CY 2008 actual collection of

P778,581,000.00. Out of the

P865,572,000.00,
P823,465,000.00 is for BIR
Operations and
P42,107,000.00 is for Non-
BIR Operations based on the
Medium-Term Revenue Pro-
gram run date February
2009.


REVENUE MEMORANDUM
ORDER NO. 9-2009

Issued on April 20, 2009
prescribes the new Revenue
District Office (RDO) Code of
splitted RDOs and the poli-
cies and procedures for the
splitting of registration data
of affected taxpayers.

The Order covers only the
RDOs affected by splitting
per Revenue Authority Order
(RAO) Nos. 1 and 2-2008,
and RAO Nos. 1, 2 and 3-
2009, which are provided/
assigned new RDO Codes, to
wit:




PRIOR
RDO
CODE
NEW RDO
CODE
RDO
25-
Malolos
, Bu-
lacan
RDO 25A -
Plaridel, Bu-
lacan
RDO 25B -
Marilao, Bu-
lacan
REVENUE MEMORANDUM
ORDER NO. 6-2009

Institutionalizes Gender and
Development (GAD) in the
National Office and Regional
Offices of the Bureau of In-
ternal Revenue (BIR) and the
BIR Christmas Outreach Pro-
gram.

To institutionalize GAD ef-
forts in the BIR, a GAD Focal
Point shall be created. The
GAD Focal Point is a group of
people within the agency
tasked to catalyze and facili-
tate the institutionalization of
gender mainstreaming and
womens empowerment
within the agency. The GAD
Focal Point advocates for,
coordinates, guides and
monitors the development
and implementation of the
agencys GAD plan and GAD-
related programs, activities
and projects. The BIR GAD
Focal Point shall prepare the
Annual GAD Plan and Budget
and Annual Accomplishment
Reports in coordination with
their respective Finance Of-
ficers.

The National Office GAD Fo-
cal Point System (NO-BIR-
GAD) shall coordinate with
the Department of Finance
(DOF)-GAD and the National
Commission on the Role of
Filipino Women (NCRFW)
regarding the Bureaus GAD
efforts. The NO-BIR-GAD
plans, organizes and imple-
ments GAD programs and
activities in the National Of-
fice.

The BIR Christmas Outreach
program targeting the wom-
en sector shall be part of the
BIR GAD Accomplishment
Report. It shall be simulta-
neously held on the 2
nd
Fri-
day of December in a pre-
selected beneficiary institu-
tion in the Region targeting
the women sector.

The NCRFW-endorsed GAD
Plan and Budget shall be
submitted to the Department
of Budget and Management
with the agencys consolidat-
ed annual Proposed Budget
for the year. The approved
National Office and regional
GAD Plan and Budget shall
be observed/realized and
incorporated in all program-
ming and budgeting exercis-
es of the agency.


REVENUE MEMORANDUM
ORDER NO. 7-2009

This prescribes for the allo-
cation of the CY 2009 BIR
collection goal by implement-
ing office.

The overall CY 2009 collec-
tion goal of the BIR, as set
by the Department of Fi-
nance, is P865,572,000.00.
This is 11.17% higher that
ISSUANCES BY THE BUREAU OF INTERNAL
REVENUE
MAY 2009 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5
L C A L C A L C A
LINES LINES LINES
Inside this issue:
Issuances by
the BIR
1
Latest Jurispru-
dence
5
JLs Corner 11





Page 2 L C A LINES
RDO 54-Trece
Martirez City
RDO 54A
- Trece
Martirez
City,
South

Cavite
RDO 54B
- Ro-
sario,
North
Cavite
RDO 53-Las
Pinas-
Muntinlupa
City
RDO 53A
- Las
Pinas City
RDO 53B
-
Muntinlu-
pa City
RDO 43-Pasig
City
RDO 43A
- East
Pasig
RDO 43B
- West
Pasig
RDO 17-
Tarlac, Tarlac
RDO 17A
- Tarlac
City
RDO 17B
- Pa-
niqui,
Tarlac
RDO 21-San
Fernando,
Pampanga
RDO 21A
- North
Pampan-
ga
RDO 21B
- South
Pampan-
ga
RDO 23-
Cabanatuan
City
RDO 23A
- North
Nueva
Ecija
RDO 23B
- South
Nueva
Ecija
RDO 93-
Zamboanga
City
RDO 93A
- Zambo-
anga City
RDO 93B
- Zambo-
anga
Sibugay*
RDO 92-
Pagadian
City*
RDO 92
- Pagadi-
an City,
Zamboan-
ga

del Sur
RDO 113-
Davao
City
RDO 113 -
West Davao
City
RDO 132 -
East Davao
City
*Some municipalities/towns
previously parts of RDO 92-
Pagadian City are now under
RDO 93B Zamboanga
Sibugay


The Revenue Data Center
(RDC) shall generate the
corresponding list of taxpay-
ers clearly identifiable to be-
long to concerned RDOs.
The Information Systems
Group (ISG) shall then auto-
matically transfer the regis-
tration data of these identi-
fied taxpayers to their corre-
sponding RDOs.

