Title
Umpa vs. People
Case
G.R. No. 246265-66
Decision Date
Mar 15, 2021
LRA officer Maybela Umpa defrauded Lory Malibiran by falsely claiming to facilitate property documents, leading to convictions for estafa and graft under R.A. No. 3019. Penalties modified, including perpetual disqualification from public office.
estafa
violation
public officer

Case Summary (G.R. No. 246265-66)

Factual Background

Sometime in February 2010, Malibiran consulted petitioner’s wife’s advice; petitioner was the wife of Malibiran’s best friend. Malibiran, who was also described as the godfather to petitioner’s eldest daughter, consulted petitioner about how he could obtain the approved plan, tax declaration, and the Certificate of Title on Fernando Mamaril’s property. Malibiran knew petitioner was working with the LRA, and petitioner assured him that she could produce the needed documents. Petitioner requested a sketch plan and the amount of P20,000.00 as a research fee.

Petitioner then introduced Malibiran to Carlito Castillo (Castillo), who was also working at the LRA as an accounting clerk. The two discussed Malibiran’s request concerning the property. In the first week of October 2010, petitioner informed Malibiran that he needed to pay an additional P620,000.00 to facilitate the release of the documents for issuance of the title. Malibiran eventually raised the amount and delivered it to petitioner. Petitioner, however, failed to deliver any document.

Malibiran then filed a complaint against petitioner and Castillo before the LRA. During a hearing on June 15, 2011, petitioner and Castillo agreed to return the sums given by Malibiran before the hearing officer Joel Bigornia (Bigornia), Division Chief of the LRA Docket Division. Castillo appeared in the next hearing, but petitioner did not. The hearing officer recommended filing appropriate charges against petitioner, which the LRA Administrator approved. Malibiran later withdrew his LRA complaint and filed a new complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, charging petitioner and Castillo with: (a) fraud and illegal exaction under Article 213, Section 2(c) of the RPC; (b) other frauds under Article 214 of the RPC; (c) estafa under Article 315(1) of the RPC; and (d) violation of R.A. No. 3019.

Ombudsman Resolution and Filing of Informations

After petitioner and Castillo submitted their counter-affidavits, the Office of the Ombudsman issued a Resolution dated March 23, 2012 finding probable cause to indict them for estafa under Article 315(2)(a) of the RPC and violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019. Consequently, two Informations were filed before the RTC of Quezon City on March 23, 2012, docketed as R-QZN-A/R-0003 and R-QZN-A/R-0004 and raffled to Branch 85.

Castillo was arraigned on August 29, 2013. On November 20, 2014, Malibiran executed an Affidavit of Desistance in Castillo’s favor. As a result, the RTC issued an order on December 2, 2014 dismissing the case against Castillo. For petitioner, the case was archived because she remained at-large. Petitioner later resurfaced and was arraigned on August 11, 2015.

RTC Conviction

On November 10, 2017, the RTC rendered a Joint Decision finding petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of estafa under Article 315(2)(a) and of violating Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019. The RTC found that petitioner employed fraudulent representations either prior to or at least simultaneously with Malibiran’s delivery of the P620,000.00, based on her assurance that she could have Fernando Mamaril’s property titled and declared for tax purposes.

The RTC noted that petitioner’s work position at the LRA created an impression that she had authority to transact with Malibiran regarding the required financial and documentary processes. Despite receiving the money, petitioner failed to secure and deliver the title documents. The RTC concluded that petitioner used her official position as an LRA employee to commit the crimes charged. It rejected petitioner’s assertion of innocence, citing petitioner’s admissions that she was the one Malibiran consulted about titling, that she received P20,000.00 as research fees, and that she consulted Castillo while claiming Castillo could have known the process even if Castillo was allegedly unauthorized. The RTC also considered petitioner’s claim that she turned over the P620,000.00 to Castillo, which petitioner failed to prove.

The RTC sentenced petitioner for estafa to an indeterminate penalty of four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as minimum, to ten (10) years of prision mayor, as maximum. For the R.A. No. 3019 offense, the RTC imposed imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) month to eight (8) years. The RTC further ordered petitioner to pay Malibiran P620,000.00 as actual damages.

