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Soriano v. People PDF
Soriano v. People PDF
DECISION
JR. J :
VILLARAMA, JR., p
Before this Court is a petition for review on certiorari assailing the May 19, 2005
Decision 1 and January 11, 2008 Resolution 2 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR
No. 23108 insofar as it ordered petitioner to pay P74,807 plus interest to private
complainant Consolacion R. Alagao.
Petitioner Adelaida Soriano was charged with the crime of estafa on January 30,
1995 under an Information which reads as follows:
That on September 9, 1994, at more or less 2:00 o'clock [sic] in the
afternoon, and days thereafter, at Piaping Puti, Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro City,
Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named
accused, with intent to defraud and cause damage and prejudice by means of
deceit, and false pretenses or fraudulent acts executed prior to or simultaneously
with the commission of the fraud, did then and there wil[l]fully, unlawfully and
feloniously represent and pretend to the offended party, Consolacion Alagao y
Regala, who was then canvassing for buyers of her one (1) truck load of corn grits
containing 398 sacks, that she (accused Adelaida Soriano) was engaged in the
business of buying corn grits, among others from the public under the business
style of A & R Soriano Trading, paying it in cash, with place of business located at
Piaping Puti, Macab[a]lan, this City; that due to accused['s] representation, said
offended party was persuaded and convinced to sell her own corn grits to the
former, which cereals came all the way from Old Nungnungan, Don Carlos,
Bukidnon; that after unloading said 398 sacks of corn grains in the establishment
of said Adelaida Soriano, said accused did not pay offended party for the said
goods delivered, but instead she let offended party to sign a Cash Voucher,
making it appear thereat that offended party has received the sum of P85,607.00,
when in truth and in fact accused has not paid the same; that inspite of that
misrepresented entries in the Cash Voucher above-cited, the accused further
directed to collect the same amount from a neighbor of the offended party in Old
Nungnungan, above-mentioned; that perplexed about the actions of Mrs. Adelaida
Soriano, offended party proceeded to demand payment from her but the accused
failed to pay her monetary obligation [to] the offended party as the accused and
her business establishment disappeared from Piaping Puti, Macabalan, this City
after the incident, and transferred to an unknown location; that she could not also
get back the said 398 sacks of corn grits anymore because the accused had
disposed of it already; thus misapplying, misappropriating and converting the
said sum of P85,607.00 the value of 398 sacks of corn grits, to her own gain and
bene t, to the damage and prejudice of the said offended party, in the aforestated
sum of P85,607.00, Philippine currency.
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Contrary to and in violation to Article 315, par. 2(a), of the Revised Penal Code, as
amended. 3 TSAHIa
2. Parties also agreed that the aforesaid debt was fully paid with corn
grains by the private complainant in February, 1994;
2-7-94 P4,000.00
2-14-94 2,000.00
3-3-94 2,000.00
No date 100.00
5-1-94 2,000.00
5-6-94 2,000.00
7-19-94 500.00
7-20-94 500.00
(but which accused claimed
[to be] P1,500.00)
6. Parties agreed that there was a Cash Voucher of the amount of corn
grains delivered to the accused on September 9, 1994, now marked [as] Exh. "C." 5
(Emphasis and underscoring supplied.)
