Title
Lim vs. Court of Appeals
Case
G.R. No. 100311
Decision Date
May 18, 1993
Juanito Lim convicted under Anti-Fencing Law for possessing stolen mining equipment; Supreme Court upheld conviction, citing presumption of fencing and intent to gain.
stolen spare parts
presumption of fencing
sufficient evidence
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 100311)

Procedural Posture

An information charged petitioner with violating PD 1612 for receiving, possessing, keeping, acquiring, or dealing with spare parts and items taken from private complainant Bond’s heavy equipment. Petitioner pleaded not guilty. The trial court found him guilty (dispositive judgment dated March 20, 1989), imposed an indeterminate sentence (minimum eight years prision mayor to maximum reclusion temporal of 14 years, 8 months, 1 day) and ordered civil indemnity. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Petitioner’s appeal to the Supreme Court was dismissed and the Court of Appeals decision was affirmed.

Material Facts as Found by the Courts

The prosecution established that on March 1–2, 1986 a group including Pabilona and his men, escorted by Sgt. Bacalso and other constabulary soldiers, conducted removal of parts from heavy equipment located in Barangay Tuburan. A Mercedes Benz truck owned by petitioner transported the group; acetylene equipment owned by petitioner was used in detaching parts. The recovered items, including nine tires with rims, were unloaded into petitioner’s bodega on Sgt. Bacalso’s order and petitioner allegedly ordered the bodega closed thereafter. The following morning witnesses saw petitioner remove the nine tires, load them onto his pickup, and drive away. After Bond’s release in June 1986, he reported the theft; an estimate placed the value of items taken at P470,310.00. Investigation by police (Sgt. Dabatian) culminated in filing of the instant case.

Defense and Trial Court Findings on Credibility

Petitioner denied the offense and asserted an alibi; the trial court disbelieved his denials and alibi. The trial court credited the testimony of prosecution witnesses as having no ulterior motive to lie. The court relied on petitioner’s presence during unloading, ownership of the transporting truck, the storage of the items in his bodega, his ordering the bodega closed, and his removal of the tires the next morning to support conviction.

Court of Appeals’ Reasoning and Affirmation

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s conviction, finding the prosecution had proved possession and dealing with the stolen items. The court applied the presumption of fencing under Section 5 of PD 1612 (mere possession of goods that were the subject of robbery or thievery is prima facie evidence of fencing) and concluded petitioner failed to rebut that presumption. The appellate court also sustained witness credibility findings and rejected petitioner’s contention that the absence of prosecution of the custodians or loaders as co‑defendants undermined the case, explaining that the fiscal’s discretion in filing charges precludes compelling prosecution of certain individuals.

Presumption of Fencing under Section 5, PD 1612

Section 5 of PD 1612 establishes a rebuttable presumption that mere possession of goods which have been the subject of robbery or thievery constitutes prima facie evidence of fencing. Once the prosecution proves possession of such goods, the burden shifts to the accused to rebut the presumption with contrary evidence. The courts held that the proven facts (transportation in petitioner’s truck, unloading into his bodega, his presence and instructions to close the bodega, and his subsequent removal of tires) sustained the presumption of fencing which petitioner did not overcome.

Intent to Gain and Mental Element

The courts applied traditional principles that animus furandi (intent to gain from stolen goods) is a mental state that may be inferred from overt acts. The decision emphasized that in special statutes like the Anti‑Fencing Law, dolo or a particular motive is not strictly required; the act alone—if proved—may establish culpability. The courts treated petitioner’s conduct (receiving, storing, and later removing the tires) as external manifestations from which knowledge and criminal intent could be presumed, placing on petitioner the burden to rebut such presumption.

Credibility, Motive, and Accusations Against Prosecution Witnesses

Petitioner argued that prosecution witnesses had motive to prevaricate or were the actual perpetrators. The courts rejected speculative assertions unsupported by pleadings or evidence. The trial court’s acceptance of the witnesses’ testimony was upheld because the witnesses lacked demonstrable ulterior motives and their testimony coherently connected petitioner to the possession and handling of the stolen items. Petitioner’s admission that he did not know key witnesses further undermined his claim that they colluded to shield themselves from prosecution.

Prosecutorial Discretion Regarding Other Potential Accused

The courts addressed petitioner’s complaint that persons who allegedly carried out the cannibalization were not c

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