The Systems Maintenance
and Support Division shall
effect the splitting of regis-
tration data as well as the
transaction data starting April
1, 2009.


REVENUE MEMORANDUM
ORDER NO. 10-2009

Issued on April 20, 2009 de-
fines the new composition of
the Inspection and Ac-
ceptance Committee (IAC) in
the BIR National Office as
follows:

Chairman -ACIR
Policy and Planning Service
or his/her duly authorized
representative;

Member -Chief, general Ser-
vices Division or his/her duly
authorized representative;

Member -Chief, Procurement
Division or his/her duly au-
thorized representative; and

A representative of the requi-
sitioning Unit whose technical
expertise may be needed to
determine the acceptability
of IT and non-IT supplies,
materials, machines, equip-
ment and other services, who
may be:

The Chief, Systems Sup-
port, ISOS, or his duly au-
thorized representative for
IT supplies, materials, ma-
chines, equipment and oth-
er service; or

The Chief, Accountable
Forms Division, or his duly
authorized representative
for Accountable Forms.

The IAC shall inspect all
accountable forms delivered
by the Bangko Sentral ng
Plipinas.


REVENUE MEMORANDUM
NO. 12-2008


Issued on April 30, 2009
enjoins the strict implemen-
tation of the penalty provi-
sions for non-submission of
Quarterly Summary Lists of
Sales and Purchases.

Every failure a taxpayer
who is required to submit
the required Summary List
of Sales and/or Summary
List of Purchases in the pre-
scribed format for a particu-
lar period, or submits erro-
neous/incomplete/falsified
information in a particular
Summary List, shall be con-
sidered as grounds for the
issuance of Subpoena Duces
Tecum by the BIR office
concerned to the taxpayer
mandating the immediate
submission of the said docu-
ments. Upon submission of
the required Summary Lists
in compliance with the Sub-
poena Duces Tecum, the
concerned taxpayer shall
also be required to pay a
compromise penalty in the
amount of P10,000.00 for
each non-submission of the
required Summary Lists of
Sales and Purchases.

In the event that a taxpayer
should continue to fail to
submit the required Sum-
mary Lists in compliance
with a duly-issued Subpoe-
continuation of Revenue issuances...
poena Duces Tecum, such
non-submission shall be
tantamount to failure to
supply correct and accurate
information under the Na-
tional Internal Revenue
Code (NIRC). Conse-
quently, the Revenue Dis-
trict Officer concerned shall
initiate the necessary ad-
ministrative and criminal
penalties in accordance with
the NIRC.

NIRC also provides that any
person who attempts to
make it appear for any rea-
son that he or another has
in act filed a return or state-
ment, of actually files a re-
turn or statement and sub-
sequently withdraws the
same return or statement
after securing the official
receiving seal or stamp of
receipt of an internal reve-
nue office wherein the same
was actually filed shall, upon
conviction therefore, be
punished by a fine not less
than P10,000.00 but not
more than P20,000.00 and
suffer imprisonment of not
less than one (1) year but
not more than three (3)
years.

In case of corporations that
fail to submit their Summary
List of Sales and Purchases,
the corporate officers and
employees of the corpora-
tion concerned shall be held
criminally liable for such
failure.


REVENUE MEMORANDUM
CIRCULAR NO. 18-2009

Issued on April 7, 2009 clar-
ifies the prescribed date of
collection of al accepted tax
returns and payments, in-
cluding payments thru
checks received by Author-
ized Agents Banks (AABs)
after cut-off time/clearing
time, amending Revenue
Memorandum Circular 67-
2008.
Continuation of Revenue Issuances...
Page 3 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5
All accepted tax returns and
payments received shall be
validated and reported by
the AABs on the day of ac-
ceptance or transaction.
The date of collection in the
Batch Control Sheet (BCS)
report should be the actual
day when the return was
filed and the payment was
made. However, tax returns
filed with check payments
made by the taxpayers after
the AABs cut-off time/
clearing time shall be ac-
cepted, stamped Received
After Cut-off Time/Clearing
Time and validated on the
actual day of acceptance or
transactions. The filing date
that should appear in the
filed returns should be the
actual day of filing thereof
but the amount of taxes
collected thru checks after
the cut-off time/clearing
time shall be reported in
the BCS as collection of the
AAB for the following work-
ing day. All BCS, together
with the supporting tax re-
turns, shall be submitted to
the concerned BIR offices on
time and in accordance with
the existing procedures.

