Pinoy Law Student: Case Digest: Lozano v.

Martinez

Higit Pa

Criminal Law Laws

11/23/13 11:49 PM

Susunod na Blog

Law Injury

Bumuo ng Blog

Public Law

Mag-sign in

Commercial Law

Pinoy Law
Student

Safari Power Saver

Click to Start Flash Plug-in

Search
Custom Search

"The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression

and cruelty by the bad people but the
silence over that by the good people." MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Courses In Contract Law

www.NextLevelPurchasing.com

Monday, October 27, 2008

Learn better contract management with

online contracts classes.

Case Digest: Lozano v. Martinez

G.R. No. L-63419, December 18, 1986

FLORENTINA A. LOZANO, petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE

ANTONIO M. MARTINEZ, in his capacity as Presiding Judge, Regional
Trial Court, National Capital Judicial Region, Branch XX, Manila, and the
HONORABLE JOSE B. FLAMINIANO, in his capacity as City Fiscal of
Manila, respondents.
YAP, J:
Petitioners, charged with Batas Pambansa Bilang 22 (BP 22 for short),
popularly known as the Bouncing Check Law, assail the law's
constitutionality.
BP 22 punishes a person "who makes or draws and issues any check on
account or for value, knowing at the time of issue that he does not have
sufficient funds in or credit with the drawee bank for the payment of said
check in full upon presentment, which check is subsequently dishonored
by the drawee bank for insufficiency of funds or credit or would have
been dishonored for the same reason had not the drawer, without any
valid reason, ordered the bank to stop payment." The penalty prescribed
for the offense is imprisonment of not less than 30 days nor more than
one year or a fine or not less than the amount of the check nor more
than double said amount, but in no case to exceed P200,000.00, or both
such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.
The statute likewise imposes the same penalty on "any person who,
having sufficient funds in or credit with the drawee bank when he makes

http://lawstudentpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/10/case-digest-lozano-v-martinez.html

Occupation Canada
Software
Nurse Work in Australia
Recent
Comments
Blog Archive

Pagerank

Legal

2011 (1)
Resources
2010 (8)
bepress Legal
2009 (40)
Repository
2008 (192)
Chan Robles Virtual
December (11)
Law Library
November (29)
Justia
October (30)
Punzi's Corner Blog
What I'm Listening
Scire Licet
To Right Now:
Supreme Court
99.5's Program
Website
Wi...
The LAWPHIL
Of Dwarves and
Project
Ghouls
UST Law Review
Birthday Shoutout!
Productive/Reproductive
Foiled Assassination

Page 1 of 4

Pinoy Law Student: Case Digest: Lozano v. Martinez

or draws and issues a check, shall fail to keep sufficient funds or to

maintain a credit to cover the full amount of the check if presented
within a period of ninety (90) days from the date appearing thereon, for
which reason it is dishonored by the drawee bank.
An essential element of the offense is "knowledge" on the part of the
maker or drawer of the check of the insufficiency of his funds in or credit
with the bank to cover the check upon its presentment. Since this
involves a state of mind difficult to establish, the statute itself creates a
prima facie presumption of such knowledge where payment of the check
"is refused by the drawee because of insufficient funds in or credit with
such bank when presented within ninety (90) days from the date of the
check. To mitigate the harshness of the law in its application, the statute
provides that such presumption shall not arise if within five (5) banking
days from receipt of the notice of dishonor, the maker or drawer makes
arrangements for payment of the check by the bank or pays the holder
the amount of the check.
Another provision of the statute, also in the nature of a rule of evidence,
provides that the introduction in evidence of the unpaid and dishonored
check with the drawee bank's refusal to pay "stamped or written thereon
or attached thereto, giving the reason therefor, "shall constitute prima
facie proof of "the making or issuance of said check, and the due
presentment to the drawee for payment and the dishonor thereof ... for
the reason written, stamped or attached by the drawee on such
dishonored check."
The presumptions being merely prima facie, it is open to the accused of
course to present proof to the contrary to overcome the said
presumptions.
ISSUE: Whether or not (W/N) BP 22 violates the constitutional provision
forbidding imprisonment for debt.
HELD: No.
The gravamen of the offense punished by BP 22 is the act of making and
issuing a worthless check or a check that is dishonored upon its
presentation for payment. It is not the non-payment of an obligation
which the law punishes. The law is not intended or designed to coerce a
debtor to pay his debt. The thrust of the law is to prohibit, under pain of
penal sanctions, the making of worthless checks and putting them in
circulation. Because of its deleterious effects on the public interest, the
practice is proscribed by the law. The law punishes the act not as an
offense against property, but an offense against public order.
The effects of the issuance of a worthless check transcends the private
interests of the parties directly involved in the transaction and touches
the interests of the community at large. The mischief it creates is not
only a wrong to the payee or holder, but also an injury to the public. The
harmful practice of putting valueless commercial papers in circulation,
multiplied a thousand fold, can very wen pollute the channels of trade
and commerce, injure the banking system and eventually hurt the
welfare of society and the public interest.
The enactment of BP 22 is a declaration by the legislature that, as a
matter of public policy, the making and issuance of a worthless check is
deemed public nuisance to be abated by the imposition of penal
http://lawstudentpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/10/case-digest-lozano-v-martinez.html

