del cas digest

G.R. No. 122290             April 6, 2000

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
REYNALDO BAGO y MADRID, accused-appellant, ARMANDO CAPARAS y CUENCO and RODOLFO ONGSECO y VEGO, accused.

FACTS:

1. Azkcon Metal Industries is engaged in metal business and for this purpose contracted a business arrangement with Power Construction Supply whereby Azkcon purchases the cold rolled sheets from the latter and the cold rolled sheets are cut by Power Construction Supply;

2. Accused Bago is a trusted employee of Azkcon and detailed with Power Construction Supply Company in charge of the Cutting Department; and that as such he was authorized by Mr. William Hilo, Controller Manager of Azkcon, to pull out from the Power Construction Supply the cut materials and to deliver the same to Azkcon;

3. On April 21, 1992, accused Bago, together with his co-employees, Danilo Baylosis and Candido Querobin entered the Azkcon premises with deliveries of two cold rolled sheets loaded in the truck. Security Guard Manangan inspected the materials in the truck and after confirming that the materials were loaded in the truck, he stamped the receipts upon request of accused Bago. Thereafter, accused Bago brought out another receipt and requested Security Guard Manangan to likewise stamp the same. Security Guard Manangan checked the goods covered by the third receipt and found there were no cold rolled sheets for the third receipt. The third receipt carried a different date. Security Guard Manangan asked accused Bago as to the whereabouts of the materials covered by the third receipt and the latter replied that they had long been delivered. Nevertheless, Security Guard Manangan stamped this last receipt because he trusted that accused would not do anything bad;

4. On April 21, 1992, William Hilo, the material controller of Azkcon, discovered that there were three (3) receipts which came in, but only two materials were delivered inside the company compound. The materials covered by the two (2) receipts were delivered but the materials covered by the third receipt were not. Hilo conducted an inventory and asked accused Bago the whereabouts of the materials in question. Accused Bago insisted that the materials had long been delivered. Hilo proceeded with his investigation and was able to secure from the Power Construction Supply Company Gatepass Invoice No. 51111 dated March 22, 1992 (Exh. "D") which shows that the materials covered by the third receipt were taken out by accused Bago from the premises of Power Construction Supply on March 23, 1992;

5. Hilo was able to secure from Power Construction Supply a document dated March 23, 1992 (Exh. "E") which contained information on the truck used in pulling out the materials from Power Construction Supply on March 22, 1992 (sic). The truck bears Plate No. PRC-513 and is not owned by Azkcon. As per copy of the certificate of registration secured from the Land Transportation Office, the truck is owned by a certain Ruel Fernando who has no contractual relations with Azkcon. Said vehicle is likewise not authorized to pull out materials from the Power Construction Supply.

The trial court concluded that the foregoing circumstances lead to a reasonable conclusion that appellant asported the materials covered by Exhibit "C".

ISSUES:

I.

WHETHER OR NOT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONVICTING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT OF THE CRIME OF QUALIFIED THEFT BASED ON CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE PRESENTED BY THE PROSECUTION.

II.

WHETHER OR NOT THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT THE PROSECUTION HAS PROVEN THE GUILT OF THE ACCUSED, REYNALDO BAGO, BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT.

RULING:

     Appellant contends that the prosecution failed to prove even by circumstantial evidence that he asported the cold rolled sheets in question. He asserts that these materials were delivered to Azkcon as evidenced by the receipt duly stamped by the guard on duty. He states:

. . . [T]he best evidence that the materials were actually delivered at Azkcon Metal Industries is the receipt duly stamped by the guard on duty. Res ipsa loquitor. To receive the testimony of the security guard, that he stamped the receipt even without the goods because he trusted the accused, would set a precedent that will eventually convict an innocent person. After duly stamping the receipt, it is very easy for the security guard to claim otherwise to avoid liability.

Appellant cannot rely on the best evidence rule which states:

Sec. 3. Original document must be produced; exceptions. — When the subject of inquiry is the contents of a document, no evidence shall be admissible other than the original document itself, except in the following cases:

(a) When the original has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, without bad faith on the part of the offeror;

(b) When the original is in the custody or under the control of the party against whom the evidence is offered, and the latter fails to produce it after reasonable notice;

(c) When the original consists of numerous accounts or other documents which cannot be examined in court without great loss of time and the fact sought to be established from them is only the general result of the whole; and

(d) When the original is a public record in the custody of a public officer or is recorded in a public office.

     The rule cannot be invoked unless the content of writing is the subject of judicial inquiry, in which case, the best evidence is the original writing itself. The rule pertains to the admissibility of secondary evidence to prove the contents of a document. In the case at bar, no secondary evidence is offered to prove the content of a document. What is being questioned by appellant is the weight given by the trial court to the testimony of Manangan over the receipt which on its face shows that the materials in question were delivered to Azkcon's premises. Clearly, the best evidence rule finds no application on this issue.