REVENUE MEMORANDUM
CIRCULAR NO. 19-2009

Issued on April 13, 2009
prescribes the transition
procedures relative to the
issuance and cancellation of
Permit to Use Cash Regis-
ter Machine (CRM), Point of
Sales (POS) Machine, Spe-
cial Purpose Machine (SPM)
and other similar sales ma-
chines.

The Electronic Accreditation
and Registration (eAccReg)
System links for the regis-
tration, issuance and cancel-
lation of Permit to Use
CRM/POS Machine/SPM and
other similar sales ma-
chines, whether it is final or
provisional, pursuant to
Revenue Regulations (RR)
No. 11-2004 and Revenue
memorandum Order (RMO)
No. 10-2005, are now in
place for its decentralization
and devolution to the Reve-
nue District Offices thru its
Taxpayer Service Section;
Large Taxpayer Assistance
Divisions I and II; Large
Taxpayer District Offices
and other concerned offices.

As provided under the said
revenue issuances, the orig-
inal copy of the Permit to
Use Sales Machine shall be
posted at the back of the
CRM/POS/SPM and other
similar machines. However,
the permits that were issued
prior to this Circular indicat-
ed more than one (1) ma-
chine in each page of the
permit, although each ma-
chine has its own Permit
Number and Machine Identi-
fication Number (MIN).
With this practice, only one
(1) machine can be posted
with original permit.

In order to comply with the
provision in RR No. 11-2004
and RMO No. 10-2005, it is
required that all permits
issued prior to this Circular
shall be reprinted using the
prescribed format and size
of the permit so that only
one (1) machine is reflected
in each page of the permit.

The procedures to be fol-
lowed y concerned BIR offic-
es for the reprinting, issu-
ance and cancellation of
Permit to Use, including
the post-evaluation of CRM/
POS/SPM and other similar
sales machines, are speci-
fied in the Circular.


REVENUE CIRCULAR NO.
20-2009

Issued on April 14, 2009
circularizes the list of tax-
payers who have closed or
ceased business operations.

All internal revenue officials,
employees and others concerned are requested to
promptly notify the BIR in the event that the mentioned
taxpayers are found to be still conducting business trans-
actions and/or using Official Receipts, Sales Invoices and
other Accounting Forms after the effectivity date of clo-
sure or cessation of business.


REVENUE CIRCULAR NO. 21-2009

Issued on April 22, 2009 prescribes the procedures for all
Electronic Filing and Pament System (eFPS) filers in filing
tax returns affected by issuances in the enhances eFPS.

Relative to the enhancement of the following BIR Forms,
which are now available in eFPS, hereunder are the guide-
lines to be undertaken by al eFPS filers:
Continuation of Revenue Issuances...
Page 4 L C A LINES






BIR
FORM
NO.
TITLE/
DESCRIP-
TION
Pertinent Rev-
enue Issuanc-
es
EFFEC-
TIVITY
DATE
1601 E
Re-
vised:
Feb.
2007
Monthly
Remittance
Return of
Creditable
Income
Taxes With-
held
(Expanded)
Revenue Regula-
tions (RR) No. 8-
2005additional
ATC refund to
MERALCO users;
June
30,
2005
RR No. 30-
2003additional
ATC for corpo-
rate Manage-
ment and Tech-
nical consultant
January
1, 2004
1702-Q
Re-
vised:
Octo-
ber
2007
Quarterly
Income Tax
Return (For
Corpora-
tions and
Partner-
ships)
RR 12-2007
Payments for
Minimum Corpo-
rate Income Tax
is on Quarterly
Basis
Novem-
ber 3,
2007
2550
M/
2550 Q
Re-
vised:
Febru-
ary
2007
Monthly
Value-
Added Tax
Declara-
tion/
Quarterly
Value-
Added Tax
Return
(Cumulativ
e for 3
months)
RR No. 2-2007-
amending RR
No. 16-2005,
Sec. 4, 110-7(b)
re: 70% of the
output tax
Decem-
ber
2006








Affected e-filers should
amend their previously
filed tax returns in eFPS
within five (5) days from
date of announcement via
the BIR Web, by encoding
the contents of return
previously filed manually.
E-payment should no
longer be required if the
tax due on the amended
return is equal to the
amount previously paid,
the taxpayer shall enjoy
the unpaid amount. They
should also disregard the
system message late-
filing for returns previ-
ously filed manually.

