1.

Maliwat vs CA

2. People vs Reodica

FACTS:

The appellant was sentenced by the Court of First Instance of Palawan, for the falsification of a
public document. The appellant was municipal treasurer of Bacuit, Province of Palawan. The
information alleges that he falsified the municipal payroll corresponding to that month by making it
appear therein that one, Sinforoso Cordero, rendered services as municipal secretary from July 23
to July 31, which was not true, for said Sinforoso Cordero was absent from the municipality of
Bacuit from July 23, 1931, and did not return until 1933.

The evidence discloses that this municipal payroll was submitted to the appellant by the
municipal president, already prepared, together with a letter (Exhibit 3) authorizing him to
pay Sinforoso Cordero's salary for the second half of that month, and other documents
showing that said Sinforoso Cordero was granted a leave of eight days from July 23 to July
31. When this payroll was received by the appellant on July 23, it was already signed and payment
thereof approved by the president, with the latter's certification that the services therein mentioned
were rendered.

ISSUE: WON the appellant is guilty of falsification of public document

HELD: No

RATIO: This being the case, the appellant is not guilty of the falsification of this payroll, as alleged
in the information, because the president and not he is the one who certifies that the services
of the officers mentioned therein were in fact rendered.

While the information likewise states that the appellant certified in the payroll that he paid Sinforoso
Cordero's salary on July 31, 1931, it does not allege, however, that this was not true, and although
it appears that the appellant made this payment on July 23, he was not charged with falsification in
this sense. At any rate, Sinforoso Cordero having been in fact paid, it was immaterial whether this
was done on July 23 or July 31.

Such alterations, even granting that the appellant was responsible therefor, do not affect either the
veracity of the document or the effects thereof, and do not constitute the crime of falsification.
(Decisions of the Supreme Court of Spain of February 25, 1885, and June 21, 1886.)

For the foregoing considerations, the appealed judgment is reversed, and the appellant acquitted,
with costs de oficio.

So ordered.

3. Cabigas vs People

FACTS:

Petitioner Dario Cabigas is the Securities Custodian of the Securities Section of the Land Bank of
the Philippines assigned to its branch at Makati, Metro Manila. Assisting him in his work is
Benedicto Reynes, the securities receiving clerk. The Fund Management Department (FMD) of the
Land Bank of the Philippines is engaged in money market and securities trading transactions. The
securities which are in the form of treasury notes and bills are in turn deposited with the Securities
Section of the Land Bank of the Philippines, Makati Branch.
On March 9, 1982, the Fund Management Department, delivered to the Securities Section for
seekeeping, 112 pieces of treasury notes and treasury bills worth P46,000,000.00. Included in
the securities received on March 9, 1982 are 19 pieces of treasury bills with Serial Nos. A-
000064 to A-000082, 795th series, in the denomination of P500,000.00 each, or a total
amount of P9,500,000.00. After receiving the securities, the accused would prepare the Daily
Report on Securities/Documents Under Custody (DR SDUC) evidencing the securities
transactions and operations of the Makati Branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines. This
has been the routine procedure being adopted by the accused in the performance of his duty as a
Security Custodian.

On March 29, 1982, in the course of their inventory of treasury notes and bills deposited with them,
Cabigas and Reynes discovered the loss of six (6) treasury bills of the 795th series with a
total value of P3,000,000.00.

Subseqently, Cabigas and Reynes marked on the document as Exhibit G-1, and the legend of
the asterisk (*) sign at the bottom portion reading, 'Adjustment on erroneous entry (incoming) dated
3/09/82' marked as Exhibit G-2. The numbers '1,533' and '607,095,000.00' represent the volume
and the total face/maturity value, respectively, of the treasury bills supposedly in the custody of the
Securities Section as of March 30, 1982.

Those entries were falsifications, the prosecution maintains, because the correct number of
treasury bills deposited with the Securities Section as of that date was 1,539 valued at
P610,095,000.00; that the said figures were altered to '1,533 and 607,095,000.00,' respectively, to
conceal the loss or disappearance of 6 treasury bills worth P3,000,000.00, and that the footnote at
the bottom portion of the document (Exh. G-2) was written to attribute the reduction in the number
of treasury bills from '1,539' to '1,533' to mistake or error in the entries in the Securities Delivery
Receipt of March 9, 1982 (Exh. C).