Trial on the merits ensued. aCcHEI
Based on the evidence presented and what transpired during the pre-trial, the facts
are:
On February 18, 1994, Evelyn Alagao (Evelyn), daughter of private complainant
Consolation Alagao (Alagao), as borrower-mortgagor, executed a " Contract of Loan
Secured by Real Estate Mortgage with Special Power to Sell Mortgage Property without
Judicial Proceedings" 6 in favor of petitioner as lender-mortgagee. The instrument
provides for a P40,000 loan secured by a parcel of land covered by Original Certi cate of
Title No. P-6254, 7 located in Old Nongnongan, Don Carlos, Bukidnon, registered in Evelyn's
name. It likewise provides that the loan was to be paid two years from the date of
execution of the contract, or on February 18, 1996 , and that Evelyn agrees to give
petitioner 1/4 of every harvest from her cornland until the full amount of the loan has been
paid, starting from the rst harvest. Based on Alagao's testimony, the rst harvest was
made only in September 1994. 8 Petitioner on the other hand claims that from the time the
loan was obtained until September 1994, there were already four harvests. During pre-trial,
it was admitted by Alagao that she did not only receive P40,000 as provided in the
contract of loan but P51,730 in the form of fertilizers and cash advances. 9
On September 9, 1994, Alagao and some companions delivered 398 sacks of corn
grains to petitioner. Petitioner prepared a voucher indicating that Alagao had received the
amount of P85,607 as full payment for the 398 sacks of corn grains. Alagao signed said
voucher even if she only received P3,000. 1 0 According to Alagao, 64 of the 398 sacks will
serve as partial payment of her P40,000 loan with petitioner while the remaining balance
will come from the P85,607 cash she was supposed to receive as payment for the corn
grains delivered so she can redeem her daughter's land title. 1 1 ATHCac
On March 16, 1999, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Misamis Oriental, Branch 40,
rendered a decision 1 2 nding petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of
estafa. The fallo of the RTC decision reads:
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WHEREFORE, IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING PREMISES, accused Adelaida
Soriano is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Estafa as
de ned and penalized under Article 315, par. 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code, and
is hereby sentenced to suffer imprisonment of Four (4) Years, Two (2) Months
and One (1) day of Prision Correccional, as minimum, to Thirteen (13) Years, Four
(4) Months of Reclusion Temporal, as maximum and, is hereby further ordered to
pay the offended party in this case the amount of P85,607.00 representing the
value of the 398 sacks of corn grains. Costs against the accused.
SO ORDERED. 1 3
Petitioner's conviction, however, was set aside by the CA in the assailed decision.
The CA disposed as follows: CTSHDI
SO ORDERED. 1 4
The CA ruled that the prosecution failed to establish that petitioner made false
pretenses, fraudulent acts or fraudulent means to induce Alagao to deliver to her the 398
sacks of corn grains. In fact, in Alagao's testimony, she admitted that she delivered the
corn grains to petitioner because the latter was demanding payment from her and she
wanted to pay her obligation of P40,000 to petitioner so that she could get back the title
of her daughter's mortgaged property and the balance of the total cash value of the 398
sacks of corn. Thus, the CA held, in the absence of deceit, petitioner's liability is only civil.
TSDHCc
In determining petitioner's civil liability, the CA deducted from P85,607 — the total
value of the 398 sacks of corn grains delivered to petitioner — the P3,000 petitioner had
paid Alagao and the P7,800 which the CA considered as the value of the 64 sacks of corn
grains which Alagao intended as partial payment for the P40,000 loan, thus leaving the
balance of P74,807.
Unsatis ed, petitioner is now before this Court questioning her civil liability. She
assigns to the CA the following errors:
1) The Court of Appeals committed error in the computation of petitioner's
civil liability as it failed to apply correctly the principle of set-off or
compensation.
(1) That each one of the obligors be bound principally, and that he be
at the same time a principal creditor of the other;
(2) That both debts consist in a sum of money, or if the things due are
consumable, they be of the same kind, and also of the same quality if the latter
has been stated;
This Court rules that all the above requisites for compensation are present in the
instant case. ECTSDa
First, petitioner and Alagao are debtors and creditors of each other. It is
undisputable that petitioner and Alagao owe each other sums of money. Petitioner owes
P85,607 for the value of the corn grains delivered to her by Alagao in September 1994
while Alagao owes petitioner P51,730 by virtue of a loan extended by the latter in February
1994.
Second, both debts consist in a sum of money. There is no issue as to the P85,607
debt by petitioner that it consists a sum of money. As to the P51,730 received by Alagao
from petitioner, though what was extended by petitioner consists of cash advances and
fertilizers, there is no dispute that said amount is payable in money.