Forms attachments such
as Alphalists, MAP and
SAWT, shall be submitted
thru esubmis-
sion@bir.giv.ph until fur-
ther notice.

E-filers of the following
forms are advised to take
note of their availability
and enhancement.
JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 5 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5





THE PEOPLE OF THE
PHILIPPINES
versus
EDWIN PARTOZA y
EVORA

G.R. No. 182418, May 8,
2009



FACTS: Partoza was
charged in two (2) separate
Informations before the
Regional RTC with posses-
sion and sale of shabu.

Upon arraignment, Partoza
pleaded not guilty to both
Informations.

PO3 Juanito Tougan (PO3
Tougan) testified for the
prosecution and narrated
that the police received an
information from an inform-
ant that a certain Partoza
was selling shabu in Rizal.
Partoza had apparently
been under surveillance by
the police for selling prohib-
ited drugs. They immedi-
ately planned a buy-bust
operation.

PO3 Tougan, together with
another police officer and
the civilian informant then
proceeded with the buy-
bust operation. During the
operation, PO3 Tougan was
able to recover two plastic
sachets from Partoza.

Chemistry Report confirmed
that the two (2) plastic sa-
chets seized from appellant
were positive for metham-
phetamine hydrochloride, or
shabu.
[9]


Partoza denied the charges
against him.




The trial court convicted
Partoza of illegal possession
and illegal sale of dangerous
drugs. It gave full faith and
credence to the testimony
of PO3 Tougan.

On appeal, the Court of Ap-
peals affirmed the convic-
tion.


ISSUE: Whether or not the
trial court was correct in
convicting Partoza.

RULING: No, the trial
court was not correct in
convicting Partoza. The
evidence presented by the
prosecution is inadmissible
for failure to comply with
the provisions of R.A. 9165.


Section 21(1) of R.A. No.
9165 mandates that the
apprehending team having
initial custody and control of
the drugs shall, immediately
after seizure and confisca-
tion, physically inventory
and photograph the same in
the presence of the accused
or the person/s from whom
such items were confiscated
and/or seized, or his/her
representative or counsel, a
representative from the
media and the Department
of Justice (DOJ), and any
elected public official who
shall be required to sign the
copies of the inventory and
be given a copy thereof.

In the instant case, it is
indisputable that the proce-
dures for the custody and
disposition of confiscated
dangerous drugs in Section
21 of R.A. No. 9165 were
not complied with. (1) PO3
Tougan did not mark the
seized drugs immediately
after he arrested Partoza in
the latter's presence;








(2) neither did he make an
inventory and take a photo-
graph of the confiscated
items in the presence of
Partoza; (3) there was no
representative from the
media and the Department
of Justice or any elected
public official who partici-
pated in the operation and
who were supposed to sign
an inventory of seized items
and be given copies thereof.
None of these statutory
safeguards were observed.

While the SC recognizes
that non-compliance by the
buy-bust team with Section
21 is not fatal as long as
there is a justifiable ground
therefor, and as long as the
integrity and the evidentiary
value of the confiscated/
seized items are properly
preserved by the appre-
hending team, yet these
conditions were not met in
the case at bar. No expla-
nation was offered by PO3
Tougan for his failure to
observe the rule.


















observe the rule.

Furthermore, while PO3
Tougan admitted to have in
his possession the shabu
from the time Partoza was
apprehended at the crime
scene to the police station,
records are bereft of proof
on how the seized items
were handled from the time
they left the hands of PO3
Tougan. PO3 Tougan men-
tioned a certain Inspector
Manahan as the one who
signed the request for labor-
atory examination. He did
not however relate to whom
the custody of the drugs
was turned over. Further-
more, the evidence of the
prosecution did not reveal
the identity of the person
who had the custody and
safekeeping of the drugs
after its examination and
pending presentation in
court. The failure of the
prosecution to establish the
chain of custody is fatal to
its cause.


JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 6 L C A LINES
HEIRS OF TRANQUILI-
NO LABISTE, et.al.
versus
HEIRS OF JOSE LA-
BISTE, et.al.
G.R. No. 162033, May
8, 2009

FACTS: Epifanio Labiste
(Epifanio), on his own
and on behalf of his
brothers and sisters who
were the heirs of Jose
Labiste (Jose), pur-
chased a portion of the
Banilad Friar Lands Estate
(Banilad).

After full payment of the
purchase price but prior
to the issuance of the
deed of conveyance, Epi-
fanio executed an Affida-
vit (Affidavit of Epifanio)
affirming that he, as one
of the heirs of Jose, and
his uncle and petitioners
predecessor-in-interest,
Tr anqui l i no Labi st e
(Tranquilino), then co-
owned the lot. Tranquilino
and the heirs of Jose con-
tinued to hold the proper-
ty jointly.

The Register of Deeds
issued two Original Certif-
icate of Title. The Deputy
Public Land Surveyor,
subdivided lot into two
lots: one for Tranquilino
and another for Epifanio.

Subsequently, the heirs of
Tranquilino purchased the
one-half (1/2) interest of
the heirs of Jose

. The
heirs of Tranquilino imme-
diately took possession of
the entire lot.

When World War II broke
out, the heirs of Tranquili-
no fled Cebu City and
when they came back
they found everything to
be destroyed including
records in the Office of
the Register of Deeds
and other government offic-
es. Squatters have practi-
cally overrun the entire
property.

The heirs of Tranquilino
learned that Asuncion La-
biste, had filed a petition for
reconstitution of title over
the lot. The Register of
Deeds issued the reconsti-
tuted title, Transfer Certifi-
cate of Title in the name of
Epifanio Labiste, married to
Tomasa Mabitad, his broth-
ers and sisters, heirs of Jose
Labiste.

Heirs of Tranquilino filed a
complaint for annulment of
title seeking the reconvey-
ance of property and dam-
ages with the RTC. The
heirs of Jose claimed that
the Affidavit of Epifanio
were forgeries and that the
heirs of Tranquilinos action
had long prescribed or
barred by laches.

The RTC ruled in favor of
the heirs of Tranquilino find-
ing that the documents
were genuine and authentic
as ancient documents and
that they are valid and en-
forceable. Moreover, it held
that the action had not pre-
scribed as the complaint
was filed about a year after
the reconstitution of the title
by the heirs of Jose. The
RTC further held that the
reconstituted title did not
give any more right to the
heirs of Jose than what their
predecessors-i n-i nterest
actually had as it is limited
to the reconstitution of the
certificate as it stood at the
time of its loss or destruc-
tion.

On appeal, the Court of Ap-
peals (CA), while affirming
the heirs of Tranquilinos
right to the property, never-
theless reversed the RTCs
decision on the ground of
prescription and laches. It
affirmed the RTCs findings
that the Affidavit and are
genuine and authentic, and
that the same are valid and
enforceable documents.
Citing Article 1144 of the
Civil Code, it held that peti-
tioners cause of action had
prescribed. Also, the lapse
of time to file the action
constitutes neglect on the
heirs of Tranuilinos part so
the principle of laches is
applicable.


ISSUES: 1. Whether or
not the Affidavit of Epifanio
is genuine; and
2. Whether or not
petitioners cause of action
has prescribed.

As regards the authenticity
or genuineness of the Affi-
davit of Epifanio, the SC
ruled that the findings of
fact by the lower court are
conclusive absent any pal-
pable error or arbitrariness.
It is a long settled doctrine
that findings of fact of the
trial court, when affirmed by
the CA, are binding upon
the SC. It is not the func-
tion of the SC to weigh
anew the evidence already
passed upon by the CA for
these are deemed final and
conclusive and may not be
reviewed on appeal.

JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 7 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5




the CA, are binding upon the
SC. It is not the function of
the SC to weigh anew the
evidence already passed up-
on by the CA for these are
deemed final and conclusive
and may not be reviewed on
appeal.

With respect to the second
issue, the CA erred in apply-
ing the rules on prescription
and the principle of laches
because what is involved in
the present case is an ex-
press trust.

The Affidavit of Epifanio is in
the nature of a trust agree-
ment. Epifanio affirmed that
the lot brought in his name
was co-owned by him, as one
of the heirs of Jose, and his
uncle Tranquilino. And by
agreement, each of them has
been in possession of half of
the property.

