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SO ORDERED.

Austria-Martinez** (Actg. Chairperson), Tinga,*** Chico-

Nazario and Nachura, JJ., concur.

Petition denied, judgment affirmed in full.

Notes.—Corpus delicti means the substance of the crime—it is

the fact that a crime has actually been committed. In arson, the
corpus delicti rule is generally satisfied by proof of the bare
occurrence of the fire and of its having been intentionally caused.
(People vs. Gutierrez, 258 SCRA 70 [1996])
Presidential Decree No. 1613 pronounces as guilty of arson any
person who deliberately burns another person’s property, wherever
located—the circumstance that the property burned is located in an
urban, congested or populated area merely qualifies the offense and
converts it into “destructive arson.” (People vs. Omotoy, 267 SCRA
143 [1997])
——o0o——

G.R. Nos. 163972-77. March 28, 2008.*

JOSELITO RANIERO J. DAAN, petitioner, vs. THE HON.

SANDIGANBAYAN (Fourth Division), respondent.

Criminal Procedure; Plea Bargaining; Words and Phrases; Plea

bargaining in criminal cases is a process whereby the accused and the
prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the

_______________

** Vice Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Chairperson, who is on official leave

per Special Order No. 497 dated March 14, 2008.

*** Designated as additional member per Special Order No. 497 dated March 14, 2008.

* THIRD DIVISION.

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234 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

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case subject to court approval—it usually involves the defendant’s pleading

guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-
count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver
charge.—Plea bargaining in criminal cases is a process whereby the accused
and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case
subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty
to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count
indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge.
Plea bargaining is authorized under Section 2, Rule 116 of the Revised
Rules of Criminal Procedure, to wit: SEC. 2. Plea of guilty to a lesser
offense.—At arraignment, the accused, with the consent of the offended
party and the prosecutor, may be allowed by the trial court to plead guilty to
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a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the offense charged. After

arraignment but before trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead guilty
to said lesser offense after withdrawing his plea of not guilty. No
amendment of the complaint or information is necessary. (sec. 4, cir. 38-98)
Same; Same; Ordinarily, plea bargaining is made during the pre-trial
stage of the proceedings but it may also be made during the trial proper and
even after the prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and rested its
case.—Ordinarily, plea bargaining is made during the pre-trial stage of the
proceedings. Sections 1 and 2, Rule 118 of the Rules of Court, require plea
bargaining to be considered by the trial court at the pre-trial conference, viz.:
x x x But it may also be made during the trial proper and even after the
prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and rested its case. Thus,
the Court has held that it is immaterial that plea bargaining was not made
during the pre-trial stage or that it was made only after the prosecution
already presented several witnesses.
Same; Same; Trial courts are exhorted to keep in mind that a plea of guilty
for a lighter offense than that actually charged is not supposed to be
allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for the convenience of the
accused.—Section 2, Rule 116 of the Rules of Court presents the basic
requisites upon which plea bargaining may be made, i.e., that it should be
with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor, and that the plea
of guilt should be to a lesser offense which is necessarily included in the
offense charged. The rules however use word may in the second sentence of
Section 2,

