G.R. NO. 170863 - Engr. Anthony V. Zapanta v.

People of the Philippines

SECOND DIVISION

G.R. NO. 170863 : March 20, 2013

ENGR. ANTHONY V. ZAPANTA, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

DECISION

BRION, J.:

We resolve the petition for review on certiorari1 filed by petitioner Engr. Anthony V. Zapanta, challenging the June 27, 2005
decision2 and the November 24, 2005 resolution3 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No. 28369. The CA decision affirmed
the January 12, 2004 decision4 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Baguio City, Branch 3, in Criminal Case No. 20109-R,
convicting the petitioner of the crime of qualified theft. The CA resolution denied the petitioner's motion for reconsideration.

The Factual Antecedents

An April 26, 2002 Information filed with the RTC charged the petitioner, together with Concordia O. Loyao, Jr., with the crime of
qualified theft, committed as follows:That sometime in the month of October, 2001, in the City of Baguio, Philippines, and within the
jurisdiction of [the] Honorable Court, xxx accused ANTHONY V. ZAPANTA, being then the Project Manager of the Porta Vaga
Building Construction, a project being undertaken then by the Construction Firm, ANMAR, Inc. under sub-contract with A. Mojica
Construction and General Services, with the duty to manage and implement the fabrication and erection of the structural steel
framing of the Porta Varga building including the receipt, audit and checking of all construction materials delivered at the job site a
position of full trust and confidence, and CONCORDIO O. LOYAO, JR., alias "JUN", a telescopic crane operator of ANMAR, Inc.,
conspiring, confederating, and mutually aiding one another, with grave abuse of confidence and with intent of gain, did then and
there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously take, steal and carry away from the Porta Vaga project site along Session road, Baguio
City, wide flange steel beams of different sizes with a total value of P2,269,731.69 without the knowledge and consent of the owner
ANMAR, Inc., represented by its General Manager LORNA LEVA MARIGONDON, to the damage and prejudice of ANMAR, Inc., in
the aforementioned sum of P2,269,731.69, Philippine Currency.5chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

Arraigned on November 12, 2002, the petitioner entered a plea of "not guilty."6 Loyao remains at-large.

In the ensuing trial, the prosecution offered in evidence the oral testimonies of Danilo Bernardo, Edgardo Cano, Roberto Buen,
Efren Marcelo, private complainant Engr. Lorna Marigondon, and Apolinaria de Jesus, 7 as well as documentary evidence consisting
of a security logbook entry, delivery receipts, photographs, letters, and sworn affidavits. The prosecution's pieces of evidence, taken
together, established the facts recited below.

In 2001, A. Mojica Construction and General Services (AMCGS) undertook the Porta Vaga building construction in Session Road,
Baguio City. AMCGS subcontracted the fabrication and erection of the building's structural and steel framing to Anmar, owned by
the Marigondon family. Anmar ordered its construction materials from Linton Commercial in Pasig City. It hired Junio Trucking to
deliver the construction materials to its project site in Baguio City. It assigned the petitioner as project manager with general
managerial duties, including the receiving, custody, and checking of all building construction materials. 8chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

On two occasions in October 2001, the petitioner instructed Bernardo, Junio Trucking's truck driver, and about 10 Anmar welders,
including Cano and Buen, to unload about 10 to 15 pieces of 20 feet long wide flange steel beams at Anmar's alleged new contract
project along Marcos Highway, Baguio City. Sometime in November 2001, the petitioner again instructed Bernardo and several
welders, including Cano and Buen, to unload about 5 to 16 pieces of 5 meters and 40 feet long wide flange steel beams along
Marcos Highway, as well as on Mabini Street, Baguio City.9chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

Sometime in January 2002, Engr. Nella Aquino, AMCGS' project manager, informed Engr. Marigondon that several wide flange
steel beams had been returned to Anmar's warehouse on October 12, 19, and 26, 2001, as reflected in the security guard's logbook.
Engr. Marigondon contacted the petitioner to explain the return, but the latter simply denied that the reported return took place.
Engr. Marigondon requested Marcelo, her warehouseman, to conduct an inventory of the construction materials at the project site.
Marcelo learned from Cano that several wide flange steel beams had been unloaded along Marcos Highway. There, Marcelo found
and took pictures of some of the missing steel beams. He reported the matter to the Baguio City police headquarters and contacted
Anmar to send a truck to retrieve the steel beams, but the truck came weeks later and, by then, the steel beams could no longer be
found. The stolen steel beams amounted to P2,269,731.69.10chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