As such, prescription and
laches will run only from the
time the express trust is re-
pudiated. The SC has held
that for acquisitive prescrip-
tion to bar the action of the
beneficiary against the trus-
tee in an express trust for
the recovery of the property
held in trust it must be
shown that: (a) the trustee
has performed unequivocal
acts of repudiation amount-
ing to an ouster of the cestui
que trust; (b) such positive
acts of repudiation have been
made known to the cestui
que trust, and (c) the evi-
dence thereon is clear and
conclusive.
The heirs of Jose cannot rely
on the fact that the Torrens
title was issued in the name
of Epifanio and the other
heirs of Jose. It has been
held that a trustee who ob-
tains a Torrens title over
property held in trust by him
for another cannot repudiate
the trust by relying on the
registration. The rule re-
quires a clear repudiation of
the trust duly communicated
to the beneficiary. The only
act that can be construed as
repudiation was when the
heirs of Jose filed the petition
for reconstitution in 1993.
And since petitioners filed
their complaint in 1995, their
cause of action has not yet
prescribed, laches cannot be
attributed to them.




LAND BANK OF THE PHIL-
IPPINES,
versus
HEIRS OF HONORATO DE
LEON,
represented by AMBRO-
CIO DE LEON,

G.R. No. 164025, May 8,
2009


FACTS: Land Bank of the
Philippines (LBP) is a govern-
ment banking institution des-
ignated under Section 64 of
Republic Act (R.A.) No. 6654
as the financial intermediary
of the agrarian reform pro-
gram of the government.


Respondents are the heirs of
the late Honorato De Leon
(heirs of de Leon), the reg-
istered owner of an agricul-
tural land situated at Nueva
Ecija. The whole area was
acquired by the Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
and placed under the cover-
age of Presidential Decree
(P.D.) No. 27. Respondents
received the notice of cover-
age sometime in 1988.



Finding the land valuation
offered by the DAR to be
very low, the heirs of de Leon
filed a complaint for the fix-
ing of just compensation be-
fore the Regional Trial Court
of Cabanatuan City, sitting
as a Special Agrarian Court
(SAC).


DAR Undersecretary for Legal
Affairs and the Legal Officer
of DAR-Cabanatuan City,
entered into a compromise
agreement with the heirs of
de Leon. The agreement,
which was approved by the
SAC provided the payment of
just compensation.

However, the SAC denied the
motion for execution of the
compromise judgment on the
ground of oversight on the
part of the Legal Officer re-
garding his authority to enter
into a settlement.

The SAC rendered a decision
ordering the DAR through
LBP to pay the heirs of de
Leon.

In arriving at the amount of
just compensation, the SAC
used a value of the govern-
ment support price for palay
based on the certification by
the National Food Authority
(NFA) in Cabanatuan City.
The SAC no longer imposed
interest on account of a high-
er value of government sup-
port price.
JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 8 L C A LINES
The SAC no longer imposed
interest on account of a
higher value of government
support price.

With regard to the compro-
mise judgment, the SAC
declared in its decision that
the same had been set
aside and considered with-
out effect on the ground the
DAR Undersecretary for
Legal Affairs cannot author-
ize the Legal Officers to
enter into a stipulation of
facts binding upon the DAR.

The heirs of de Leon filed an
appeal arguing that just
compensation should be
fixed based on the formula
in P.D. No. 27 in relation to
Executive Order No. 228,
providing a government
support price.

LBP questioned the authori-
ty of the Court of Appeals to
give due course to the ap-
peal, considering that the
compromise judgment had
not been set aside under
Rule 38 of the Rules of
Court. In a Resolution, the
Court of Appeals affirmed its
jurisdiction to take cogni-
zance of petitioners appeal.
The Court of Appeals dis-
missed the appeal for lack
of merit. It likewise denied
petitioners motion for re-
consideration.


ISSUES: 1. Whether or
not the Court of Appeals
committed a grave error of
law when it used different
factors/data in the determi-
nation of just compensation
of subject Riceland, in utter
disregard of the evidence on
record and the pertinent
provisions of P.D. No. 27
and E.O. 228; and

2. Whether of not the value
of just compensation or-
dered to be paid to the heirs
of de Leon is correct.
RULING: The Court of Ap-
peals did not commit a
grave error of law.

The Court resolved to dis-
miss the Petition for Certio-
rari and Prohibition for the
failure to submit a verified
statement of the material
dates of the receipt of the
decision and filing of the
motion for reconsideration
and failure to verify the
petition and submit a valid
certification of nonforum
shopping.

Thereafter, the
resolution became final and
executory.