ISSUE: WON the accused is guilty of falsification of public document

HELD: No

RATIO: Falsification; There is no falsification if the correction was made to speak the truth.lt is a
settled doctrine that in falsification by an employee under par. No. 4 of Article 171, which reads"by
making untruthful statements in a narration of facts,"the following elements must concur

(a) That the offender makes in a document untruthful statements in a narration of facts;

(b) That he has a legal obligation to disclose the truth of the facts narrated by him;

(c) That the facts narrated by the offender are absolutely false; and

(d) That the perversion of truth in the narration of facts was made with the wrongful intent of
injuring a third person.

The correction of the figure from 1,539 to 1,533 pieces to conform to the actual number of treasury
under custody is not falsification because it was made to speak the truth. The placing of an asterisk
(*) sign after the figure "1,533" and writing the words, "Adjustment on erroneous entry (incoming)
dated 3/09/82" as legend of the asterisk sign, contrary to the ruling of the respondent court, was
not effected to hide or conceal the fact that the missing 6 treasury bills were lost.

4. People v. Sendaydiego, 81 SCRA 120

Facts: In these three cases of malversation through falsification, the prosecution's theory is that in
1969 Licerio P. Sendaydiego, the provincial treasurer of Pangasinan, in conspiracy with Juan
Samson, an employee of a lumber and hardware store in Dagupan City, and with Anastacio
Quirimit, the provincial auditor, as an accomplice, used six (6) forged provincial vouchers in order
to embezzle from the road and bridge fund of P57,048.23.

The provincial voucher in these cases has several parts: upper part, to be signed by two officials of
the provincial engineers office and by governors representative; middle part; Par 1, by the
creditor; Par2 , by the provincial engineer; par 3, by the provincial treasurer; par 4, by the auditor;
par 5, by the provincial treasurer. In the instant cases par 2 was not signed presumably because it
is not relevant to the purchase of materials for public works projects. And following par 5, is the
receipt of the signed by the creditor. According to the prosecution, Samson also signed on the left
margin of the six vouchers below the stamped words: Presented to Prov. Treasurer By Juan
Samson.

The lower court acquitted the auditor, Quirimit, and found Sendaydiego and Samson guilty of
malversation through falsification of public or official documents. Thus, Sendaydiego and Samson
appealed to this Court. However, Sendaydiego died; hence his appeal as to his criminal liability
was dismissed.

Issue: WON there is a complex crime of malversation through falsification.

Held: No. The crimes committed in these three cases are not complex. Separate crimes of
falsification and malversation were committed.

RATIO: In the six vouchers the falsification was used to conceal the malversation. It is settled that
if the falsification was resorted to for the purpose of hiding the malversation, the falsification and
malversation are separate offenses. The falsification and malversation did not constitute a complex
crime because the falsifications were not necessary means for the commission of the malversation.
Each falsifications and each malversation constituted independent offense which must be punished
separately. The overall result is that in these three cases six separate offenses of falsification and
six separate crimes of malversation were committed. appellant Samson is a co-principal in each of
he said twelve offenses. As already stated, he is presumed to be the author of the falsification
because he was in possession of the forged vouchers and he used them in order to receive public
monies from the provincial treasurer. He is a co-principal in the six crimes of malversation because
he conspired with the provincial treasurer in committing those offenses. A private person conspiring
with an accountable public officer in committing malversation is also guilty of malversation.

5. People v. Sumangil, 15 Phil 406 (US VS SUMANGIL)

FACTS: These are two separate proceedings against the same defendant for two separate
offenses, in each of which the accused was convicted and sentenced to fourteen years eight
months and one day of cadena temporal, together with the accessory penalties prescribed by law,
and in each of which separate appeal was taken to this court.

First Offense:

On or about the 16th day of May, of the year 1908, the said defendant, being the municipal
treasurer of Cuyapo, maliciously and criminally abused his office by issuing an official document as
a voucher f or certain expenses, in which was set forth a payment of P3.50 made to Tomas
Daprosa for the transportation, from Paniqui to Cuyapo, of certain boxes belonging to the
municipality, when the sum actually paid was P0.60 and not that hereinbefore stated, making such
false statement of facts for the purpose of appropriating the balance. The act was committed in the
municipality of Cuyapo, Province of Nueva Ecija, P. L, in violation of the law."

Second Offense:
"On or about the 19th day of May, of the year 1908, the said defendant, being the municipal
treasurer of Cuyapo, maliciously and criminally abused his office by issuing an official voucher for
expenses in which was set forth a payment of P1.50 made to Vicente Defiesta, for the
transportation of three cases of oil belonging to the municipality from Paniqui to Cuyapo, this not
being the true amount paid, which was P0.50, making such false statement of facts for the purpose
of appropriating the balance. The act took place in the municipality of Cuyapo, Province of Nueva
Ecija, Philippine Islands, contrary to law."

