Title
People vs. Sendaydiego
Case
G.R. No. L-33252-54
Decision Date
Jan 20, 1978
Provincial officials embezzled P57,048.23 via forged vouchers for fictitious bridge repairs; Samson convicted, Sendaydiego’s estate held civilly liable post-death.
embezzlement
falsification
malversation
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-33252-54)

Parties

Plaintiff-Appellee: The People of the Philippines; Offended Party-Appellee: Province of Pangasinan. Defendants/Appellants: Licerio P. Sendaydiego (treasurer; deceased on appeal; estate substituted), Juan Samson (defendant‑appellant), and Anastacio Quirimit (auditor; acquitted by trial court). On appeal the heirs of Sendaydiego were substituted for civil aspects.

Key Dates and Procedural Posture

Alleged falsifications and payments occurred in 1969 (vouchers dated February–April 1969). Three criminal informations (Criminal Case Nos. 23349–23351) arose from six provincial vouchers totaling P57,048.23. Trial court convicted Sendaydiego and Samson; acquitted Quirimit. Sendaydiego died before appellate resolution; his criminal appeal was dismissed insofar as criminal liability (but the appellate court proceeded on civil liability of his estate). Samson appealed; the Supreme Court rendered judgment affirming convictions and fixing penalties and civil indemnity.

Applicable Law and Rules Applied

Primary substantive and procedural law applied in the decision: the Revised Penal Code (including provisions on malversation — article 217 and falsification — article 172(1)), Rules of Court (Rules 110, 111, 112 as to prosecution, private prosecutors, and joinder of civil action with criminal charge), Civil Code Articles 29 and 30 on civil liability arising from criminal acts, and procedural and sentencing rules (article 70 on threefold limit; articles 64 and 65 on penalty periods). The decision was reached under the constitutional and legal framework in force at the time.

Factual Summary — Nature of Vouchers and Alleged Forgeries

The contested instruments were six provincial vouchers, each with multiple certifications (provincial engineer, treasurer pre‑audit/payment, auditor pre‑audit approval, treasurer’s receipt certification and signature spaces). Voucher No. 10724 (Exh. K) purportedly paid P16,727.52 to Carried Construction Supply Co. for materials for a specified bridge repair; five other vouchers (Exhs. O, P, Q, R, S) evidenced payments for other bridges, totaling P57,048.23. The prosecution established multiple instances of forgery and fabrication: the projects were fictitious, invoices and official receipts were forged, signatures of provincial engineers and other officials were denied, rubber stamp impressions were not genuine, supporting tax and sample certificates were forged, and the supplier’s representatives and cashier denied delivery or receipt of the funds.

Evidentiary and Transactional Conduct

The record established Samson’s central operational role: he hand‑carried the vouchers and supporting papers to the provincial engineer’s office for recording and signature, to the treasurer’s office for processing (bookkeeper and assistant treasurer), and to the provincial auditor for pre‑audit; he followed up processing and collected cash payments from the treasurer’s inner office on multiple dates. Documentary evidence included forged invoices, fake official receipts (contrasted with genuine receipts the company produced), and altered requisition/issue vouchers with denied signatures. Witness testimony (e.g., assistant manager Jabanes, ledger clerk Castillo, bookkeeper Baraan, recorder Crusada, assistant treasurer Rosete) corroborated non‑delivery of materials, Samson’s carriage of vouchers, and irregular cash payment procedures.

Defenses Raised

Sendaydiego’s defenses: he signed vouchers believing their signatures were genuine and relied on auditor’s pre‑audit approval; he contended absence of conspiracy and alleged improper participation of private prosecutors. Samson’s defenses: denial of authorship of the signatures on the vouchers and receipts (producing handwriting expert testimony), denial of receipt of proceeds, challenge to the trial judge’s participation after conducting the preliminary investigation, and contention that circumstantial evidence did not prove conspiracy or misappropriation.