Sandiganbayan Decision and Penalty Modification

Petitioner appealed to the Sandiganbayan, which, in a Decision dated December 20, 2018, affirmed the RTC conviction but modified the penalty. The Sandiganbayan held that the elements of estafa under Article 315(2)(a) and the elements of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 were proven beyond reasonable doubt. It reiterated that petitioner agreed and assured Malibiran that she could facilitate the issuance of the approved plan, tax declaration, and certificate of title. Relying on petitioner’s false pretenses and fraudulent acts, Malibiran paid P20,000.00 for research fees and, after petitioner promised delivery within a week, paid an additional P620,000.00. The Sandiganbayan emphasized that petitioner was neither authorized nor capacitated to facilitate issuance of those documents.

With respect to petitioner’s arguments about contradictory statements between Malibiran’s complaint-affidavit and affidavit of desistance, the Sandiganbayan ruled that any contradictions related more to Castillo’s participation than to petitioner’s culpability. On penalty, the Sandiganbayan applied the retroactive effect of R.A. No. 1095 and modified the penalty for estafa to an indeterminate term of two (2) months and one (1) day of arresto mayor, as minimum, to one (1) year and one (1) day of prison correccional minimum, as maximum. It also increased the actual damages ordered to a total of P640,000.00, reflecting both payments.

Petitioner moved for reconsideration, insisting that inconsistencies in Malibiran’s statements marred credibility. The Sandiganbayan denied the motion in its Resolution dated April 2, 2019, holding that the inconsistency was not material.

Petition and Parties’ Contentions in the Supreme Court

Petitioner filed a Rule 45 petition, maintaining that the Sandiganbayan gravely erred in affirming the RTC conviction despite alleged doubtful credibility of Malibiran. She argued that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the elements of estafa under Article 315(2)(a) and the elements of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019, particularly because Malibiran’s complaint-affidavit allegedly conflicted with his affidavit of desistance. She stressed that Malibiran had not distinguished between petitioner’s and Castillo’s participation in the alleged fraud in the complaint-affidavit, while in the affidavit of desistance he retracted his statements and claimed Castillo took no part in the scheme. Petitioner argued that this inconsistency eroded Malibiran’s credibility.

For the State, the Office of the Special Prosecutor argued that the petition should be dismissed for lack of merit. It countered that the alleged inconsistencies did not affect the facts proving petitioner’s criminal liability, since they concerned only Castillo’s participation. It further asserted that Malibiran’s testimony was consistent with other prosecution evidence and petitioner’s admissions.

Legal Standards Applied by the Court

The Supreme Court reiterated that the right to appeal is a statutory privilege and that Rule 45 requires that the petition raise questions of such substance as to warrant consideration. Under Section 5(2) and Section 6 of Rule 45, the Court would act only if the court a quo decided a question of substance in a manner possibly not in accord with law or with applicable Supreme Court decisions, or if it departed from the usual course of judicial proceedings.

The Court then applied established jurisprudential elements of estafa under Article 315(2): (a) a false pretense or fraudulent representation as to the offender’s power, influence, qualifications, property, credit, agency, business, or imaginary transactions; (b) that the representation was made prior to or simultaneously with the fraud; (c) that the offended party relied on the representation and was induced to part with money or property; and (d) damage resulting to the offended party.

For the R.A. No. 3019 charge under Section 3(e), the Court applied the required elements: (1) the accused must be a public officer discharging administrative, judicial, or official functions; (2) the accused acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence; and (3) the accused’s action caused any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party unwarranted benefits, advantage, or preference. The Court also explained the meaning of partiality, bad faith, and gross negligence by reference to Sison v. People of the Philippines.

The Court’s Reasoning on Estafa and Section 3(e)

The Supreme Court agreed that the courts a quo did not err in finding petitioner guilty of estafa under Article 315(2). It reasoned, first, that petitioner took advantage of Malibiran’s misunderstanding that she had authority and capacity to process the documents when she did not. The Court noted petitioner’s claimed referral to Castillo, while also observing that Castillo was only an accounting clerk and also lacked authority to process the documents. Second, the Court found that petitioner’s fraudulent representation preceded or coincided with the commission of the fraud. Third, it held that Malibiran relied on petitioner’s representations and paid a total amount of P640,000.00. Fourth, it concluded that petitioner failed to deliver the requested documents and did not return the money, resulting in damage to Malibiran in the same total amount.

On the Section 3(e) charge, the Supreme Court agreed that the prosecution established the elements beyond reasonable doubt. It found that petitio

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