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

denoting an exercise of discretion upon the trial court on whether to allow

the accused to make such plea. Trial courts are exhorted to keep in mind that
a plea of guilty for a lighter offense than that actually charged is not
supposed to be allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for the
convenience of the accused. In People of the Philippines v. Villarama, 210
SCRA 246 (1992), the Court ruled that the acceptance of an offer to plead
guilty to a lesser offense is not demandable by the accused as a matter of
right but is a matter that is addressed entirely to the sound discretion of the
trial court.
Same; Same; The trial court’s exercise of its discretion in plea
bargaining during the pre-trial stage should neither be arbitrary nor should
it amount to a capricious and whimsical exercise of discretion.—As regards
plea bargaining during the pre-trial stage, as in the present case, the trial
court’s exercise of its discretion should neither be arbitrary nor should it
amount to a capricious and whimsical exercise of discretion. Grave abuse of
discretion implies such capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment as is
equivalent to lack of jurisdiction or, in other words, where the power is
exercised in an arbitrary manner by reason of passion, prejudice, or personal
hostility; and it must be so patent or gross as to amount to an evasion of a
positive duty or to a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined by law, or
to act at all in contemplation of law.
Same; Same; Equity; While apparently, the Sandiganbayan has proffered
valid reasons in rejecting the accused’s plea offer, subsequent events and
higher interests of justice and fair play dictate that his plea offer should be
accepted, and the present case calls for the judicious exercise of the
Supreme Court’s equity jurisdiction; Equity as the complement of legal
jurisdiction seeks to reach and do complete justice where courts of law,
through the inflexibility of their rules and want of power to adapt their
judgments to the special circumstances of cases, are incompetent so to do.—
In the present case, the Sandiganbayan rejected petitioner’s plea offer on the

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ground that petitioner and the prosecution failed to demonstrate that the
proposal would redound to the benefit of the public. The Sandiganbayan
believes that approving the proposal would “only serve to trivialize the
seriousness of the charges against them and send the wrong signal to
potential grafters in public office that the penalties they are likely to face
would be lighter than what their criminal acts would have merited or that the
economic benefits they are likely to derive

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from their criminal activities far outweigh the risks they face in committing
them; thus, setting to naught the deterrent value of the laws intended to curb
graft and corruption in government.” Apparently, the Sandiganbayan has
proffered valid reasons in rejecting petitioner’s plea offer. However,
subsequent events and higher interests of justice and fair play dictate that
petitioner’s plea offer should be accepted. The present case calls for the
judicious exercise of this Court’s equity jurisdiction—“Equity as the
complement of legal jurisdiction seeks to reach and do complete justice
where courts of law, through the inflexibility of their rules and want of
power to adapt their judgments to the special circumstances of cases, are
incompetent so to do. Equity regards the spirit of and not the letter, the
intent and not the form, the substance rather than the circumstance, as it is
variously expressed by different courts”—and of its power of control and
supervision over the proceedings of lower courts, in order to afford equal
justice to petitioner.
Criminal Law; Falsification of Public Documents; Falsification by
Private Individuals; Elements.—Under Article 171, paragraph 4 of the
Revised Penal Code, for the crime of Falsification of Public Documents
through an untruthful narration of facts to be established, the following
elements must concur: (a) the offender makes in a document untruthful
statements in a narration of facts; (b) the offender has a legal obligation to
disclose the truth of the facts narrated; (c) the facts narrated by the offender
are absolutely false; and (d) the perversion of truth in the narration of facts
was made with the wrongful intent of injuring a third person. On the other
hand, Falsification by Private Individuals penalized under Article 172,
paragraph 1 of the Revised Penal Code has the following elements: (a) the
offender is a private individual or a public officer or employee who did
not take advantage of his official position; (b) the offender committed any
of the acts of falsification enumerated under Article 171 of the Revised
Penal Code; and (c) the falsification was committed in a public or official or
commercial document.
Same; Malversation of Public Funds; Elements.—As regards the crime of
Malversation of Public Funds defined and penalized under Article 217 of the
Revised Penal Code, with which petitioner was also charged, the elements
are as follows: (a) the offender is a public officer; (b) he has custody or
control of funds or property by reason of the duties of his office; (c) the
funds or property involved