In his defense, the petitioner vehemently denied the charge against him. He claimed that AMCGS, not Anmar, employed him, and
his plan to build his own company had been Engr. Marigondon's motive in falsely accusing him of stealing construction
materials.11chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

The RTC's Ruling

In its January 12, 2004 decision,12 the RTC convicted the petitioner of qualified theft. It gave credence to the prosecution witnesses'
straightforward and consistent testimonies and rejected the petitioner's bare denial. It sentenced the petitioner to suffer the penalty
of imprisonment from 10 years and 3 months, as minimum, to 20 years, as maximum, to indemnify Anmar P2,269,731.69, with legal
interest from November 2001 until full payment, and to pay Engr. Marigondon P100,000.00 as moral damages.

The CA's Ruling

On appeal, the petitioner assailed the inconsistencies in the prosecution witnesses' statements, and reiterated his status as an
AMCGS employee.13chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

In its June 27, 2005 decision,14 the CA brushed aside the petitioner's arguments and affirmed the RTC's decision convicting the
petitioner of qualified theft. It found that the prosecution witnesses' testimonies deserve full credence in the absence of any improper
motive to testify falsely against the petitioner. It noted that the petitioner admitted his status as Anmar's employee and his receipt of
salary from Anmar, not AMCGS. It rejected the petitioner's defense of denial for being self-serving. It, however, deleted the award of
moral damages to Engr. Marigondon for lack of justification.

When the CA denied15 the motion for reconsideration16 that followed, the petitioner filed the present Rule 45 petition.

The Petition

The petitioner submits that, while the information charged him for acts committed "sometime in the month of October, 2001," he was
convicted for acts not covered by the information, i.e., November 2001, thus depriving him of his constitutional right to be informed
of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. He further argues that the prosecution failed to establish the fact of the loss
of the steel beams since the corpus delicti was never identified and offered in evidence.

The Case for the Respondent

The respondent People of the Philippines, through the Office of the Solicitor General, counters that the issues raised by the
petitioner in the petition pertain to the correctness of the calibration of the evidence by the RTC, as affirmed by the CA, which are
issues of fact, not of law, and beyond the ambit of a Rule 45 petition. In any case, the respondent contends that the evidence on
record indubitably shows the petitioner's liability for qualified theft.

The Issue

The case presents to us the issue of whether the CA committed a reversible error in affirming the RTC's decision convicting the
petitioner of the crime of qualified theft.

Our Ruling

The petition lacks merit.

Sufficiency of the allegation of date of the

Section 6, Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, which lays down the guidelines in determining the sufficiency of a complaint
or information, provides:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

Section 6. Sufficiency of complaint or information. - A complaint or information is sufficient if it states the name of the accused; the
designation of the offense given by the statute; the acts or omissions complained of as constituting the offense; the name of the
offended party; the approximate date of the commission of the offense; and the place where the offense was committed.
When an offense is committed by more than one person, all of them shall be included in the complaint or information. (italics
supplied; emphasis ours)

As to the sufficiency of the allegation of the date of the commission of the offense, Section 11, Rule 110 of the Rules of Criminal
Procedure adds:chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

Section 11. Date of commission of the offense. - It is not necessary to state in the complaint or information the precise date the
offense was committed except when it is a material ingredient of the offense. The offense may be alleged to have been committed
on a date as near as possible to the actual date of its commission. [italics supplied; emphasis ours]

Conformably with these provisions, when the date given in the complaint is not of the essence of the offense, it need not be proven
as alleged; thus, the complaint will be sustained if the proof shows that the offense was committed at any date within the period of
the statute of limitations and before the commencement of the action.

In this case, the petitioner had been fully apprised of the charge of qualified theft since the information stated the approximate date
of the commission of the offense through the words "sometime in the month of October, 2001." The petitioner could reasonably
deduce the nature of the criminal act with which he was charged from a reading of the contents of the information, as well as gather
by such reading whatever he needed to know about the charge to enable him to prepare his defense.

We stress that the information did not have to state the precise date when the offense was committed, as to be inclusive of the
month of "November 2001" since the date was not a material element of the offense. As such, the offense of qualified theft could be
alleged to be committed on a date as near as possible to the actual date of its commission. 17 Clearly, the month of November is the
month right after October.