11/23/13 11:49 PM

Attempt Against
Obama
CBCP's Call for
Reform
No Peace for de la
Paz
Case Digest: Lozano
v. Martinez
Take a Break: Drop
Like a Rock
Bravo and Gonzalez's
Bravado
Going Against the
Grain
Case Digest: Beltran
v. Samson and
Jose
Why should we give
a damn about the
US election?
Pabibo Kasi
Philippine Pool's
Silver Lining
Spam Sunday:
Titanic
Take a Break:
Missing the flight
Rationalizing Sin
Taxes
Not Budging on the
Budget
JPEPA People
Buhay Pa Tayo
Impeachment, Again
and Again
Spam Sunday:
Monkey Waiter
Bullied into
Agreement
The Filipino
Stereotype Abroad
Wrong Turn
Begging Your Pardon
Weird Law: Tattoos
Snookered
A Window of
Opportunity
September (28)
August (7)
July (17)
June (21)
May (29)
April (20)

My Blog List
Ellen Tordesillas
Yolanda shows the need for an Emergency
Management Agency
2 days ago

have a nice day

Swam
1 month ago

Page 2 of 4

Pinoy Law Student: Case Digest: Lozano v. Martinez

11/23/13 11:49 PM

sanctions.

Freakonomics

ISSUE: W/N BP 22 impairs the freedom to contract.

HELD: No. The freedom of contract which is constitutionally protected is
freedom to enter into "lawful" contracts. Contracts which contravene
public policy are not lawful. Besides, we must bear in mind that checks
can not be categorized as mere contracts. It is a commercial instrument
which, in this modem day and age, has become a convenient substitute
for money; it forms part of the banking system and therefore not entirely
free from the regulatory power of the state.
ISSUE: W/N it violates the equal protection clause.
HELD: No. Petitioners contend that the payee is just as responsible for
the crime as the drawer of the check, since without the indispensable
participation of the payee by his acceptance of the check there would be
no crime. This argument is tantamount to saying that, to give equal
protection, the law should punish both the swindler and the swindled.
Moreover, the clause does not preclude classification of individuals, who
may be accorded different treatment under the law as long as the
classification is no unreasonable or arbitrary.

Our 500,000th Twitter Follower

9 months ago

Templora Dermatologica
temploradermatologica
1 year ago

Quotable Quotes
1 year ago

The Critical Thinker(tm)

Victor Hugo Critical Romantic
1 year ago

the pause before the clause

Welcome To Sentrodegrabedad
2 years ago

Enteng Blogs
Something New @ ISCAHM
2 years ago

Inspector Flix
WA: Swim facility told to fix asbestos issue
3 years ago

Living One Day At A Time

New Year's Breakfast
3 years ago

Labels: Bouncing Checks Law, Case Digest, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Political Law

Show All

Posted by P.L.S. at 1:17 AM

BREAKING NEWS

0 comments:

Philippines Law

Post a Comment

Pneumonia Is New Threat to Storm-Battered

New York Times
Philippines
Concerns about pneumonia came as the National
Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, a
Philippines government agency, said the death
toll had reached 5,209 by Friday evening. The
agency uses a conservative figure for deaths that
relies on ...
Related Articles

Post a Comment

Enter your comment...

Comment as:

Publish

Font of Natural Energy in the Philippines,

Crippled
New
Yorkby
Times
Nature
ORMOC, the Philippines Clouds of steam surge
from fissures in the earth along the beds of
mountain streams here that splash down slopes
carpeted with coconut palm forests, hints of the
enormous source of renewable energy that lies
underground.

Google Account

Preview

Newer Post

Home

Older Post

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Law

Law School

Case Law

Law Law

http://lawstudentpinoy.blogspot.com/2008/10/case-digest-lozano-v-martinez.html

Toll Confirms Storm Is One of Philippines'

New York Times
Deadliest
By AUSTIN RAMZY and KEITH BRADSHER.
Published: November 22, 2013. CEBU,
Philippines The official death toll for Typhoon
Haiyan has exceeded 5,200, confirming that the
devastating storm was one of the Philippines's
deadliest ever recorded.
Kim Kardashian eBays her old clothes to help
Philippines
Daily
Mail typhoon victims ...
Typhoon Haiyan, known as Typhoon Yolanda in
the Philippines, is the second-deadliest Philippine
typhoon on record and has so far claimed the
lives of more than 4,000. The cyclone caused
catastrophic destruction in the central
Philippines, particularly ...
Related Articles

Page 3 of 4