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are public funds or property for which he is accountable; and (d) he has
appropriated, taken or misappropriated, or has consented to, or through
abandonment or negligence permitted, the taking by another person of such
funds or property. Article 217 also provides that the failure of the public
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officer to have duly forthcoming such public funds or property, upon

demand by a duly authorized officer, “shall be prima facie evidence that he
has put such missing funds or property to personal use.” In this regard, it has
been ruled that once such presumption is rebutted, then it is completely
destroyed; in fact, the presumption is never deemed to have existed at all.
Same; Failure to Render Account by an Accountable Officer; Elements.
—Under Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code, Failure to Render Account
by an Accountable Officer, the lesser offense which petitioner seeks to plead
guilty of, the following elements must concur: (a) the offender is a public
officer; (b) the offender must be an accountable officer for public funds or
property; (c) the offender is required by law or regulation to render accounts
to the COA or to a provincial auditor; and (d) the offender fails to render an
account for a period of two months after such accounts should be rendered.
Same; Plea Bargaining; An offense may be said to necessarily include
another when some of the essential elements or ingredients of the former as
alleged in the complaint or information constitute the latter—and vice
versa, an offense may be said to be necessarily included in another when the
essential ingredients of the former constitute or form part of those
constituting the latter; In the charge for Falsification of Public Documents,
the accused may plead guilty to the lesser offense of Falsification by Private
Individuals inasmuch where it does not appear that he took advantage of his
official position in allegedly falsifying the timebook and payroll; In the same
vein, with regard to the crime of Malversation of Public Funds, while the
Informations contain allegations which make out a case for Malversation
against the accused, nevertheless, absent the element of conversion,
theoretically, the accused may still be held liable for Failure to Render
Account by an Accountable Officer if it is shown that the failure to render
account was in violation of a law or regulation that requires him to render
such an accounting within the prescribed period.—An offense may be said
to necessarily include another when some of the essential elements or
ingredients of the former as alleged in the complaint or information
consti-

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tute the latter. And vice versa, an offense may be said to be necessarily
included in another when the essential ingredients of the former constitute
or form part of those constituting the latter. In this case, the allegations in
the Informations filed against petitioner are sufficient to hold petitioner
liable for the lesser offenses. Thus, in the charge for Falsification of Public
Documents, petitioner may plead guilty to the lesser offense of Falsification
by Private Individuals inasmuch as it does not appear that petitioner took
advantage of his official position in allegedly falsifying the timebook and
payroll of the Municipality of Bato, Leyte. In the same vein, with regard to
the crime of Malversation of Public Funds, while the Informations contain
allegations which make out a case for Malversation against petitioner,
nevertheless, absent the element of conversion, theoretically, petitioner may
still be held liable for Failure to Render Account by an Accountable Officer
if it is shown that the failure to render account was in violation of a law or
regulation that requires him to render such an accounting within the
prescribed period. Given, therefore, that some of the essential elements of
offenses charged in this case likewise constitute the lesser offenses, then
petitioner may plead guilty to such lesser offenses.

PETITION for review on certiorari of the resolutions of the

Sandiganbayan.
   The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.
  Edgardo C. Labella for petitioner.

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**
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
Joselito Raniero J. Daan (petitioner), one of the accused in
Criminal Cases Nos. 24167-24170, 24195-24196,1 questions the
denial by the Sandiganbayan of his plea bargaining proposal.
The antecedents facts are laid down by Sandiganbayan in its
Resolution dated March 25, 2004, as follows:

