Jacinto v. People

G.R. No.
162540, July 13, 2009

GEMMA T. JACINTO, petitioner,
vs.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
PERALTA J.:
Article 4, Part 2 – By any person performing an act which would be an offense against
persons or property, were it not for the inherent impossibility of its accomplishment or on
account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.
FACTS:
Jacinto was then a collector for a company called Mega Foam International Inc., sometime
in June 1997, a customer named Isabella Aquino Milabo, also known as Baby Aquino handed the
petitioner a Banco De Oro Check Number 0132649 postdated July 14, 1997 in the amount of
₱10,000.00 as payment for her purchases from the company. The petitioner, instead of turning
over the check to her employer, deposited it to the Land Bank account of her sister’s husband,
Generoso Capitle. It turned out, however, that the check was not funded.
They were caught during an entrapment operation using marked money, by the National
Bureau of Investigation, with the help of Joseph Dyhengco, the owner of Mega Foam, and another
co-worker named Rowena Ricablanca. The petitioner was found guilty of the crime of qualified
theft together with her sister Jacqueline Capitle, and a co-worker named Anita Valencia. After an
appeal, the decision was modified except for Jacinto’s; the sentence against Valencia was reduced,
and Capitle was acquitted. The petitioner now files a petition for review on certiorari seeking the
reversal of the decision on her case.
ISSUE:
Is the accused liable for the crime of qualified theft given that the check bounced?
HELD:
No. The accused is not liable for the crime of qualified theft and instead is liable only for
an impossible crime defined and penalized under Article 4 paragraph 2 of the Revised Penal Code.
In the crime of qualified theft defined in Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code, the personal
property subject of the theft must have some value, as the intention of the accused is to gain from
the thing stolen. Article 309 also states that the law provides that the penalty to be imposed on the
accused is dependent on the value of the thing stolen. In the petitioner’s case, the check she went
on to deposit to her brother-in-law’s bank, was apparently without value. Thus, the crime of
qualified theft, basing on the content of the aforementioned articles, was not actually produced.
The case of Intod v. Court of Appeals is highly instructive and applicable to the present
case. Such case exhibits an impossible crime as defined and penalized in paragraph 2, Article 4,
and in relation to Article 59 of the Revised Penal Code.
Article 59: Penalty to be imposed in case of failure to commit the crime because the means
employed or the aims sought are impossible.
The requisites of an impossible crimes are: (1) that the act performed would be an offense
against persons or property; (2) that the act was done with evil intent; and (3) that its
accomplishment was inherently impossible, or the means employed was either inadequate or
ineffectual.
In this case, petitioner performed all the acts to consummate the crime of qualified theft,
which is a crime against property. Petitioner’s evil intent cannot be denied, as the mere act of
unlawfully taking the check meant for her employer showed her intent to gain or be unjustly
enriched. It was only due to the extraneous circumstance of the check being unfunded,
unbeknownst to the petitioner at the time, that prevented the crime from being produced. The
circumstance of the petitioner receiving the marked money was no longer necessary for the
consummation of the crime of qualified theft. Since the crime of theft is not a continuing offense,
petitioner’s act of receiving the cash replacement should not be considered as a continuation of the
theft. At most, the fact that the petitioner was caught receiving the marked money was merely
corroborating evidence to strengthen proof of her intent to gain.
The petition was GRANTED. The previous decision was modified, and petitioner Gemma
T. Jacinto was found GUILTY of an IMPOSSIBLE CRIME as defined and penalized in Articles
4, paragraph 2, and 59 of the Revised Penal Code, respectively. Petitioner was sentenced to suffer
the penalty of 6 months of arresto mayor, and to pay the costs.

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G.R. No.

162540, July 13, 2009

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