ISSUE: WON the defendant (Sumangil) is guilty of falsification of public document

HELD: Yes

RATIO: That the evidence of record in these two cases fully sustains the conviction of the
defendant for the crime of falsification of public documents, but attention of the Chief Executive is
invited to the severe penalties necessarily imposed under the provisions of the Penal Code. We
find no error in the proceedings in either case prejudicial to the substantial interests of the accused,
and the judgments of conviction and the sentences imposed in both cases should, therefore, be
affirmed, with the costs of this instance against the appellant.

Under the provisions of article 2 of the Penal Code, and in view of what seems to us to be the
excessive penalty ("taking into consideration the degree of malice and the injury caused by the
crime" of which defendant was convicted in each case), which it was the duty of the court below,
under strict application of the provisions of the code, to impose in both cases, and which it now
becomes our duty to affirm, we deem it proper to invite the attention of the Chief Executive to the
nature and character of the two separate offenses committed by the accused and the severe
penalties necessarily imposed upon him upon conviction thereof, for such action as shall be
deemed proper in the premises. So ordered.

6. Siquian v. People, 171 SCRA 223

FACTS: Jesusa Carreon went to the office of Manuel Siquian, the municipal mayor of Isabela, to
apply for a job in the office of the mayor. Siquian then appointed her as a clerk in the office of the
municipal secretary and even said that her salary would be included in the budget. Accompanying
her appointment is the certification, among others, of the availability of funds through a form issued
by Siquian and addressed to the CSC, pursuant to the requirements of the latter. It should be noted
that the Municipal council of Isabela, failed to enact the annual budget for the municipality for the
Fiscal Year 1975-76. As such, the annual budget for the previous Fiscal Year 1974-75, was
deemed re-enacted. No such position existed then.

Carreon worked for five months and was supposed to receive her salary of P120. She approached
the municipal treasure to ask for the money but the latter said that there was no money yet. She
then sued Siquian for falsification of a public document. The RTC and CA ruled in favour of
Carreon. Siquian interposed the defense of a lack of criminal intent.

ISSUE: WON Siquian guilty of falsification of public documents?

HELD: Yes

RATIO: He was found guilty under par 4 of art 171, making untruthful statements in a narration of
facts; the elements of which are: (a) That the offender makes in a document untruthful statements
in a narration of facts; (b) that he has a legal obligation to disclose the truth of the facts narrated by
him; and (c) That the facts narrated by the offender are absolutely false. In this case, all the
elements for falsification were met especially when Siquian stated that funds were available for the
position to which Jesusa Carreon was appointed when he knew that, in reality, the position itself
did not even exist and no funds had been appropriated. It is further bolstered by the fact that when
the budget was deemed re-enacted, there is no such position as Clerk to the Municipal Secretary,
the position to which Carreon was appointed. And there is also no appropriation made in the
Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year 1974-75 for such position, thus rendering Siquian's statement in
his certification utterly false. Siquian also had the legal obligation to disclose the truth of such
facts. Under the civil service rules and regulations, a certification of the availability of funds for the
position to be filled up is required to be signed by the head of office or any officer who has been
delegated the authority to sign. As an officer authorized by law to issue the certification, Siquian
has a legal obligation to disclose the truth of the facts narrated by him in said certification which
includes information as to the availability of the funds for the position being filled up.

He also took advantage of his official position in falsifying the document. Abuse of public office is
considered present when the offender falsifies a document in connection with the duties of his
office which consist of either making or preparing or otherwise intervening in the preparation of a
document. In this case, Siquian was charged with the duty of issuing the certification necessary for
the appointment of Carreon. Lastly, the existence of a wrongful intent to injure a third person is not
necessary when the falsified document is a public document. The SC relied on the Go Tiok case in
stating that wrongful intent on the part of an accused to injure a third person is not an essential
element of the crime of falsification of public document.

7. People v Romualdez, 57 Phil 148

8. Delos Reyes v. People 668 SCRA 768

Galeos v. People 642 SCRA 485

Goma v. CA , 576 SCRA 1

Adaza v. SB, 464 SCRA 460

Lumancas v. Intas, 347 SCRA 22

Beradio v CA 103 SCRA 567

Luage v CA 112 SCRA 18