_______________

** Acting Chairperson.
1 Entitled, “People of the Philippines, Plaintiff, v. Benedicto E. Kuizon, et al.”

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

“Said accused,2 together with accused Benedicto E. Kuizon, were

charged before this Court for three counts of malversation of public funds
involving the sums of P3,293.00, P1,869.00, and P13,528.00, respectively,
which they purportedly tried to conceal by falsifying the time book and
payrolls for given period making it appear that some laborers worked on the
construction of the new municipal hall building of Bato, Leyte and collected
their respective salaries thereon when, in truth and in fact, they did not.
Thus, in addition to the charge for malversation, the accused were also
indicted before this Court for three counts of falsification of public
document by a public officer or employee.
In the falsification cases, the accused offered to withdraw their plea of
“not guilty” and substitute the same with a plea of “guilty,” provided, the
mitigating circumstances of confession or plea of guilt and voluntary
surrender will be appreciated in their favor. In the alternative, if such
proposal is not acceptable, said accused proposed instead to substitute their
plea of “not guilty” to the crime of falsification of public document by a
public officer or employee with a plea of “guilty,” but to the lesser crime of
falsification of a public document by a private individual. On the other hand,
in the malversation cases, the accused offered to substitute their plea of “not
guilty” thereto with a plea of “guilty,” but to the lesser crime of failure of an
accountable officer to render accounts.
Insofar as the falsification cases are concerned, the prosecution found as
acceptable the proposal of the accused to plead “guilty” to the lesser crime
of falsification of public document by a private individual. The prosecution
explained:
“With respect to the falsification cases earlier mentioned, it
appears that the act of the accused in pleading guilty for a lesser
offense of falsification by a private individual defined and penalized
under Article 172 of the Revised Penal code will strengthen our cases
against the principal accused, Municipal Mayor Benedicto Kuizon,
who appears to be the master mind of these criminal acts.”
Insofar as the malversation cases are concerned, the prosecution was
likewise amenable to the offer of said accused to plead “guilty” to the lesser
crime of failure of an accountable officer to render accounts because:

_______________

2 Herein petitioner and Rosalina T. Tulibas.

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“x x x JOSELITO RANIERO J. DAAN has already restituted the

total amount of P18,860.00 as per official receipt issued by the
provincial government of Leyte dated February 26, 2002. In short,
the damage caused to the government has already been restituted x x
x.”3

The Sandiganbayan, in the herein assailed Resolution,4 dated

March 25, 2004, denied petitioner’s Motion to Plea Bargain, despite
favorable recommendation by the prosecution, on the main ground
that no cogent reason was presented to justify its approval.5
The Sandiganbayan likewise denied petitioner’s Motion for
Reconsideration in a Resolution dated May 31, 2004.
This compelled petitioner to file the present case for certiorari
and prohibition with prayer for the issuance of a temporary
restraining order and/ or writ of preliminary injunction under Rule
65 of the Rules of Court.
Petitioner argues that the Sandiganbayan committed grave abuse
of discretion in denying his plea bargaining offer on the following
grounds: first, petitioner is not an accountable officer and he merely
affixed his signature on the payrolls on a “routinary basis,” negating
any criminal intent; and that the amount involved is only
P18,860.00, which he already restituted.6
The petition is meritorious.
Plea bargaining in criminal cases is a process whereby the
accused and the prosecution work out a mutually satisfactory
disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves
the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or
some of the counts of a multi-count indictment

_______________

3 Rollo, pp. 15-18.

4 Penned by Associate Justice Gregory S. Ong with the concurrence of Associate
Justices Norberto Y. Geraldez and Efren N. de la Cruz.
5 Rollo, p. 26.
6 Rollo, pp. 8-10.

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

in return for a lighter sentence than that for the graver charge.7
Plea bargaining is authorized under Section 2, Rule 116 of the
Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, to wit:

“SEC. 2. Plea of guilty to a lesser offense.—At arraignment, the

accused, with the consent of the offended party and the prosecutor, may be
allowed by the trial court to plead guilty to a lesser offense which is
necessarily included in the offense charged. After arraignment but before
trial, the accused may still be allowed to plead guilty to said lesser offense
after withdrawing his plea of not guilty. No amendment of the complaint or
information is necessary. (sec. 4, cir. 38-98)”

Ordinarily, plea bargaining is made during the pre-trial stage of

the proceedings. Sections 1 and 2, Rule 118 of the Rules of Court,
require plea bargaining to be considered by the trial court at the pre-
trial conference,8 viz.:

“SEC. 1. Pre-trial; mandatory in criminal cases.—In all criminal

cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan, Regional Trial Court, Metropolitan
Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Municipal Trial Court and
Municipal Circuit Trial Court, the court shall, after arraignment and within

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thirty (30) days from the date the court acquires jurisdiction over the person
of the accused, unless a shorter period is provided for in special laws or
circulars of the Supreme Court, order a pre-trial conference to consider the
following:
(a) plea bargaining;
(b) stipulation of facts;