Third, both debts are due. Upon delivery of the 398 sacks to petitioner, she was
under the obligation to pay for the value thereof as buyer. As to Alagao's debt, the contract
of loan provided that it is payable in February 1996. Though it was not yet due in
September 1994 when she delivered the 398 sacks of corn grains to petitioner, it
eventually became due at the time of trial of the instant case.
Fourth, both debts are liquidated and demandable. A debt is liquidated when the
amount is known or is determinable by inspection of the terms and conditions of relevant
documents. 1 9 There is no dispute that the value of the 398 sacks of corn grains is
P85,607. As to Alagao's debt, we disagree with respondent People that the loan amount is
only P40,000 since during pre-trial, Alagao herself admitted that she did not only receive
P40,000 but P51,730 in the form of cash advances and fertilizers from petitioner. It is well
settled that an admission made in a stipulation of facts at pre-trial by the parties is
considered a judicial admission and, under the Rules of Court, requires no proof. Such
admission may be controverted only by a showing that it was made through a palpable
mistake or that no such admission was made. 2 0 DHITcS
And lastly, neither of the debts are subject of a controversy commenced by a third
person. There are no third-party claims with respect to Alagao's P51,730 loan. As to
petitioner's P85,607 debt representing the 398 sacks of corn grains, Alagao claims that
she is not the sole owner of all the 398 sacks. This claim of Alagao, however, was never
substantiated and a perusal of the information for estafa shows that the subject corn
grains are allowed by her. Moreover, the alleged other owners have not commenced any
action to protect their claim over it. Thus, the P85,607 debt cannot be considered subject
of a controversy by a third person.
With the presence of all the requisites mentioned in Article 1279, legal
compensation took effect by operation of law as provided in Article 1290 of the Civil Code,
to wit:
ART. 1290. When all the requisites mentioned in Article 1279 are
present, compensation takes effect by operation of law, and extinguishes both
debts to the concurrent amount, even though the creditors and debtors are not
aware of the compensation.
With respect to the 1/4 share in the harvest due to petitioner as provided in the
contract of loan, the same cannot be considered in the legal compensation of the debts of
the parties since it does not consist in a sum of money, said share being in the form of
harvests. More importantly, it is not yet liquidated. There is still a dispute as to how many
harvests were made from the time of the execution of contract of loan up to the time the
action was commenced against petitioner and even when the principal obligation became
due in February 1996. Thus, the harvests due petitioner is not capable of determination. SIDEaA
WHEREFORE , the May 19, 2005 Decision and January 11, 2008 Resolution of the
Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 23108 are hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION .
Petitioner Adelaida Soriano is hereby ordered to pay P30,877 as payment for the
remaining balance of the cash value of the 398 sacks of corn grains, plus legal interest at
the rate of 6% 2 1 per annum computed from nality of this Decision until its full
satisfaction.
No pronouncement as to costs.
SO ORDERED.
ORDERED
Sereno, C.J., Brion, * Bersamin and Reyes, JJ., concur.
Footnotes
*Designated additional member per Special Order No. 1497 dated July 31, 2013.
1.Rollo, pp. 18-36. Penned by Associate Justice Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal with Associate
Justices Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores and Edgardo A. Camello concurring.
2.Id. at 38-39. Penned by Associate Justice Edgardo A. Camello with Associate Justices
Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores and Mario V. Lopez concurring.
4.Id. at 57.
5.Id. at 59-60.
9.Records, p. 59.
10.TSN, September 10, 1996, pp. 8-9; Exh. "C," Exhibits for Plaintiff, p. 3.
13.Id. at 177.
14.Rollo, p. 35.
15.Id. at 12.
16.Id.
17.Computed as follows:
20.Toshiba Information Equipment (Phils.), Inc. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, G.R. No.
157594, March 9, 2010, 614 SCRA 526, 545.
21.Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 799, Series of 2013 issued on June 21, 2013.