Case Digest (G.R. No. 243517)
Facts:
Danilo L. Opiniano v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 243517, December 05, 2022, Supreme Court Third Division, Caguioa, J., writing for the Court.The petitioner is Danilo L. Opiniano (a licensed customs broker); the respondent is the People of the Philippines. Co-accused in the criminal information was Elenor Tan (proprietress of Aiko Shine Fabric), charged with conspiracy and violation of Section 3602 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP) for alleged under-declaration of weight in an imported wheat-flour shipment. Both defendants pleaded not guilty at arraignment.
An Information alleged that between March 1–6, 2007 Opiniano and Tan imported 4,600 bags of wheat flour under IEIRD No. C36022, Bill of Lading No. MOLU489001962 and Commercial Invoice No. 85214 and declared a net weight of 40,000 kgs (8.7 kg per bag) when the actual net weight was 115,000 kgs (25 kg per bag), a discrepancy of about 65% that resulted in payment of duties of P99,521 instead of P274,539. The Bureau of Customs (BOC) placed the shipment on the "Red Lane," the Industry Commodity Experts (ICEs) for wheat and flour reported misdeclaration, and a Warrant of Seizure and Detention issued on April 26, 2007; the RATS unit investigated and recomputed duties and taxes.
The prosecution presented Atty. Marlon Agaceta (RATS) who testified to the documents filed and the ICEs’ findings. Opiniano testified that he acted as customs broker who prepared and filed the IEIRD based on documents received from the consignee; he denied claiming or receiving the shipping documents from the carrier and said that after seizure he informed the importer, who thereafter handled recomputation and dealings with BOC, and that he took no further steps to secure release.
On December 9, 2015, Branch 21, Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila convicted Opiniano for violation of Section 3602 and acquitted Tan for failure of the prosecution to identify the person in court as the consignee named in the commercial documents; Opiniano was sentenced to indeterminate imprisonment of eight (8) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) years and a fine of P8,000. The RTC denied reconsideration on June 10, 2016. Opiniano appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA).
In a Decision dated May 7, 2018 (and Resolution December 12, 2018), the CA (Special Fifteenth Division) affirmed the RTC, finding the first two elements of Section 3602 satisfied and imputing bad faith to Opiniano for failing to verify documents and for requesting tentative release instead o...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals err in affirming Opiniano’s conviction under Section 3602 of the TCCP for misdeclaring the weight of imported go...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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