_______________

7 People v. Villarama, Jr., G.R. No. 99287, June 23, 1992, 210 SCRA 246, 251-252.
8 Ladino v. Garcia, 333 Phil. 254, 258; 265 SCRA 422, 426-427 (1996); see also A.M. No.
03-1-09-SC dated July 13, 2004 (RE: PROPOSED RULE ON GUIDELINES TO BE
OBSERVED BY TRIAL COURT JUDGES AND CLERKS OF COURT IN THE CONDUCT
OF PRE-TRIAL AND USE OF DEPOSITION-DISCOVERY MEASURES).

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

(c) marking for identification of evidence of the parties;

(d) waiver of objections to admissibility of evidence;
(e) modification of the order of trial if the accused admits the charge
but interposes a lawful defense; and
(f) such matters as will promote a fair and expeditious trial of the
criminal and civil aspects of the case.
SEC. 2. Pre-trial agreement.—All agreements or admissions made or
entered during the pre-trial conference shall be reduced in writing and
signed by the accused and counsel, otherwise, they cannot be used against
the accused. The agreements covering the matters referred to in section 1 of
this Rule shall be approved by the court.” (Emphasis supplied)

But it may also be made during the trial proper and even after the
prosecution has finished presenting its evidence and rested its case.
Thus, the Court has held that it is immaterial that plea bargaining
was not made during the pre-trial stage or that it was made only after
the prosecution already presented several witnesses.9
Section 2, Rule 116 of the Rules of Court presents the basic
requisites upon which plea bargaining may be made, i.e., that it
should be with the consent of the offended party and the
prosecutor,10 and that the plea of guilt should be to a lesser offense
which is necessarily included in the offense charged. The rules
however use word may in the second sentence of Section 2, denoting
an exercise of discretion upon the trial court on whether to allow the
accused to make such plea.11 Trial courts are exhorted to keep in
mind that a plea of guilty for a lighter offense than that actually
charged is not sup-

_______________

9  People v. Mamarion, 459 Phil. 51, 75; 412 SCRA 438, 457 (2003).
10 People v. Dawaton, 437 Phil. 861, 871; 389 SCRA 277, 284 (2002).
11 People v. Besonia, 466 Phil. 822, 833; 422 SCRA 210, 217 (2004).

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

posed to be allowed as a matter of bargaining or compromise for the

convenience of the accused.12
In People of the Philippines v. Villarama,13 the Court ruled that
the acceptance of an offer to plead guilty to a lesser offense is not
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demandable by the accused as a matter of right but is a matter that is

addressed entirely to the sound discretion of the trial court,14 viz.:

“x x x In such situation, jurisprudence has provided the trial court and

the Office of the Prosecutor with a yardstick within which their discretion
may be properly exercised. Thus, in People v. Kayanan (L-39355, May 31,
1978, 83 SCRA 437, 450), We held that the rules allow such a plea only
when the prosecution does not have sufficient evidence to establish the guilt
of the crime charged. In his concurring opinion in People v. Parohinog
(G.R. No. L-47462, February 28, 1980, 96 SCRA 373, 377), then Justice
Antonio Barredo explained clearly and tersely the rationale or the law:
x x x (A)fter the prosecution had already rested, the only basis on
which the fiscal and the court could rightfully act in allowing the appellant
to change his former plea of not guilty to murder to guilty to the lesser
crime of homicide could be nothing more nothing less than the evidence
already in the record. The reason for this being that Section 4 of Rule 118
(now Section 2, Rule 116) under which a plea for a lesser offense is allowed
was not and could not have been intended as a procedure for compromise,
much less bargaining.”15 (Emphasis supplied)

However, Villarama involved plea bargaining after the

prosecution had already rested its case.
As regards plea bargaining during the pre-trial stage, as in the
present case, the trial court’s exercise of its discretion should neither
be arbitrary nor should it amount to a capri-

_______________

12 People v. Judge Kayanan, 172 Phil. 728, 739; 83 SCRA 437, 450 (1978).
13 G.R. No. 99287, June 23, 1992, 210 SCRA 246.
14 Id., at p. 252.
15 Id., at pp. 252-253.

