Title
Asa y Ambulo vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 236290
Decision Date
Jan 20, 2021
Petitioner convicted of Robbery with Intimidation for blackmailing complainant via Facebook threats, demanding ₱5,000 to delete private photos; entrapment led to arrest. SC affirmed conviction, citing intimidation and unlawful taking.
guilty beyond reasonable doubt
unlawfully taking money
victim

Case Summary (G.R. No. 236290)

Factual Background: Facebook Threats, Blackmail, and the Entrapment

The prosecution’s narrative began with the petitioner’s use of Facebook Messenger. On December 23, 2010, the petitioner, using the Facebook account name “Indho Than,” sent Alyanna a private message threatening to post provocative photos of her friend, private complainant Joyce Erica Varias (also referred to as Erica Dela Cruz Varias). Alyanna promptly relayed the message to private complainant. Private complainant then messaged the petitioner through Alyanna’s Facebook account, asking him to take down the fake Facebook account bearing her photo. Instead of complying, the petitioner threatened private complainant that he would make a public Facebook post of her private and post-coital photos with her partner.

From December 24 to December 27, 2010, private complainant and petitioner exchanged private messages in which private complainant begged the petitioner not to release the photos because many people would be affected. Private complainant ultimately told the petitioner she would do anything to recover her photos. The petitioner then stated he would delete the photos and take down her fake Facebook account if private complainant would agree to have sex with him. When private complainant refused to have sex but offered PHP 5,000.00, the petitioner agreed, but insisted on meeting at an apartelle. They agreed to meet at McDonald’s Fastfood in Walter Mart, Dasmarinas City on December 30, 2010, with private complainant to hand the petitioner PHP 5,000.00 in exchange for the memory card containing the private photos, after which they would go to Quatro Pasos Apartelle together.

On December 28, 2010, private complainant told her mother that someone was blackmailing her on Facebook. She and her mother approached the Dasmarinas City Police Station for assistance. A team was immediately formed to conduct an entrapment operation against the petitioner.

In the morning of December 30, 2010, private complainant proceeded to McDonald’s as agreed. The petitioner approached her, introduced himself as the person she had been communicating with on Facebook, and produced his cellular phone showing the contents of the memory card, which private complainant verified contained her private photos. Private complainant then handed to the petitioner an envelope containing the marked money amounting to PHP 5,000.00. The petitioner counted the money in front of private complainant, removed the phone’s memory card, and gave it to her. Private complainant then removed her glasses to signal the entrapment team. The team rushed in and immediately arrested the petitioner, and later brought him to the police station.

Defense Theory: Denial and Claim of Frame-up

The petitioner denied the charge. He claimed that he went to McDonald’s to buy food and saw private complainant there whom he recognized as a high school classmate. He approached her and remarked, “Your face looks familiar,” then left her alone and sat at a nearby table. While eating, he felt the urge to urinate, left his bag on the table, and returned to find his bag open. He said he saw an envelope inside the bag. Upon examining its contents, he claimed he found two or three memory cards containing photos of his family. He alleged that without warning, a man handcuffed him and introduced himself as a police officer, and that because he was afraid, he complied with instructions. He was then brought to the police station.

Trial Court Proceedings: Conviction by the RTC

After trial, the RTC of Imus, Cavite, Branch 21, in a decision dated November 12, 2015, found the petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The RTC determined that the essential elements of Robbery by means of Intimidation of Persons were established by the prosecution evidence, relying on the testimony of the witnesses and the documentary evidence, including the print-out of private messages among private complainant, petitioner, and Alyanna.

Appellate Review: Affirmance by the Court of Appeals with Modification

On appeal, the CA affirmed the RTC conviction in its Decision dated August 30, 2017. The CA held that all elements of Robbery with Intimidation of Persons were proven through the testimony of private complainant, which it described as intelligible, candid, and unwavering, and through corroboration by PO3 Ronald Lorenzo and PO3 Abesamis on material points concerning the entrapment operation. The CA also found no motive for private complainant to testify falsely.

The CA rejected the petitioner’s argument that there was no proof that he was the same person as the Facebook account “Indho Than.” It emphasized that private complainant testified clearly and categorically that the petitioner approached her and introduced himself as the person she was exchanging messages with on Facebook, and it noted that she positively identified him in court and pointed him out in the courtroom. The CA further noted that the petitioner had knowledge of the private messages and that he was found in possession of the photos of private complainant.

On the intimidation element, the CA explained that the petitioner’s threatened acts engendered fear and mental distress in the mind of private complainant, particularly because his conduct threatened to publicly expose her private photos on Facebook unless his demand was met. The CA, however, deleted the award of exemplary damages, holding that there was no aggravating circumstance attending the robbery.

The Petition and the Core Issues

The petitioner sought reversal through a Rule 45 petition. He argued that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt due to purported contradictions in private complainant’s statements. He asserted that private complainant allegedly gave inconsistent accounts in her judicial affidavit and during open court testimony on whether petitioner demanded money or whether private complainant offered money. He further argued that he should not be convicted of Robbery with Intimidation of Persons because, in his view, there was no “unlawful taking” since private complainant offered money to him.

The issue for resolution was whether the CA committed a reversible error in affirming the RTC’s conviction for Robbery with Intimidation of Persons.

Legal Basis and Reasoning: Limited Review Under Rule 45

The Court ruled that the petition was not meritorious. It stressed that under the Rules of Court, only questions of law should be raised in Rule 45 petitions, and that it is not a trier of facts. It cited Cu v. Ventura for the principle that factual findings of the CA, when supported by substantial evidence, are final, binding, and conclusive, and that an inquiry into the probative value of evidence and the correctness of factual appreciation is a factual matter not cognizable in a Rule 45 review.

The Court recognized exceptions where factual findings may be reviewed, as set out in Active Wood Products Co., Inc., v. State Investment House, Inc., but held that none of those exceptions was present. Specifically, it found no grave abuse of discretion and no misapprehension of facts in the CA’s assessment.

Application to the Facts: Demand, Unlawful Taking, and Intimidation

Addressing the petitioner’s argument that he did not “demand” the amount, the Court held that the CA correctly found that petitioner demanded PHP 5,000.00 in exchange for the memory card containing private photos, making him liable for Robbery with Intimidation of Persons. The Court recalled that petitioner’s initial demand was for private complainant to have sex with him in exchange for the return of the private photos. Private complainant refused the sexual demand and offered PHP 5,000.00 instead. The Court emphasized that the counter-offer did not constitute consent “with her consent,” because the offer and the eventual transfer were made as a result of the petitioner’s continuing threat to post the private photos on Facebook.

The Court reasoned that petitioner did not offer to voluntarily and unconditionally return the photos. Instead, petitioner required something in exchange for not posting them publicly. Thus, when petitioner accepted the monetary counter-offer rather than sex, his demand was merely amended from sexual to monetary. The RTC and CA were therefore not wrong to conclude that petitioner demanded PHP 5,000.00 and took it against private complainant’s consent.

The Court then proceeded to confirm the presence of other statutory elements. It held that the second element, unlawful taking of property belonging to another, was present because there was unlawful taking of money PHP 5,000.00. It also found the intimidation element present because petitioner’s thre

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