That the false document is embraced in art. In U.S. v. Chan Tiao,48 the accused presented a document of guaranty purportedly signed by Ortigas Hermanos for the payment of P2,055.00 as the value of 150 sacks of sugar, and by means of said falsified documents, succeeded in obtaining the sacks of sugar, was held guilty of falsification of a private document. Any private individual who shall commit any of the falsifications enumerated in the next preceding article in any other kind of commercial document. 168486, June 27, 2006, citing U.S. v. Lim San, 17 Phil. If you are being accused of falsifying documents, you should consult with a skilled and knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. In cases of falsification of private documents, the venue is the place where the document is actually falsified, to the prejudice of or with the intent to prejudice a third person, regardless whether or not the falsified document is put to the improper or illegal use for which it was intended. That the money for which the appellant's checks were substituted was received by him for safe-keeping or administration, or both, can hardly be disputed. 15221, affirming with modification the April 15, 1993 Decision2 of the Regional Trial Court of General Santos City, Branch 22 in Criminal Case Nos. 171. Batulanon argues that in any falsification case, the best witness is the person whose signature was allegedly forged, thus the prosecution should have presented Erlinda Omadlao, Gonafreda Oracion and Ferlyn Arroyo instead of relying on the testimony of an unreliable and biased witness such as Medallo.33 She avers that the crime of falsification of private document requires as an element prejudice to a third person. Falsification de documents et paiements fictifs sous couvert de l'instrument financier d'orientation de la pche (IFOP) ec.europa.eu The Convention will be the first instrument to oblige States Parties to criminalise: the manufacturing of counterfeit medical products; supplying, offering to Falsification of document offences covers the creation, production of copies, or use of a copied or original falsified document. She is likewise ordered to indemnify Polomolok Credit Cooperative Incorporated the sum of P5,000.00 with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from November 28, 1994 until finality of this judgment. 12 Also referred to as Godofreda in the Records. Batulanon admitted that she took out a loan in her son's name because she is no longer qualified for another loan as she still has to pay off an existing loan; that she had started paying off her son's loan but the cooperative refused to accept her payments after the cases were filed in court.27 She also declared that one automatically becomes a member when he deposits money with the cooperative.28 When she was Cashier/Manager of PCCI from 1980 to 1982, the cooperative did not have by-laws yet.29, On rebuttal, Jayoma belied that PCCI had no by-laws from 1980-1982, because the cooperative had been registered since 1967.30. The statute is clear and makes no distinction between permanent misappropriations and temporary ones. In view of the foregoing, we find that the Court of Appeals correctly held Batulanon guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Falsification of Private Documents in Criminal Case Nos. 3453, 3625, 3626 and 3627. 465 penalize all other violations of the residence certificate law not covered by the preceeding sections thereof. She insists that PCCI has not been prejudiced by these loan transactions because these loans are accounts receivable by the cooperative.34. [11] The Supreme Court (SC) has acquitted a notary public of the crime of falsification of a public document but directed the Office of the Bar Confidant to file the appropriate administrative action against him. Public documents are available for inspection to the public in public office during the official time 3. Appellant LEONILA BATULANON is found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Falsification of Private Documents under Par. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. 30A10 for P4,160.00 was released to Erlinda Omadlao; on September 24, 1982, Cash Voucher No. The penalty for the crime of falsification is Republic of the PhilippinesSUPREME COURTManila, G.R. Falsification of a Private Document. In a 17-page decision promulgated on April 8, 2019, the SC Third Division through Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. A deed having been acknowledged before a Notary Public is considered a public document and an unnotarized deed is considered a private document. 2. An inquiry with the PNB disclosed that he had only P125.66 in his account, although in the afternoon of the same day, he deposited in his account with the PNB sufficient sum to cover the check. If the crime of falsification is committed in any public or official document or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial document by a private individual, the penalty to be imposed is prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00). The checks did not constitute cash and as long as they were retained by the appellant or remained under his personal control they were of no value to the corporation; he might as well have kept them in his pocket as to deliver them to his subordinate with instructions to retain them. Needless to say, this provision implies that the person to whom the certificate is issued must state to the officer who issues the same, the true facts, required to appear therein, the latter having merely the ministerial function of recording thereon the facts as supplied by this person. A-1618529 dated January 7, 1952, was issued to one Antonio Perez with his place of birth as Jaro, Leyte, and with his citizenship as Filipino, when in truth and in fact, as the accused well knew, his true name is Po Giok To, his place of birth is Amoy, China, and his citizenship is Chinese. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation. 2, Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code; and is hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six (6) months of arresto mayor maximum, AS MINIMUM, to four (4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional medium, AS MAXIMUM; to pay a fine of five thousand (P5,000.00) pesos; and to indemnify the Polomolok Cooperative Credit , Inc. the sum of thirteen thousand one hundred sixty (P13,160.00), plus legal interests from the filing of the complaints until fully paid, plus costs. Making any alteration or intercalation in a genuine document which changes its meaning; 7. 24 TSN, November 14, 1988, pp. 172. 139857             September 15, 2006. 172. The defense presented two witnesses, namely, Maria Theresa Medallo who was presented as a hostile witness and Batulanon. Falsification of a document is a very serious crime and you will want someone to defend your rights. Go filed charges against Deguito and Torres before the Makati Prosecutor's Office for falsification of private documents used in opening accounts under his name. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. https://www.lawnn.com/law-of-evidence-public-and-private-documents 37 Dizon v. People, G.R. In handing down a judgment of conviction, the Court explained that: Fraudulent intent in committing the conversion or diversion is very evidently not a necessary element of the form of estafa here discussed; the breach of confidence involved in the conversion or diversion of trust funds takes the place of fraudulent intent and is in itself sufficient. He averred that membership in the cooperative is not open to minors.20, Jayoma was the Vice-Chairman of the PCCI Board of Directors in 1980 before becoming its Chairman in 1982 until 1983. If the falsification of a private document is committed as a means to commit estafa, the proper crime to be charged is falsification. However, due to the hidden nature of falsifying documents, the consequences can vary considerably depending on how severe or widespread the falsification is. https://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/2014augustdecisions.php?id=626 L-7236             April 30, 1955. - The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than P5,000 pesos shall be imposed upon: 1. Such was not shown in this case because the genuine signature of Omadlao, Oracion, and Arroyo were never offered in evidence. Batulanon denied all the charges against her. There is, therefore, no question that the accused had the duty to disclose the true facts about his name, place of birth, and citizenship to the officer or employee who issued his residence certificate No. Falsification is the term applied by the Code for forgery of documents, whether it is a public, private or commercial document, although the Code did not specifically provide the definition of each. [10] After the prosecution presented its evidence, Guevara filed a demurrer to evidence which the trial court, presided over by Judge Fernando V. Gorospe, Jr., granted. That on or about the 7th day of December, 1982 at Poblacion, Municipality of Polomolok, Province of South Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, the said accused being then the manager-cashier of Polomolok Credit Cooperative, Inc., (PCCI) entrusted with the duty of managing the affairs of the cooperative, receiving payments to, and collection of, the same and paying out loans to members, taking advantage of her position and with intent to prejudice and defraud the cooperative, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously falsify a commercial document, namely: an Individual Deposits and Loan Ledger of one Dennis Batulanon with the PCCI by then and there entering on the appropriate column of the ledger the entry that the said Dennis Batulanon had a fixed deposit of P2,000.00 with the PCCI and was granted a loan in the amount of P5,000.00 thus making it appear that the said person made fixed deposit on the aforesaid date with, and was granted a loan by the PCCI when in truth and in fact Dennis Batulanon never made such a deposit and was never granted loan and offer the document was so falsified in the manner set forth, said accused did then and there again falsify the Cash/Check Voucher No. 273 (1910). Defendant-appellee also advances the theory that a private person can not commit the crime of falsification charged, i. e., by making untruthful statements in a narration of facts, referring to the opinion of the late Justice Albert that "only of the eight ways of committing falsifications enumerated in Article 171, to wit, the first, the fifth, and the sixth, are open to a private individual" (Albert, supra, p. 405); and stresses that if there had been any falsification at all in this case, it was committed by the employee who, though innocently, wrote the allegedly untrue facts on defendant's residence certificate. The offense of falsification of private documents is defined and penalized under Article 172 (2), in relation to Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC): Art. This is because by signing the name of Omadlao, Oracion, and Arroyo in Cash Voucher Nos. 171; but it must likewise be shown that such act of falsification 237A in the name of Gonafreda Oracion. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. As there is no complex crime of estafa through falsification of a private document, it is important to ascertain whether the offender is to be charged with falsification of a private document or with estafa. II (15th ed., 2001), pp. The real question is not did he commit a crime given in the law some technical and specific name, but did he perform the acts alleged in the body of the information in the manner therein set forth. 36 Art. If the crime of falsification is committed in any public or official document or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial document by a private individual, the penalty to be imposed is prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00). Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act or proceeding when they did not in fact so participate; 3. On the other hand, Art. The elements of Falsification of Private Documents under Article 172 (2) of the RPC are: (a) that the offender committed any of the acts of falsification, except those in Article 171 (7) of the same Code; (b) that the falsification was committed in any private document; and (c) that the falsification caused damage to a third party or at least the falsification was committed with intent to cause such damage. An information for Falsification of Public Document was thus filed against private respondent Guevara in the Regional Trial Court of Makati where it was docketed as Criminal Case No. Which law is applicable should be determined when the case is decided on its merits. 172. Some airports have contracted identity verification out to private companies, and in many cases, CBP personnel will provide training to airport access control office/badging personnel in the identification of fraudulent documents. 172, par 2, defining the crime falsification of private document, provides: chanrobles virtual law library. 1913. Counterfeiting or imitating any handwriting, signature, or rubric; 2. 374 A of PCCI in the name of Dennis Batulanon by signing therein the signature of Dennis Batulanon, thus making it appear that the said Dennis Batulanon received the loan of P5,000.00 when in truth and in fact said Dennis Batulanon never received the loan and in furtherance of her criminal intent and fraudulent design to defraud PCCI said accused did then and there release to herself the same and receive the loan of P5,000, and thereafter, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously misappropriate and convert to her own personal use and benefit the said amount, and [despite] demands, refused and still refuses to restitute the same to the damage and prejudice of the PCCI in the aforementioned amount of P5,000, Philippine Currency. Knowing that she is no longer qualified to obtain a loan, she fraudulently used the name of her son who is likewise disqualified to secure a loan from PCCI. If he performed the acts alleged, in the manner stated, the law determines what the name of the crime is and fixes the penalty therefor. Finally, it is argued for the defendant-appellee that there being a special law with respect to residence certificates expressly punishing their falsification (Commonwealth Act No. WHEREFORE, the Decision appealed from is AFFIRMED with the following MODIFICATIONS: (1) In Criminal Case Nos. 30A, 237A, and 267A, respectively, as payee of the amounts appearing in the corresponding cash vouchers, Batulanon made it appear that they obtained a loan and received its proceeds when they did not in fact secure said loan nor receive the amounts reflected in the cash vouchers. Considering that the amount misappropriated by Batulanon was P5,000.00, the applicable provision is paragraph (3) of Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, which imposes the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period, where the amount defrauded is over P200.00 but does not exceed P6,000.00. Of the four accounts, only that in Ferlyn Arroyo's name was settled because her mother, Erlinda, agreed to settle the loan to avoid legal prosecution with the understanding however, that she will be reimbursed once the money is collected from Batulanon.39, The Court of Appeals40 correctly ruled that the subject vouchers are private documents and not commercial documents because they are not documents used by merchants or businessmen to promote or facilitate trade or credit transactions41 nor are they defined and regulated by the Code of Commerce or other commercial law.42 Rather, they are private documents, which have been defined as deeds or instruments executed by a private person without the intervention of a public notary or of other person legally authorized, by which some disposition or agreement is proved, evidenced or set forth. II, Part 1, p. 301; Guevara, Comm. 237A is Batulanon's handwriting.21 Jayoma also testified that among the four loans taken, only that in Arroyo's name was settled.22. He was the responsible financial officer of the corporation and as such had immediate control of the current funds for the purposes of safe-keeping and was charged with the custody of the same. Falsification of documents. The distinction made by the law between falsification by private persons, first, of public