Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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* SECOND DIVISION.
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SERENO, J.:
This is a Petition for Certiorari assailing the 22 April
2009 Decision1 and 8 July 2009 Resolution2 of the Court of
Appeals, affirming the Decision of the trial court finding
petitioner Cresencio C. Milla (Milla) guilty of two counts of
estafa through falsification of public documents.
Respondent Carlo Lopez (Lopez) was the Financial
Officer of private respondent, Market Pursuits, Inc. (MPI).
In March 2003, Milla represented himself as a real estate
developer from Ines Anderson Development Corporation,
which was engaged in selling business properties in
Makati, and offered to sell MPI a property therein located.
For this purpose, he showed Lopez a photocopy of Transfer
Certificate of Title (TCT) No. 216445 registered in the
name of spouses Farley and Jocelyn Handog (Sps. Handog),
as well as a Special Power of Attorney purportedly
executed by the spouses in favor of Milla.3 Lopez verified
with the Registry of Deeds of Makati and confirmed that
the property was indeed registered under the names of Sps.
Handog. Since Lopez was convinced by Milla’s authority,
MPI purchased the property for P2 million, issuing
Security Bank and Trust Co. (SBTC) Check No. 154670 in
the amount of P1.6 million. After receiving the check, Milla
gave Lopez (1) a notarized Deed of Absolute Sale dated 25
March 2003 executed by Sps. Handog in favor of MPI and
(2) an original Owner’s Duplicate Copy of TCT No. 216445.4
Milla then gave Regino Acosta (Acosta), Lopez’s partner,
a copy of the new Certificate of Title to the property, TCT
No. 218777, registered in the name of MPI. Thereafter, it
tendered in favor of Milla
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1 Rollo, pp. 47-60; penned by Court of Appeals Associate Justice Juan
Enriquez, Jr. and concurred in by Associate Justices Monina Arevalo
Zenarosa and Myrna Dimaranan Vidal.
2 Rollo, pp. 62-63.
3 Court of Appeals Decision dated 22 April 2009 (“CA Decision”); Rollo,
p. 50.
4 Id., at p. 51.
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5 Id.
6 Id.
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7 Id., at p. 52.
313
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8 Id., at pp. 48-50.
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11 Id.
12 Id.
13 Id., at p. 45.
14 CA Decision, Rollo, pp. 47-60.
15 Court of Appeals Resolution dated 8 July 2009, Rollo, pp. 62-63.
315
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16 Petition dated 11 August 2009 (“Petition”), pp. 9-10; Rollo, pp. 20-21.
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24 Id., at pp. 247-248.
25 365 Phil. 259; 305 SCRA 708 (1999).
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26 Id., at pp. 267-268, 270-271; pp. 714-719.
27 People v. Obina, G.R. No. 186540, 14 April 2010, 618 SCRA 276,
280-28.
321
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** Designated as Acting Member of the Second Division vice Associate
Justice Arturo D. Brion per Special Order No. 1174 dated 9 January 2012.
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