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Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

cious and whimsical exercise of discretion. Grave abuse of

discretion implies such capricious and whimsical exercise of
judgment as is equivalent to lack of jurisdiction or, in other words,
where the power is exercised in an arbitrary manner by reason of
passion, prejudice, or personal hostility; and it must be so patent or
gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual
refusal to perform the duty enjoined by law, or to act at all in
contemplation of law.16
In the present case, the Sandiganbayan rejected petitioner’s plea
offer on the ground that petitioner and the prosecution failed to
demonstrate that the proposal would redound to the benefit of the
public. The Sandiganbayan believes that approving the proposal
would “only serve to trivialize the seriousness of the charges against
them and send the wrong signal to potential grafters in public office
that the penalties they are likely to face would be lighter than what
their criminal acts would have merited or that the economic benefits
they are likely to derive from their criminal activities far outweigh
the risks they face in committing them; thus, setting to naught the
deterrent value of the laws intended to curb graft and corruption in
government.”17
Apparently, the Sandiganbayan has proffered valid reasons in
rejecting petitioner’s plea offer. However, subsequent events and
higher interests of justice and fair play dictate that petitioner’s plea
offer should be accepted. The present case calls for the judicious
exercise of this Court’s equity jurisdiction—
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“Equity as the complement of legal jurisdiction seeks to reach and do

complete justice where courts of law, through the inflexibility of their rules
and want of power to adapt their judgments to the special circumstances of
cases, are incompetent so to do. Equity regards the spirit of and not the
letter, the intent and not the form,

_______________

16 People v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 159261, February 21, 2007, 516 SCRA 383, 398.
17 Rollo, pp. 20-21.

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the substance rather than the circumstance, as it is variously expressed by

different courts.”18

and of its power of control and supervision over the proceedings of

lower courts,19 in order to afford equal justice to petitioner.
In People of the Philippines v. Estrada,20 the Sandiganbayan, in
its Resolution dated March 14, 2007, approved the Plea Bargaining
Agreement entered into by the prosecution and one of the accused,
Charlie “Atong” Ang. The agreement provided that the accused
undertakes to assist in the prosecution of the case and promises to
return the amount of P25,000,000.00. In approving the Plea
Bargaining Agreement, the Sandiganbayan took into consideration
the timeliness of the plea bargaining and whether the agreement
complied with the requirements of Section 2, Rule 116 of the Rules
of Court. The Sandigabayan noted that the accused had already
withdrawn his earlier plea of “not guilty”; and that the prosecution
consented to the plea of guilt to a lesser offense; and the lesser
offense, which is Corruption of Public Officials in relation to
Indirect Bribery, is necessarily included in the offense charged,
which is Plunder.21
The Court sees no reason why the standards applied by the
Sandiganbayan to Estrada should not be applied to the present case.
Records show that there was a favorable recommendation by the
Office of the Special Prosecutor to approve petitioner’s motion to
plea bargain. Thus, in its Memorandum dated August 16, 2002, the
Office of the Special Prosecutor rationalized:

_______________

18 Poso v. Judge Mijares, 436 Phil. 295, 324; 387 SCRA 485, 515-516 (2002).
19 Madrigal Transport, Inc. v. Lapanday Holdings Corporation, G.R. No. 156067,
August 11, 2004, 436 SCRA 123, 134-135.
20 Sandiganbayan Criminal Case No. 26558.
21 Id., at pp. 10-13.

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“In the cases at bar, there is no dispute that JOSELITO RANIERO J.

DAAN has already restituted the total amount of P18,860.00 as per official
receipt issued by the provincial government of Leyte dated February 26,
2002. In short, the damage caused to the government has already been
restituted by the accused.
There is also no dispute that accused DAAN voluntarily surrendered in
the instant cases. Moreover, the accused is also willing to plead guilty to a
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lesser offense which to our mind, merits consideration.