Second. It is well settled that before conviction can be based on circumstantial evidence, the circumstances proved should constitute an unbroken chain of events which leads to one fair and reasonable conclusion pointing to the defendant, to the exclusion of others, as the author of the crime. Thus, the following requisites must be met: 1) there must be more than one circumstance; 2) the facts from which the inferences are derived are proven; 3) the combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt.

In the case at bar, the trial court convicted the appellant based on the chain of events.

The trial court concluded that the foregoing circumstances lead to a reasonable conclusion that appellant asported the materials covered by Exhibit "C".

Clearly, all the elements of theft were established, to wit: (1) there was a taking of personal property; (2) the property belongs to another; (3) the taking was without the consent of the owner; (4) the taking was done with intent to gain; and (5) the taking was accomplished without violence or intimidation against the person or force upon things. As the theft was committed with grave abuse of confidence, appellant is guilty of qualified theft.

 FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 80505 :  December 4, 1990.]

192 SCRA 28

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, 

vs.  

MARIO TANDOY y LIM, Defendant-Appellant.

FACTS:

On May 27, 1986, at about 3:30 p.m. Lt. Salido, Jr. of the Makati Police Station dispatched Pfc. Herino de la Cruz, and Detectives Pablo R. Singayan, Nicanor Candolesas, Luisito de la Cruz, Estanislao Dalumpines, Antonio Manalastas and Virgilio Padua to conduct a buy-bust operation at Solchuaga St., Barangay Singkamas, Makati.

The target area was a store along the said street, and Singayan was to pose as the buyer. He stood alone near the store waiting for any pusher to approach. The other members of the team strategically positioned themselves. Soon, three men approached Singayan. One of them was the accused-appellant, who said without preamble: "Pare, gusto mo bang umiskor?" Singayan said yes. The exchange was made then and there — two rolls/pieces of marijuana for one P10.00 and two P5.00 bills marked ANU (meaning Anti-Narcotics Unit).

The team then moved in and arrested Tandoy. Manalastas and Candolesas made a body search of the accused-appellant and took from him the marked money, as well as eight more rolls/foils of marijuana and crushed leaves.: nad

The arresting officers brought Tandoy to the Office of the Anti-Narcotics Unit, Makati Police Station, for investigation by Detective Marvin Pajilan. The accused-appellant chose to remain silent after having been informed of his constitutional rights.

These events were narrated under oath by De la Cruz, Singayan and Pajilan. Microscopic, chemical and chromotographic examination was performed on the confiscated marijuana by Raquel P. Angeles, forensic chemist of the National Bureau of Investigation, who later testified that the findings were positive. The marijuana was offered as an exhibit. 

ISSUES:

1. The Court a quo erred in finding accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged despite lack of evidence to prove that he sold marijuana to the poseur-buyer.

2. The Court a quo erred in admitting in evidence against the accused Exh. "E-2-A" which is merely a xerox copy of the P10.00 bill allegedly used as buy-bust money.

RULING:

The trial court, which had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of the witnesses and to listen to their respective testimonies, gave more credence to the statements of the arresting officers. Applying the presumption that they had performed their duties in a regular manner, it rejected Tandoy's uncorroborated allegation that he had been manhandled and framed. Tandoy had not submitted sufficient evidence of his charges, let alone his admission that he had no quarrel with the peace officers whom he had met only on the day of his arrest.

We are convinced from the evidence on record that the prosecution has overcome the constitutional presumption of innocence in favor of the accused-appellant with proof beyond reasonable doubt of his guilt. He must therefore suffer the penalty prescribed by law for those who would visit the scourge of drug addiction upon our people.

Under the second assigned error, the accused-appellant invokes the best evidence rule and questions the admission by the trial court of the xerox copy only of the marked P10.00 bill.:This assigned error centers on the trial court's admission of the P10.00 bill marked money (Exh. E-2-A) which, according to the appellant, is excluded under the best evidence rule for being a mere xerox copy. Apparently, appellant erroneously thinks that said marked money is an ordinary document falling under Sec. 2, Rule 130 of the Revised Rules of Court which excludes the introduction of secondary evidence except in the five (5) instances mentioned therein.:-cralaw

The best evidence rule applies only when the contents of the document are the subject of inquiry. Where the issue is only as to whether or not such document was actually executed, or exists, or in the circumstances relevant to or surrounding its execution, the best evidence rule does not apply and testimonial evidence is admissible.

Since the aforesaid marked money was presented by the prosecution solely for the purpose of establishing its existence and not its contents, other substitutionary evidence, like a xerox copy thereof, is therefore admissible without the need of accounting for the original.