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Criminal Law, Prescription of Cyber Libel Facts: On  February 4, 2019 , and April 29, 2019 ,  Berteni Catalufia Causing  uploaded  several posts on Facebook, which made it appear that  Ferdinand L. Hernandez , a duly elected member of the House of Representatives of the Second District of South Cotabato, stole public funds intended for Marawi siege victims.  February 4, 2019 post: "PLEASE LIKE & SHARE   xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  KATARUNGAN  Hindi titigil ang sigaw ng katarungan dahil sa pagnanakaw ng P226 milyon mula sa relief goods para sa Marawi evacuees. Dahil tinanggal ng Radyo Inquirer itong video sa kanilang website, ini-upload ko ito para patuloy na mapapanood ng lahat ang pagsampa ng kasong PLUNDER o HIGANTENG PAGMANAKAW (sic) laban sa Region 12 DSWD Director Bai Zorahaida Taha at South Cotabato Co[n]gressman Dinand Hernan dez. Mabuti na lang na nai-record ko." April 29, 2019 post: "KAMPON NG MGA MAGNANAKAW HUWAG KALI...

                                        Rule 120: Judgment, Discharge | Criminal Procedure Facts: Simeon Yusay appealed a judgment convicting him of theft and sentencing him to one year, eight months, and twenty-one days ( 1-8-21 ) of imprisonment. The prosecution presented evidence that Yusay took two pawn tickets belonging to Leonor Gil de Lazaro without her consent.  The servant of Gil de Lazaro, Remigia Mediavilla , was entrusted the tickets and left them to Yusay unintentionally. Yusay met Mediavilla at a store, noticed the tickets in her purse, and took them from her. Yusay falsely claimed to be the owner of the pawned jewels and redeemed them without presenting the tickets, using only their numbers. Gil de Lazaro discovered the theft when she tried to redeem the jewels herself. When confronted, Yusay refused to return the tickets and instead offered to help Mediavi...

                                       Rule 120: Judgment, Discharge | Criminal Procedure Facts: Venancio de Guzman  was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. De Guzman, along with Pedro and Serapio Macarling and Rufino Garin, was allegedly walking through a field when he struck Garin on the head and held him down while Pedro Macarling stabbed him to death. De Guzman had a prior agreement with the prosecutor to testify as a witness for the government in exchange for the dismissal of the murder charge against him.  One of his co-accused pleaded guilty and the other not guilty, and thereafter the case came on for trial.  De Guzman appeared as a witness at the trial but denied any knowledge of the murder and made false statements, disavowing his previous statements. The Solicitor-General recommended the discharge of De Guzman based on certain sectio...

                                      Rule 120: Judgment, Variance Doctrine | Criminal Procedure Facts: Isidoro Palad and Melecio Macalintal were charged with the crime of murder for the death of Saturnina Austria. Isidoro suspected Austria of bewitching his sick mother  Maria Estevan . Isidoro struck his mother several times, demanding to know the identity of the witch. Maria Estevan shouted the name "Saturnina," which prompted Isidoro to search for Saturnina Austria in Sibul, San Miguel. Upon finding Saturnina, Isidoro forcefully took her from her house and brought her to Batong-Uling. Isidoro and Macalintal cut off Saturnina's ears and threw her into the water. They further augmented her suffering by kicking her on the head, causing her fatal injuries when her head struck a rock. Macalintal aided Isidoro in carrying out these acts. Issue: WoN the crime committed by the defend...

                                       Rule 120: Judgment, Civil Liability | Criminal Procedure Facts: Josephine Sanchez was assigned as the secretary of Kai J. Chin, the director and representative of Chemical Bank. Sanchez allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals from the account of Chemical International Finance Limited (CIFL) in Far East Bank and Trust Company (FEBTC) using forged applications for cashier's checks.  She deposited the checks into her personal accounts and withdrew the amounts for her personal benefit, causing damage to FEBTC. FEBTC had to reimburse the CIFL account for a total amount of ₱3,787,530.86. RTC: Acquitted Josephine Sanchez of all charges as it found Kai Chin, the key witness, not credible and doubted the integrity of the handwriting expert's findings. The court highlighted that the alleged fraudulent transactions involved the participation of other...

                                      Rule 120: Judgment, Civil Liability | Criminal Procedure Facts: Petitioner Anamer D. Salazar and co-accused Nena Jaucian Timario were charged with estafa for issuing a check without sufficient funds for the payment of 300 cavans of rice she purchased from J.Y. Brothers Marketing Corporation. After the prosecution rested its case, the petitioner filed a Demurrer to Evidence with Leave of Court. The trial court acquitted Salazar of the crime. The trial court ruled that the evidence for the prosecution did not establish the existence of conspiracy beyond reasonable doubt between the petitioner and the issuer of the check, her co-accused for the purpose of defrauding the private complainant.  Nevertheless, she was held liable for the value of the rice she purchased with the check. Salazar filed a motion for reconsideration on the civil as...

                                     Rule 120: Judgment, Acquittal | Criminal Procedure Facts: George Manantan was charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide for a car accident that caused the death of Ruben Nicolas. The prosecution's evidence showed that Manantan, along with Ruben Nicolas and others, had been drinking beer throughout the day before the accident. The defense claimed that the accident was caused by a passenger jeepney that swerved into their lane.   Manantan was initially acquitted by the trial court of homicide through reckless imprudence without a ruling on his civil liability. On appeal from the civil aspect of the judgment, the Court of Appeals found Manantan civilly liable and ordered him to indemnify the parents of the deceased. Issue: WoN the court a quo err in finding that petitioner's acquittal did not extinguish his civil liability.  ( ...

                                     Rule 120: Judgment, Judges | Criminal Procedure Facts: Luis D. Montero, Alfredo Y. Perez , and Alejandro C. Rivera , were found guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No. 3019, also known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was entered into by the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Development Coordinating Council for Leyte and Samar, for the construction of riverine boats to be used as floating clinics for the delivery of health care services to the remote barangays in Samar and Leyte. The DOH entered into a negotiated contract with PAL Boat Industry for the construction of seven clinics amounting to P 700,000.  An anonymous complaint of a concerned citizen alleged that the boats were left unused...