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Republic of the Philippines

Department of Justice
OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR
7th Judicial Region
Dumaguete City

JOSE JELLO CUBELO,


Complainant,

NPS DOCKET NO: 123456-2017


-versus-
For: Carnapping
LEE VERDOGUILLO,
Respondent.
x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT

I, LEE VERDOGUILLO, 23 years old, single, and a resident


of Bacong, Negros Oriental, after having been duly sworn to in accordance
with law, hereby deposes and says THAT:

1. I am the respondent in NPS DOCKET NO: 123456-2017 for the


crime of Carnapping under R.A. 10883 or the New Anti-
Carnapping Act of 2016;
2. I am executing this Counter-Affidavit as a reply and comment to
the Complaint Affidavit of JOSE JELLO CUBELO (“Jose”);

3. I have been an Uber driver in Dumaguete City since March of


2015, using my own car;

4. Around January 2016, I lent my car to my sister in Iloilo for her


work, and having no car of my own to drive, I asked my close
friend, Jose, who was then an operator of several Uber vehicles, if
I could drive one of his cars to continue my Uber career;
5. He agreed, and I have been using his vehicle for the past 1 year
and 9 months;

6. Based on our agreement, I was allowed to use the car until 11:00
in the evening on regular days, but on days where there is an
influx of tourists, which is quite often in the Negros region, he

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allowed me to return his car beyond 11:00 PM, usually the
morning after;

7. On the day of the alleged carnapping, October 22, 2017 at around


7:00 P.M. I was driving a passenger around town for some
business meetings using Jose’s car;
8. After I dropped my passenger off, RON MELOCOTON (“Ron”)
and ROSELLE TINGUHA (“Roselle”) invited me to a drinking
session in Booze-ter store along Escano Boulevard;

9. Aware that Ron was a hopeless drunk, and to ensure the safety of
my friends, I headed to their location;

10. At around 11:00 P.M., I informed Ron and Roselle that I was
due to return the car to Jose, at this point Ron was already very
drunk;

11. Ron then asked me if I could drive him home to Bais City
because his mother would scold him if he didn’t arrive home
before 12:00 M.D.;
12. I then proceeded to ask Jose’s permission if I could drive Ron
and Roselle to Bais City via text message, and he replied with an
“ok” shortly thereafter;

13. The three of us proceeded to Bais City, however, shortly before


reaching Ron’s house, the car broke down and we could not get
the engine to start;
14. Since there were no nearby gasoline stations or repair shops
open, Ron told me to contact FLORIAN PIEDAD (“Florian”) a
mechanic from Bais that he knew personally, but considering the
hour of night and our intoxicated states, our attempts were futile;
15. We then decided to continue our efforts in the morning after
getting some sleep in Ron’s house, before proceeding there we
pushed the car in front of the public market for safety reasons;

16. I informed Jose immediately via text message about the state of
his car, and that I would facilitate its return as soon as the
mechanic gets it running the following day, I continued updating
him the next morning;

17. At around 11:00 AM of October 23, 2017, we were finally able


to reach the Florian, and he met us at around 12:00 NN;

18. Upon assessing the car, he informed me that he needed to go


to Tanjay City to buy some parts, he returned at around 1:30 P.M.,

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he explained that the car could not start because the spark plugs
and oils have not been changed for a very long time;

19. While Florian was fixing the car, I checked my cellular phone for
messages from Jose, he advised me to pay the mechanic for him
and that he will reimburse me when I get back to Dumaguete, he
told me that it was due for check-up anyway;

20. Florian finished fixing the car at around 3:45 PM, at which time,
I, along with Ron and Roselle, boarded the car to head back to
Dumaguete;
21. Before we could get anywhere, however, and much to our
surprise, two police officers approached us in the car and
proceeded to arrest us, we were then told that we committed
carnapping.

Relevant Law and Case Law

1. Section 2 of Republic Act No. 10883 or the New Anti-Carnapping


Act of 2016 provides:
Carnapping; Penalties.— Carnapping is the taking, with
intent to gain, of a motor vehicle belonging to another
without the latter’s consent, or by means of violence
against or intimidation of persons, or by using force upon
things.
2. In People of the Philippines v. Lagwat et. al.,1 People of the
Philippines v. Bustinera,2 People of the Philippines v. Calabroso,3 the
Supreme Court enumerated the elements of carnapping as follows:

1. That there is an actual taking of the vehicle;


2. That the vehicle belongs to a person other than the
offender himself;
3. That the taking is without the consent of the
owner thereof; or that the taking was committed by
means of violence against or intimidation of persons, or
by using force upon things; and

1 G.R. No. 187044 (2011).


2 G.R. No. 148233 (2004).
3 340 SCRA 332, 342 (2000).

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4. That the offender intends to gain from the taking
of the vehicle.

3. In People vs. Limpangog,4 People v. Maraorao,5 the


Supreme Court enunciated the time-honored principles that:

In every criminal prosecution, the State must prove


beyond reasonable doubt all the elements of the crime
charged and the complicity or participation of the
accused.

xxxx

The presumption of innocence of an accused in a criminal


case is a basic constitutional principle, fleshed out by
procedural rules which place on the prosecution the
burden of proving that an accused is guilty of the offense
charged by proof beyond reasonable doubt.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed


that the instant criminal complaint be DISMISSED for lack of merit.

Further, the respondents respectfully pray for such and other


reliefs as may be deemed just and equitable in the premises.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand on


December 1, 2017 at Dumaguete City, Philippines.

LEE VERODOGUILLO

Affiant

4 444 Phil. 691, 693 (2003).

5 G.R. No. 174369 (2012).

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SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 1st day of December
2017 in the City of Dumaguete, affiant exhibiting to me her Driver’s License
No. 1234567 issued on February 14, 2014.

WITNESS MY HAND AND NOTARIAL SEAL on the day, year and


place first above-written.

Atty. Monica Marie T. Miciano


Notary Public for Dumaguete City
Commission Serial No. 67593
Until Dec. 31, 2017
Doc No. 456 Roll of Attorney No. 88503
Page No. 92 PTR No. 7684 issued at
Book No. 1 Dumaguete City on 01/04/17
Series of 2017 IBP No. 8958; 01/05/17; Dgte City

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