Procedural Rulings on Private Prosecutors and Trial Judge

The Court found substantial compliance with Rule 110 and relevant administrative provisions in allowing private prosecutors (Atty. Millora and Atty. Urbiztondo) to examine witnesses under the supervision and control of the fiscals; the presence and control by provincial/city fiscals at hearings satisfied the requirement that prosecution be under fiscal direction. The Court rejected the claim that the trial judge who conducted the preliminary investigation was disqualified from trying the case; Rule 112 allows a Court of First Instance that conducted the preliminary investigation to try the case on the merits.

Findings on Authorship and Use of Forged Documents

The Court analyzed handwriting expert testimony and other evidence. Although the expert testified to radical differences between some questioned signatures and exemplars, the Court concluded Samson used two distinct forms of signature — a rounded arcaded form on genuine commercial documents and an angular form in his dealings with the provincial government — and that the questioned signatures in the vouchers and in the alleged official receipts were consistent among themselves and with the angular form. Sendaydiego himself identified Samson’s signatures as genuine in at least one voucher. The Court applied the presumption that a person found in possession of a falsified document who used or uttered it and profited thereby is presumed to be the forger or at least complicit in the forgery absent satisfactory explanation. Samson’s possession, repeated use, carriage, close temporal connection to the forgery, and acceptance of cash payments supported the Court’s conclusion that he was the material author or that he had induced or conspired in the falsifications.

Findings on Conspiracy, Collusion, and Auditor’s Role

The Court found circumstances establishing collusion between Sendaydiego and Samson: Sendaydiego signed vouchers ahead of his assistant Rosete (contrary to normal procedure), payments were directed to be made in cash (bookkeeper’s “A‑1‑1” notation at Samson’s instruction), payments were made in the treasurer’s inner office contrary to usual cashier protocol, and absence of witnesses or requirements (e.g., power of attorney, residence certificates) typically necessary for cash collection. These irregularities, along with ledger entries and witness testimony (including the cashier’s posthumous letter and Rosete’s account), reasonably supported a finding of conspiracy. The provincial auditor Quirimit was acquitted because he had relied on Sendaydiego’s pre‑audit certification and was misled; the evidence against the auditor was not the same as that against the treasurer.

Legal Characterization of Offenses — Separate Falsification and Malversation

The Court rejected the characterization of the offenses as a single complex crime (malversation through falsification). It held that falsification and malversation were separate offenses in these circumstances because the falsifications served to conceal the malversation rather than constituting necessary means for a single offense. Each forged voucher constituted a distinct falsification; each misappropriation evidenced by a voucher constituted a distinct malversation. Precedent and reasoning (cited in the opinion) support punishing falsification and malversation separately where falsification is used to hide misappropriation. Consequently, the Court treated the matter as twelve distinct offenses (six falsifications and six malversations), with Samson a co‑principal in each falsification (as possessor and user) and a co‑principal in the malversations (by conspiring with the accountable officer).

Sentencing and Civil Liability Imposed on Samson and Sendaydiego’s Estate

The Court determined appropriate penalties for Samson, adjusting the lower court’s imposition:

  • Falsifications (six counts): for each count, an indeterminate sentence of prision correccional (minimum 2 years) to prision correccional (maximum 4 years) and a fine of P3,000.
  • Malversation counts:
    • Voucher No. 10724 (P16,727.52): indeterminate penalty of prision mayor (maximum 12 years) to reclusion temporal (medium 17 years) as adjusted; fine of P16,727.52; indemnify Province P16,727.52.
    • Voucher No. 11995 (P14,571.81): similar indeterminate penalty; fine P14,571.81; indemnify Province P14,571.81.
    • Voucher No. 11870 (P6,290.60) and No. 11871 (P9,769.64): penalties in ranges corresponding to prision mayor to reclusion temporal; fines and indemnities equal to the respective amounts.
    • Voucher No. 11869 (P5,187.28) and No. 11872 (P4,501.38): penalties corresponding to prision correccional/prision mayor ranges; fines and indemnities equal to respective amounts.

The Court ordered application of the threefold limit under article

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