With regard to the value of
compensation to be paid to
the heirs of de Leon, it is
the SAC who should deter-
mine with dispatch the just
compensation due respond-
ents strictly in accordance
with DAR A.O. No. 5, series
of 1998.

Section 4 of R.A. No. 6657,
the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law (CARL) pro-
vides that the CARL shall
cover all public and private
agricultural lands including
other lands of the public
domain suitable for agricul-
ture. Section 7 provides
that rice and corn lands
under P.D. No. 27, among
other lands, will comprise
phase one of the acquisition
plan and distribution pro-
gram. Section 75 states
that the provisions of P.D.
No. 27 and E.O. Nos. 228
and 229, and other laws not
inconsistent with R.A. No.
6657 shall have suppletory
effect.

In the instant case, heirs of
de Leon were furnished with
the notice of coverage
sometime in 1988 only.
Even if the property were
acquired pursuant to P.D.
No. 27, the fixing of just
compensation based on the
values under P.D. No. 27/
E.O. No. 228 would render
meaningless the heirs of de
Leons right to a just com-
pensation.

Pertinently, Section 17 of
R.A. No. 6657 provides:


Sec. 17. Determination
of Just Compensation.
In determining just com-
pensation, the cost of
acquisition of the land,
the current value of the
like properties, its na-
ture, actual use and
income, the sworn valua-
tion by the owner, the
tax declarations, and the
assessments made by
government assessors
shall be considered. The
social and economic
benefits contributed by
the farmers and the
farmworkers and by the
Government to the prop-
erty as well as the non-
payment of taxes or
loans secured from any
government financing
institution on the said
land shall be considered
as additional factors to
determine its valuation.


The instant case must be
remanded to the SAC for
the determination of just
compensation in accord-
ance with DAR A.O. No. 5,
series of 1998, the latest
DAR issuance on fixing just
compensation.



SAN MIGUEL CORPORA-
TION
versus
NATIONAL LABOR RELA-
TIONS COMMISSION
and
WILLIAM L. FRIEND, Jr.
G.R. No. 153983, May
26, 2009


FACTS: William L. Friend,
Jr. (Friend) was a route
salesman of Petitioner San
Miguel Corporation (SMC)
Bacoor Sales Office for ten
(10) years.


Rene de Jesus (de Jesus),
Friends supervisor, con-
ducted an audit of his route
on account of complaints of
the customers. These cus-
tomers complained to the
supervisor that Friend pad-
ded their accounts.

After the audit, de Jesus
found reasonable ground to
hold Friend liable for misap-
propriation of company
funds through falsification of
private documents. Friend
was summoned to SMC
Plant for investigation.
After investigation, Friends
services with the company
was terminated and was
ordered to pay the amount
which he misappropriated.

Hence, Friend filed a com-
plaint for illegal suspension
and illegal dismissal with
the National Labor Relations
Commission (NLRC). The
Labor Arbiter later rendered
a Decision directing SMC to
reinstate Friend on the
ground that the penalty of
dismissal is too severe(1)
SMC failed to prove that
Friends service records was
replete with offenses; (2)
there is no convincing evi-
dence that Friend materially
benefited from the acts
committed; and (3) SMC did
not suffer any damage by
reason thereof. Suspen-
sion, according to the NLRC
would be the more appropri-
ate penalty.
JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 9 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5
Both parties appealed to the
NLRC. In its decision, the
NLRC reversed the decision
of the Labor Arbiter and sus-
tained SMCs prerogative of
dismissing Friend stating that
a high degree of confidence
is reposed in salesman as
they are entrusted with funds
or properties of their employ-
er. By his own wrongdoing,
it would be an act of oppres-
sion to compel his employer
to welcome him anew to its
fold.

Friend elevated the case to
the Court of Appeals (CA)
through a petition for certio-
rari. The CA granted the
petition, reversing and set-
ting aside the Decision of the
NLRC and reinstating the
Decision of the Labor Arbiter.

ISSUE: Whether or not the
CA committed serious error
in setting aside the decision
of the NLRC despite the
courts finding that Friend
indeed falsified numerous
company records; and

RULING: There is no re-
versible error committed by
the CA in reinstating the de-
cision of the Labor Arbiter
which held that Friend should
have been suspended rather
than dismissed outright.

In termination cases, the
employer bears the burden of
proving that the dismissal of
the employee is for a just or
an authorized cause. Failure
to dispose of the burden
would imply that the dismis-
sal is not lawful, and that the
employee is entitled to rein-
statement, back wages and
accruing benefits. Moreover,
dismissed employees are not
required to prove their inno-
cence of the employers ac-
cusations against them.




