Dizon-Pamintuan vs. People

Dizon-Pamintuan vs.
People
Facts:
Teodoro Encarnacion, Undersecretary, DPWH testified that when he arrived at his residence, he immediately
proceeded inside the house, leaving behind his driver and two housemaids outside to pick-up his personal
belongings from his case. It was at this point that five unidentified masked armed persons appeared from the
grassy portion of the lot beside the house and poked their guns to his driver and two helpers and dragged
them inside his house. They were made to lie face down on the floor and thereafter, the robbers ransacked
the house and took away jewelries and other personal properties including cash. After the intruders left the
house he reported the matter immediately to the police. He was later told that some of the lost items were in
Chinatown area as tipped by the informer the police and an entrapment was made with their participation. He
and his wife posed as a buyer and were able to recognize items of the jewelry stolen displayed at the stall
being tended by Norma Dizon Pamintuan.
The trial court held that the prosecution was able to prove by evidence that the recovered items were part of
the loot and such recovered items belong to the spouses Encarnacion, the herein private complainants. That
the recovered items were found in the possession of the accused and she was not able to rebut the
presumption though the evidence for the defense alleged that the stall is owned by one Fredo. The CA
affirmed the decision of the trial court but set aside the penalty imposed.
Issue: WON the accused knew or should have known that the items recovered from her were the proceeds of
the crime of robbery or theft.
Held:
Fencing, as defined in Section 2 of P.D. No. 1612 (Anti-Fencing Law), is "the act of any person who, with
intent to gain for himself or for another, shall buy, receive, possess, keep, acquire, conceal, sell or dispose of,
or shall buy and sell, or in any manner deal in any article, item, object or anything of value which he knows, or
should be known to him, to have been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft."
The accessory in the crimes of robbery and theft could be prosecuted as such under the RPC or under P.D.
No. 1612. However, in the latter case, he ceases to be a mere accessory but becomes a principal in the crime
of fencing. The state may thus choose to prosecute him either under the Revised Penal Code or P.D. No.
1612, although the preference for the latter would seem inevitable considering that fencing is
a malum prohibitum, and P.D. No. 1612 creates a presumption of fencing 14 and prescribes a higher penalty
based on the value of the property. 15
The elements of the crime of fencing are:
1. A crime of robbery or theft has been committed;
2. The accused, who is not a principal or accomplice in the commission of the crime of robbery or
theft, buys, receives, possesses, keeps, acquires, conceals, sells or disposes, or buys and sells, or in any
manner deals in any article, item, object or anything of value, which has been derived from the proceeds of
the said crime;
3. The accused knows or should have known that the said article, item, object or anything of value
has been derived from the proceeds of the crime of robbery or theft; and
4. There is, on the part of the accused, intent to gain for himself or for another.
In the instant case, there is no doubt that the first, second, and fourth elements were duly established. A
robbery was committed on 12 February 1988 in the house of the private complainants who afterwards
reported the incident to the authorities and submitted a list of the lost items and sketches of the jewelry that
were later displayed for sale at a stall tended to by the petitioner in Florentino Torres Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila.
The public display of the articles for sale clearly manifested an intent to gain on the part of the petitioner.
Since Section 5 of P.D. No. 1612 expressly provides that "[m]ere possession of any good, article, item, object,
or anything of value which has been the subject of robbery or thievery shall be prima facie evidence of
fencing," it follows that the petitioner is presumed to have knowledge of the fact that the items found in her
possession were the proceeds of robbery or theft. The presumption is reasonable for no other natural or
logical inference can arise from the established fact of her possession of the proceeds of the crime of robbery
or theft. This presumption does not offend the presumption of innocence enshrined in the fundamental law.
The petitioner was unable to rebut the presumption under P.D. No. 1612. She relied solely on the testimony of
her brother which was insufficient to overcome the presumption, and, on the contrary, even disclosed that the
petitioner was engaged in the purchase and sale of jewelry and that she used to buy from a certain Fredo.23
Fredo was not presented as a witness and it was not established that he was a licensed dealer or supplier of
jewelry. Section 6 of P.D. No. 1612 provides that "all stores, establishments or entitles dealing in the buy and
sell of any good, article, item, object or anything of value obtained from an unlicensed dealer or supplier
thereof, shall before offering the same for sale to the public, secure the necessary clearance or permit from
the station commander of the Integrated National Police in the town or city where such store, establishment or
entity is located." Under the Rules and Regulations 24 promulgated to carry out the provisions of Section 6,
an unlicensed dealer/supplier refers to any person, partnership, firm, corporation, association or any other
entity or establishment not licensed by the government to engage in the business of dealing in or supplying
"used secondhand articles," which refers to any good, article, item, object or anything of value obtained from
an unlicensed dealer or supplier, regardless of whether the same has actually or in fact been used.

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