G.R. No. 143959 ; February 19, 2008
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, petitioner vs. NORMA BOOC, respondent

FACTS

The case originated from a criminal charge for estafa against Norma Booc. The prosecution established that Booc, knowing she had insufficient funds and without informing Msgr. Romualdo Kintanar of this fact, issued two Allied Bank checks each for P50,000.00, postdated January 26, 1997. She issued these checks to induce Fr. Kintanar to secure a loan of P100,000.00 from a lending investor on her behalf, promising repayment and an additional donation. Upon maturity, the checks were dishonored due to a closed account. Despite demands and a partial payment of P20,000.00, Booc failed to make good the checks, compelling Fr. Kintanar to pay the loan himself.
The Regional Trial Court of Cebu, Branch 58, found Booc guilty beyond reasonable doubt of estafa under Article 315(2)(d) of the Revised Penal Code. The trial court sentenced her to 22 years of reclusion perpetua, ordered her to indemnify Fr. Kintanar P80,000.00, and to pay costs. The case was elevated directly to the Supreme Court on automatic review due to the penalty imposed.

ISSUE

The core issue is whether the Supreme Court should affirm the trial court’s conviction and the penalty of reclusion perpetua imposed for the crime of estafa.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The legal logic rests on the proper application of the penalty for estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 10951 . The Court found all elements of estafa present: Booc employed deceit by issuing worthless checks to secure a loan, causing Fr. Kintanar to part with money to his damage. Her defense of good faith, citing her own debtors’ failure to pay her, was unavailing as the law penalizes the deceitful issuance of a check that is dishonored upon presentment.
Regarding the penalty, the Court held the trial court erred in imposing a straight penalty of 22 years of reclusion perpetua. For estafa involving P100,000.00, the penalty should be based on the incremental penalty rule under Article 315. The prescribed penalty is prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum (4 years, 2 months, and 1 day to 8 years). With the amount involved exceeding P22,000.00, an additional one year is imposed for each additional P10,000.00. The total incremental penalty was computed at 8 years. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the minimum penalty is within the range of prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum, and the maximum is the minimum period plus the total incremental penalty. Thus, the Court imposed an indeterminate sentence of 6 years and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum to 24 years, 4 months, and 1 day of reclusion perpetua as maximum, plus accessory penalties. The indemnity of P80,000.00 (representing the balance after the P20,000.00 partial payment) was sustained.