SMC utterly failed to estab-
lish that Friend or somebody
pecuniarily or materially ben-
efited from the falsification
through paper renewal com-
mitted by Friend that could
have warranted his dismissal
for the first offense. Neither
was there clear and convinc-
ing evidence that SMC suf-
fered any material loss by
Friends act of paper renewal.
Regarding petitioners sweep-
ing charge of misappropria-
tion of company funds
against respondent, the SC
quote with approval the dis-
quisition of the Labor Arbiter
as cited by the CA that SMC
failed to prove that Friend
misappropriated company
funds and the penalty of dis-
missal is to severe.

The right of an employer to
dismiss an employee on ac-
count of loss of trust and
confidence must not be exer-
cised whimsically. To coun-
tenance an arbitrary exercise
of that prerogative is to ne-
gate the employees constitu-
tional right to security of
tenure. In other words, the
employer must clearly and
convincingly prove by sub-
stantial evidence the facts
and incidents upon which
loss of confidence in the em-
ployee may be fairly made to
rest; otherwise, the latters
dismissal will be rendered
illegal.
JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2009
Page 10 L C A LINES



THE PEOPLE OF THE
PHILIPPINES,
versus
LORENZO LAYCO, SR.,
G.R. No. 182191, May 8,
2009

FACTS: Appellant Lorenzo
Layco Sr. (Layco) was
charged with nine (9) counts
of rape committed against
his 11-year old daughter,
AAA and his 7-year old
daughter, BBB.

Both victims testified that
they were raped by their
father inside their house. On
these occasions, each inci-
dent of rape was always pre-
ceded by physical violence on
their persons. The victims
were subjected to physical
examination and found that
AAAs hymen had sustained
several lacerations which
were more than a year old.
With respect to BBB, physical
examination revealed that
she had incomplete lacera-
tions in the hymen.

Appellant interposed denial
and alibi. He claims that on
the dates when AAA and BBB
was supposedly raped, they
were no longer living with
him.

Laycos wife, as well as his
two sons testified in his fa-
vor, denying knowledge of
any rape committed against
AAA and BBB.

The trial court rendered its
Decision finding Layco guilty
as charged for nine (9)
counts of rape for both AAA
and BBB. Death penalty was
imposed.
In view of the death penalty
imposed, the case was
brought to the Supreme
Court (SC) on automatic
review. Pursuant to People
v. Mateo, the case was trans-
ferred to the Court of Ap-
peals (CA) for appropriate
action and disposition.

The Court of Appeals af-
firmed the decision of the
RTC with modifications. The
penalty of death imposed is
commuted to Reclusion Per-
petua in accordance with
Republic Act 9346 (RA
9346).

Layco essentially questions
the credibility of AAA and
BBB in their narration of the
instances of alleged rape. He
argues that their testimonies
were either uncorroborated
or denied by their brother,
who testified for the defense.
Furthermore, Layco notes
that BBB failed to recall the
exact date of the commission
of the rape, which effectively
renders doubt on their
claims.

ISSUE: Whether or not
Layco is guilty of statutory
rape.

RULING: The SC found
Layco guilty of statutory
rape.

Statutory rape is committed
by sexual intercourse with a
woman below twelve (12)
years of age regardless of
her consent, or the lack of it,
to the sexual act. To convict
an accused of the crime of
statutory rape, the prosecu-
tion carries the burden of
proving: (1) the age of the
complainant; (2) the identity
of the accused; and (3) the
sexual intercourse between
the accused and the com-
plainant.


All the required elements
were proven by the prosecu-
tion. The victims ages are
evidenced by their birth cer-
tificates. Their identification
of their father as the rapist
was positive, clear and cate-
gorical. They also gave a
vivid description of the sexu-
al acts committed by Layco.
Moreover, their accusation
finds support in the medical
reports on the physical inju-
ries AAA and BBB had sus-
tained.

Appellants denial cannot
prevail over AAAs and BBBs
positive identification of
Layco as the perpetrator of
the crime.
JLs CORNER
Page 11 VOLUME 2, ISSUE No. 5
A lawyer, known more for his drinking at the bar than for his practice
before it, died in poverty. The other attorneys from the city, feeling
sorry for his family, started a fund to cover his funeral expenses. A
local businessman was asked to make a contribution. "Will you
please donate a dollar, so we can bury a lawyer?"
"Only a dollar to bury a lawyer?" asked the businessman, "Here's
$100 -- go and bury 99 more of them."