G.R. No. 17905 - People vs. Moran

Juanito T. Merencillo, petitioner, was then Group Supervising Examiner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Tagbilaran City.
People of the Philippines, respondent, prosecuted petitioner in two informations: Criminal Case No. 9482 for violation of Section 3(b) of RA 3019 and Criminal Case No. 9483 for Article 210 (direct bribery) of the Revised Penal Code.
The information in Case No. 9482 charged petitioner with directly demanding and extorting TWENTY THOUSAND PESOS (P20,000.00) from Maria Angeles Ramasola Cesar in connection with the release of a certification of payment of capital gains tax.
The information in Case No. 9483 charged petitioner with demanding, extorting and agreeing to perform an act constituting a crime by conditioning the release of the CAR on payment of P20,000.00.

On September 13, 1995, Lucit Estillore, agent of the parties to the sale, went to the BIR to compute taxes and apply for a certificate authorizing registration (CAR) for the sale of real property to Ramasola Superstudio, Inc.
Revenue examiner Lourdes Fuentes computed documentary stamp tax (P37,500) and capital gains tax (P125,000); petitioner approved the computation as group supervisor.
Estillore paid the taxes and returned to apply for the CAR. Fuentes processed the application and forwarded it to petitioner for preliminary approval and then to the Revenue District Officer (RDO) for final approval.
Fuentes advised that the CAR would be released after seven days.

On September 13, 1995, Estillore informed Cesar that petitioner wanted to see her for "some negotiation."
Cesar went to petitioner’s office where petitioner allegedly demanded P20,000 for approval/release of the CAR. Cesar said she would consult her business associates.
Petitioner followed up by telephone on September 14 and again later, telling Cesar the CAR could be obtained in four or five days.
Cesar returned to the BIR on September 20, 1995; petitioner again demanded P20,000 although the CAR had been signed by RDO Galahad Balagon on September 19, 1995.
The releasing clerk, Susan Cabangon, told Cesar she was waiting for petitioner’s go-signal to release the CAR.
Cesar complained to RDO Balagon on September 22, 1995; Balagon said he would look into it.

Cesar reported the matter to Senior Superintendent Dionaid Baraguer, Provincial Director of PNP Bohol, who referred the complaint to Tagbilaran City police for entrapment.
Police instructed Cesar to prepare two bundles of bogus money with a marked one-hundred peso bill on each side of each bundle to simulate P10,000 per bundle, totaling P20,000; serial numbers of the four marked bills were recorded.
Entrapment was set for September 28, 1995. Cesar called petitioner and met him at his office with the two bundles inside a white envelope.
Petitioner allegedly handed the CAR to Cesar and led her to the third-floor lobby where she handed him the envelope. Petitioner remarked the envelope was "thick."
A PNP entrapment team photographed petitioner holding the envelope. Petitioner attempted to hide and then threw the envelope; it fell to the first floor. The envelope was recovered and presented in evidence.
The PNP introduced themselves and invited petitioner to their headquarters; charges followed.

Whether the Sandiganbayan erred in crediting the prosecution’s witnesses over Juanito T. Merencillo and improperly disregarding alleged inconsistencies in the testimony.

Whether the trial court’s and Sandiganbayan’s credibility determinations and findings of fact should be re-evaluated by this Court.
Whether alleged discrepancies in testimony were material to the elements of the offenses.

Whether prosecution and conviction under both Section 3(b) of RA 3019 and Article 210 subjected petitioner to double jeopardy.

Whether the two offenses are identical or whether one is necessarily included in...(Subscriber-Only)