With respect to the falsification cases earlier mentioned, it appears that
the act of the accused in pleading guilty for a lesser offense of falsification
by private individual defined and penalized under Article 172 of the Revised
Penal Code will strengthen our cases against the principal accused, the
Municipal Mayor Benedicto Kuizon, who appears to be the master mind of
these criminal acts. After all, the movants herein JOSELITO RANIERO J.
DAAN was merely designated as draftsman detailed as foreman/timekeeper
of the Municipality of Bato, Leyte.”22

Moreover, the lesser offenses of Falsification by Private

Individuals and Failure to Render Account by an Accountable
Officer are necessarily included in the crimes of Falsification of
Public Documents and Malversation of Public Funds, respectively,
with which petitioner was originally charged.
Under Article 171, paragraph 4 of the Revised Penal Code, for
the crime of Falsification of Public Documents through an untruthful
narration of facts to be established, the following elements must
concur: (a) the offender makes in a document untruthful statements
in a narration of facts; (b) the offender has a legal obligation to
disclose the truth of the facts narrated; (c) the facts narrated by the
offender are absolutely false; and (d) the perversion of truth in the
narration of facts was made with the wrongful intent of injuring a
third person.23

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22 Rollo, pp. 42-43.

23 Enemecio v. Office of the Ombudsman, 464 Phil. 102, 114; 419 SCRA 82, 91
(2004); Lumancas v. Intas, 400 Phil. 785, 798; 347 

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VOL. 550, MARCH 28, 2008 247

Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

On the other hand, Falsification by Private Individuals penalized

under Article 172, paragraph 1 of the Revised Penal Code has the
following elements: (a) the offender is a private individual or a
public officer or employee who did not take advantage of his
official position; (b) the offender committed any of the acts of
falsification enumerated under Article 171 of the Revised Penal
Code; and (c) the falsification was committed in a public or official
or commercial document.24
As regards the crime of Malversation of Public Funds defined
and penalized under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, with
which petitioner was also charged, the elements are as follows: (a)
the offender is a public officer; (b) he has custody or control of funds
or property by reason of the duties of his office; (c) the funds or
property involved are public funds or property for which he is
accountable; and (d) he has appropriated, taken or misappropriated,
or has consented to, or through abandonment or negligence
permitted, the taking by another person of such funds or property.25
Article 217 also provides that the failure of the public officer to have
duly forthcoming such public funds or property, upon demand by a
duly authorized officer, “shall be prima facie evidence that he has
put such missing funds or property to personal use.” In this regard, it
has been ruled that once such presumption is rebutted, then it is
completely destroyed; in fact, the presumption is never deemed to
have existed at all.26

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SCRA 22, 33 (2000); Lecaroz v. Sandiganbayan, 364 Phil. 890, 909; 305 SCRA 396,
413 (1999).

24  Reyes, Luis B., The Revised Penal Code (1981); see also Adaza v.
Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 154886, July 28, 2005, 464 SCRA 460, 472.
25  Revised Penal Code, Article 217; see Rueda, Jr. v. Sandiganbayan, 400 Phil.
142, 153-154; 346 SCRA 341, 353-354 (2000).
26 Agullo v. Sandiganbayan, 414 Phil. 86, 98; 361 SCRA 556, 567 (2001).

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248 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

Meanwhile, under Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code, Failure

to Render Account by an Accountable Officer, the lesser offense
which petitioner seeks to plead guilty of, the following elements
must concur: (a) the offender is a public officer; (b) the offender
must be an accountable officer for public funds or property; (c) the
offender is required by law or regulation to render accounts to the
COA or to a provincial auditor; and (d) the offender fails to render
an account for a period of two months after such accounts should be
rendered.27
Section 5, Rule 120 of the Rules of Court states when an offense
includes or is included in the other, to wit:

“SEC. 5. When an offense includes or is included in another.—An

offense charged necessarily includes the offense proved when some of the
essential elements or ingredients of the former, as alleged in the complaint
or information, constitute the latter. And an offense charged is necessarily
included in the offense proved, when the essential ingredients of the former
constitute or form part of those constituting the latter.”

