, are merely preliminary or provisional and are not binding upon the courts. This ruling holds with greater effect in the instant case in light of the fact that petitioners, as herein shown, were not able to prove the presence of all the indispensable elements of tenancy.[130] (Emphasis supplied, citations omitted)
The purported lack of consent on the part of the private complainant as alleged by the prosecution, is misplaced. In fact, it was even improper for Anecita Pacate to stop or prevent petitioner from harvesting the produce of the landholding because as tenant, petitioner is entitled to security of tenure. This right entitled him to continue working on his landholding until the leasehold relation is terminated or until his eviction is authorized by the DARAB in a judgment that is final and executory.[135] (Citation omitted)Petitioner argues that the constitutional presumption of innocence must be upheld:
Well-settled is the rule that where "inculpatory facts and circumstances are capable of two or more explanations, one of which is consistent with the innocence of the accused and the other consistent with his guilt, then the evidence does not fulfill the test of moral certainty and is not sufficient to support a conviction." In acquitting an appellant, we are not saying that he is lily-white, or pure as driven snow. Rather, we are declaring his innocence because the prosecution's evidence failed to show his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. For that is what the basic law requires. Where the evidence is insufficient to overcome the presumption of innocence in favour of the accused, then his "acquittal must follow in faithful obeisance to the fundamental law."[136] (Citations omitted)The Court of Appeals erred when it affirmed the findings of the trial court finding petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of theft.
ARTICLE. 308. Who are Liable for Theft. — Theft is committed by any person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or intimidation of persons nor force upon things, shall take personal property of another without the latter's consent.The essential elements of theft are: (1) taking of personal property; (2) the property taken belongs to another; (3) the taking was done without the owner's consent; (4) there was intent to gain; and (5) the taking was done without violence against or intimidation of the person or force upon things.[137]
Theft is likewise committed by:
- Any person who, having found lost property, shall fail to deliver the same to the local authorities or to its owner;
- Any person who, after having maliciously damaged the property of another, shall remove or make use of the fruits or object of the damage caused by him; and
- Any person who shall enter an enclosed estate or a field where trespass is forbidden or which belongs to another and without the consent of its owner, shall hunt or fish upon the same or shall gather fruits, cereals, or other forest or farm products.
persons who — in themselves and with the aid available from within their immediate farm households — cultivate the land belonging to or possessed by another, with the latter's consent, for purposes of production, sharing the produce with the landholder under the share tenancy system, or paying to the landholder a price certain or ascertainable in produce or money or both under the leasehold tenancy system.[138] (Citation omitted)Under this definition, a tenant is entitled to the products of the land he or she cultivates. The landowner's share in the produce depends on the agreement between the parties. Hence, the harvesting done by the tenant is with the landowner's consent.