G.R. No. 42609 ; April 24, 1935
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. FRANCISCO DEL CARMEN, defendant-appellant.

FACTS

The appellant, Francisco del Carmen, was the disbursing officer of the Northern Luzon Junior College, a branch of the University of the Philippines in Vigan. In September 1933, he received a treasury warrant for P15 issued in favor of Susana Supnet. Instead of delivering the check to Supnet, he forged her signature on the back of the check and cashed it at the store of Go Yee Bio. Supnet never received the check or its value. The appellant denied the accusation and implicated another employee, but the trial court found the testimonial and documentary evidence against him credible.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in its factual findings and in its legal rulings, including the classification of the appellant as a recidivist and the alleged denial of his legal means of defense.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty. The Court held that the trial court’s factual findings were supported by evidence and that the appellant’s denial was insufficient to overcome it. The Court also ruled that the appellant was correctly classified as a recidivist due to a prior conviction for theft, a crime included in the same title of the Revised Penal Code as estafa. There was no error in the trial court’s conduct regarding the appellant’s defense, as it had issued the requested subpoenas, which the appellant failed to utilize. The crime committed was estafa through falsification of a public document under Article 171(2) in relation to Article 315(1)(b) of the Revised Penal Code. With one aggravating circumstance (recidivism) and no mitigating circumstance, the penalty was imposed in its maximum period. The sentence was modified to an indeterminate prison term of eight years and one day to twelve years of prision mayor and a fine of P500.

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