ESTAFA UNDER ARTICLE 318 OF RPC

1. MARIA C. OSORIO VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, G.R. NO. 207711, JULY 02, 

For an accused to be held criminally liable under Article 318 of the Revised Penal Code, the following elements must exist:

(a) [The accused makes a] false pretense, fraudulent act or pretense other than those in [Articles 315, 316, and 317]; (b) such false pretense, fraudulent act or pretense must be made or executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud; and (c) as a result, the offended party suffered damage or prejudice. (Citation omitted)

All the elements of Article 318 of the Revised Penal Code are present in this case.

Petitioner, in soliciting private complainant's money, falsely represented that it would be invested in Philam Life and that its proceeds would be used to pay for private complainant's insurance premiums. This false representation is what induced private complainant to part with her funds and disregard the payment of her insurance premiums. Since petitioner deviated from what was originally agreed upon by placing the investment in another company, private complainant's insurance policies lapsed.

The present case is different from money market transactions where dealers are usually given full discretion on where to place their client's investments. In MERALCO v. Atilano, this Court explained the nature of money market transactions and the corresponding liabilities that dealers may face when dealing with their clients' investments:

[I]n money market transactions, the dealer is given discretion on where investments are to be placed, absent any agreement with or instruction from the investor to place the investments in specific securities.

Money market transactions may be conducted in various ways. One instance is when an investor enters into an investment contract with a dealer under terms that oblige the dealer to place investments only in designated securities. Another is when there is no stipulation for placement on designated securities; thus, the dealer is given discretion to choose the placement of the investment made. Under the first situation, a dealer who deviates from the specified instruction may be exposed to civil and criminal prosecution; in contrast, the second situation may only give rise to a civil action for recovery of the amount invested. (Emphasis in the original)

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On the other hand, Article 318 of the same Code partly provides that:

"Other deceits. — The penalty of arresto mayor and a fine of not less than the amount of the damage caused and not more than twice such amount shall be imposed upon any person who shall defraud or damage another by any other deceit not mentioned in the preceding articles of this chapter."
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Clearly, the principal elements of deceit and damage are likewise present in the preceding article cited. The petitioner's conviction under the latter provision instead of that with which she was charged was merely an application of the rule on variance between allegation and proof defined under Rule 120, Section 4 of the Revised Rules of Court which states that:

"Judgment in case of variance between allegation and proof. — When there is variance between the offense charged in the complaint or information, and that proved or established by the evidence, and the offense as charged is included in or necessarily includes the offense proved, the defendant shall be convicted of the offense proved included in that which is charged, or of the offense charged included in that which is proved."

Simply put, an accused may be convicted of an offense proved provided it is included in the charge or of an offense charged which is included in that which is proved. In the case at bar, the petitioner was convicted of the crime falling under "Other deceits" which is necessarily included in the crime of estafa under Article 315, paragraph 2(d) considering that the elements of deceit and damage also constitute the former. Hence, the petitioner's right to be properly informed of the accusation against her was never violated.