The crime of qualified theft was

The elements of qualified theft, punishable under Article 310 in relation to Articles 308 and 309 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC),
are: (a) the taking of personal property; (b) the said property belongs to another; (c) the said taking be done with intent to gain; (d) it
be done without the owner's consent; (e) it be accomplished without the use of violence or intimidation against persons, nor of force
upon things; and (f) it be done under any of the circumstances enumerated in Article 310 of the RPC, i.e., with grave abuse of
confidence.18chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

All these elements are present in this case. The prosecution's evidence proved, through the prosecution's eyewitnesses, that upon
the petitioner's instruction, several pieces of wide flange steel beams had been delivered, twice in October 2001 and once in
November 2001, along Marcos Highway and Mabini Street, Baguio City; the petitioner betrayed the trust and confidence reposed on
him when he, as project manager, repeatedly took construction materials from the project site, without the authority and consent of
Engr. Marigondon, the owner of the construction materials.

Corpus delicti is the fact of the commission

The petitioner argues that his conviction was improper because the alleged stolen beams or corpus delicti had not been established.
He asserts that the failure to present the alleged stolen beams in court was fatal to the prosecution's cause.

The petitioner's argument fails to persuade us.

"Corpus delicti refers to the fact of the commission of the crime charged or to the body or substance of the crime. In its legal sense,
it does not refer to the ransom money in the crime of kidnapping for ransom or to the body of the person murdered" or, in this case,
to the stolen steel beams. "Since the corpus delicti is the fact of the commission of the crime, this Court has ruled that even a single
witness' uncorroborated testimony, if credible, may suffice to prove it and warrant a conviction therefor. Corpus delicti may even be
established by circumstantial evidence."19 "In theft, corpus delicti has two elements, namely: (1) that the property was lost by the
owner, and (2) that it was lost by felonious taking."20chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

In this case, the testimonial and documentary evidence on record fully established the corpus delicti. The positive testimonies of the
prosecution witnesses, particularly Bernardo, Cano and Buen, stating that the petitioner directed them to unload the steel beams
along Marcos Highway and Mabini Street on the pretext of a new Anmar project, were crucial to the petitioner's conviction. The
security logbook entry, delivery receipts and photographs proved the existence and the unloading of the steel beams to a different
location other than the project site.

Proper Penalty
The RTC, as affirmed by the CA, sentenced the petitioner to suffer the penalty of imprisonment from 10 years and three months, as
minimum, to 20 years, as maximum, and to indemnify Anmar P2,269,731.69, with legal interest from November 2001 until full
payment. Apparently, the RTC erred in failing to specify the appropriate name of the penalty imposed on the petitioner.

We reiterate the rule that it is necessary for the courts to employ the proper legal terminology in the imposition of penalties because
of the substantial difference in their corresponding legal effects and accessory penalties. The appropriate name of the penalty must
be specified as under the scheme of penalties in the RPC, the principal penalty for a felony has its own specific duration and
corresponding accessory penalties. 21 Thus, the courts must employ the proper nomenclature specified in the RPC, such as
"reclusion perpetua" not "life imprisonment," or "ten days of arresto menor" not "ten days of imprisonment." In qualified theft, the
appropriate penalty is reclusion perpetua based on Article 310 of the RPC which provides that "the crime of qualified theft shall be
punished by the penalties next higher by two degrees than those respectively specified in Article 309." 22chanroblesvirtualawlibrary

To compute the penalty, we begin with the value of the stolen steel beams, which is P2,269,731.69. Based on Article 309 of the
RPC, since the value of the items exceeds P22,000.00, the basic penalty is prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods, to be
imposed in the maximum period, which is eight years, eight months and one day to 10 years of prision mayor.

To determine the additional years of imprisonment, we deduct P22,000.00 from P2,269,731.69, which gives us P2,247,731.69. This
resulting figure should then be divided by P10,000.00, disregarding any amount less than P10,000.00. We now have 224 years that
should be added to the basic penalty. However, the imposable penalty for simple theft should not exceed a total of 20 years.
Therefore, had petitioner committed simple theft, the penalty would be 20 years of reclusion temporal. As the penalty for qualified
theft is two degrees higher, the correct imposable penalty is reclusion perpetua.

The petitioner should thus be convicted of qualified theft with the corresponding penalty of reclusion perpetua.

WHEREFORE, we hereby DENY the appeal. The June 27, 2005 decision and the November 24, 2005 resolution of the Court of
Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 28369 are AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. Petitioner Engr. Anthony V. Zapanta is sentenced to suffer
the penalty of reclusion perpetua. Costs against the petitioner.

SO ORDERED.