An offense may be said to necessarily include another when

some of the essential elements or ingredients of the former as
alleged in the complaint or information constitute the latter. And
vice versa, an offense may be said to be necessarily included in
another when the essential ingredients of the former constitute or
form part of those constituting the latter.28
In this case, the allegations in the Informations filed against
petitioner are sufficient to hold petitioner liable for the lesser
offenses. Thus, in the charge for Falsification of

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27  Revised Penal Code, Article 218; see Campomanes v. People, G.R. No.
161950, December 19, 2006, 511 SCRA 285, 295.
28  Pecho v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 111399, November 14, 1994, 238 SCRA
116, 136; Teehankee, Jr. v. Madayag, G.R. No. 103102, March 6, 1992, 207 SCRA
134, 141.

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VOL. 550, MARCH 28, 2008 249

Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

Public Documents, petitioner may plead guilty to the lesser offense

of Falsification by Private Individuals inasmuch as it does not appear
that petitioner took advantage of his official position in allegedly
falsifying the timebook and payroll of the Municipality of Bato,
Leyte. In the same vein, with regard to the crime of Malversation of
Public Funds, while the Informations contain allegations which

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make out a case for Malversation against petitioner, nevertheless,

absent the element of conversion, theoretically, petitioner may still
be held liable for Failure to Render Account by an Accountable
Officer if it is shown that the failure to render account was in
violation of a law or regulation that requires him to render such an
accounting within the prescribed period.
Given, therefore, that some of the essential elements of offenses
charged in this case likewise constitute the lesser offenses, then
petitioner may plead guilty to such lesser offenses.
Finally, as propounded by petitioner, indeed, he is not an
accountable officer in that the nature of his duty as
foreman/timekeeper does not permit or require possession or
custody of local government funds,29 not to mention that petitioner
has already restituted the amount of P18,860.00 involved in this
case. Unlike Estrada which involves a crime punishable by
reclusion perpetua to death,30 and a whopping P25,000,000.00 taken
from the public coffers, this case tremendously pales in comparison.
Under the peculiar circumstances of the present case, where gross
inequity will result in a discriminatory dispensation of justice, the
Court will not hesitate to intervene in order to equalize the
imbalance.

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29  Local Government Code, Section 340; see Frias, Sr. v. People, G.R. No.
171437, October 4, 2007, 534 SCRA 654, 662.
30 Republic Act No. 7080 (1991), Sec. 2. (An Act Defining and Penalizing the
Crime of Plunder), as amended by Republic Act No. 7659 (1993).

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250 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Daan vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division)

WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The Resolutions

dated March 25, 2004 and May 31, 2004 are SET ASIDE. The
Sandiganbayan is hereby ORDERED to grant petitioner’s Motion to
Plea Bargain. Let records of this case be REMANDED to the
Sandiganbayan for further proceedings in accordance with this
Decision.
SO ORDERED.

Tinga,*** Chico-Nazario, Nachura and Reyes, JJ., concur.

Petition granted, resolutions set aside.

Notes.—While the 1985 Rules of Criminal Procedure allows the

accused in a criminal case to plead guilty “to a lesser offense
regardless of whether or not it is necessarily included in the crime
charged,” the fact of death of the victim for which the accused was
criminally liable, cannot by simple logic and plain common sense,
be reconciled with the plea of guilty to the lower offense of
attempted homicide. (Amatan vs. Aujero, 248 SCRA 511 [1995])
Where an accused pleads guilty to homicide as a result of plea
bargaining, the same does not necessarily mean that the killing of
the victim was not attended by the circumstance of treachery.
(People vs. Patrolla, Jr., 254 SCRA 467 [1996])
——o0o——

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*** Designated as additional member per Special Order No. 497 dated March 14,
2008.

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