documents, and secondly of private documents, is clear; the first is committed by the mere performance of any of the acts of falsification enumerated in Art. 1893). To establish successful prosecution and civil claim, the prosecutor and claimant must prove the intention and conduct of the accused person and the presumption of intention that fall under respective statutory provision. Upon insistence of the City Fiscal that the information was sufficient and that he was not in possession of any evidence that the accused made use of the residence certificate containing the alleged false entries, the Court a quo dismissed the case without prejudice. The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation. That on or about the 24th day of September, 1982 at Poblacion, Municipality of Polomolok, Province of South Cotabato, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of the Honorable Court, said accused being then the manager-cashier of Polomolok Credit Cooperative, Inc. (PCCI), entrusted with the duty of managing the affairs of the cooperative, receiving payments to, and collections of, the same, and paying out loans to members taking advantage of her position and with intent to prejudice and defraud the cooperative, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously falsify a commercial document, namely: Cash/Check Voucher No. The accused misappropriated the wages during which the laborer did not work for which he was convicted of falsification of private document. The lower Court, however, found the motion to quash meritorious and ordered the amendment of the information. The claim that Batulanon's letter to the cooperative asking for a compromise was not an admission of guilt is untenable. He stated that Oracion is Batulanon's sister-in-law while Dennis Batulanon is her son who was only 3 years old in 1982. The penalty for the crime of falsification is imprisonment of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than P5,000. 276A13 was released to Ferlyn Arroyo on October 16, 1982 and on December 7, 1982, P5,000.00 was released to Dennis Batulanon thru Cash Voucher No. Although the amount received by Batulanon is reflected in the records as part of the receivables of PCCI, damage was still caused to the latter because the sum misappropriated by her could have been loaned by PCCI to qualified members, or used in other productive undertakings. 172. That he committed any of the acts of falsification enumerated in Article 171. Borromeo, Yap and Borromeo for appellee. 186 (1922), cited in Reyes, The Revised Penal Code, Vol. Contrary to Batulanon's contention, the prosecution is not duty-bound to present the persons whose signatures were forged as Medallo's eyewitness account of the incident was sufficient. On the other hand, the elements of falsification of documents under paragraph 1, Article 172 are: 1) the offender is a private individual or a public officer or employee who did not take advantage of his official position; 2) the offender committed any of the acts of falsification enumerated in Article 171; and 3) the falsification was committed in a public or official or commercial document. ART. Anent the second element allegedly lacking in the information in question, the law is clear that wrongful intent on the part of the accused to injure a third person is not an essential element of the crime of falsification of public document. 41 Monteverde v. People, 435 Phil. 1, in connection with Art. 237 A of PCCI in the name of Gonafreda Oracion by then and there making an entry therein that the said Gonafreda Oracion was granted a loan of P4,000.00 and by signals on the appropriate line thereon the signature of Gonafreda Oracion showing that she received the loan, thus making it appear that the said Gonafreda Oracion was granted a loan, received the loan of P4,000.00 when in truth and in fact said person was never granted a loan, never received the same, and never signed the Cash/Check voucher issued in her name, and in furtherance of her criminal intent and fraudulent design to defraud PCCI said accused did then and there release to herself the same and received the amount of P4,000.00 and thereafter misappropriate and convert to her own use and benefit the said amount, and despite demands, refused and still refuses to restitute the same, to the damage and prejudice of PCCI, in the aforementioned amount of P4,000, Philippine Currency. The opinion quoted plainly refers to direct falsification by a private person, and does not contemplate situations where the accused, though a private person, becomes a principal to the act of falsification committed by a public official or employee, by induction, cooperation, or planned conspiracy (cf. 50 While the Information alleged that petitioner Batulanon also falsified the "Individual Deposits and Loan Ledger" of Dennis Batulanon, she cannot likewise be convicted of falsifying said document as it was not formally offered in evidence. 52 43 Phil. Since Batulanon's conviction was for 3 counts of falsification of private documents, she shall suffer the aforementioned penalties for each count of the offense charged. Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts. DOCUMENT FALSIFIED IS A TORRENS CERTIFICATE OF TITL,E; and (2) Any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to cause such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the acts of falsification enumerated in the next preceding article Any person who shall knowingly introduce in