Dear PAO,

I bought a parcel of land from a person who showed me that he was allegedly authorized by the owner to do so. After paying the agreed purchase price, the representative only gave me a photocopy of the Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) and other documents. According to him, he needs the original to be able to process the transfer of the documents. After a few months of making follow-ups, I decided to look for the owner and was able to connect with him. During our conversation, I discovered that the owner did not authorize anyone to sell his property. He told me that he did not execute any Deed of Sale in favor of anyone. What should I do?

Marvictor

Dear Marvictor,

Please be informed of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Luis T. Arriola v. People of the Philippines (G.R. No. 199975, February 24, 2020, Ponente: Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando), where it was provided that:

“xxx As laid down by jurisprudence, the elements of Estafa by means of deceit under Article 315, Paragraph 2(a) of the RPC are as follows:

“(1) That there must be a false pretense or fraudulent representation as to the offender’s power, Influence, Qualifications, Property, credit, agency, business, or imaginary transactions;

“(2) That such false pretense or fraudulent representation was made or executed prior to or simultaneously with the commission of the fraud;

“(3) That the offended party relied on the false pretense, fraudulent act, or fraudulent means and was induced to part with his money or property; and

“(4) That, as a result thereof, the offended party suffered damage.

“The first and second elements are already extant from the records. Anent the third and fourth elements, the CA succinctly concluded the same in the following manner:

“Convinced of [Arriola]’s authority to sell the subject property, [Del Rosario] was induced by [Arriola]’s false pretenses to continue with the sale transaction though she had never met Candelaria personally. [Del Rosario] trusted [Arriola], prompting her to part with her money. She also signed the Deed of Absolute Sale, secure in the belief that she was engaged in an honest deal brokered by appellant on behalf of his principal, Candelaria.

“As a result of the fraudulent transaction, [Del Rosario] lost a total amount of P437,000.00. x x x

Case law instructs that “the gravamen of the [crime of Estafa] is the employment of fraud or deceit to the damage or prejudice of another.” With the foregoing, Arriola’s actuations toward Del Rosario snugly encapsulated this description.” (Emphasis Ours)

As provided in the aforementioned jurisprudence, the gravamen of the crime of Estafa is the employment of fraud or deceit. Particularly, in Art. 315 par. 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code, the false pretense or false representation must relate to the offender’s power, influence, qualification, PROPERTY, credit, agency, business, or imaginary transactions.

As provided in the aforementioned jurisprudence, the gravamen of the crime of Estafa is the employment of fraud or deceit. Particularly, in Art. 315 par. 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code, the false pretense or false representation must relate to the OFFENDER’S POWER, influence, qualification, property, credit, agency, business, or imaginary transactions. Similar to the case above, the fraudulent representation happened in your case when the purported representative presented what appears to be a false authorization and presented himself as authorized to conduct the sale. Moreover, it was this fraudulent representation which induced you to proceed with the sale and part with your money. It goes without saying that if he had not presented the purported authorization letter, you would not have entered into the sale transaction and paid the purchase price. All these eventually led you to suffer damages in the amount equivalent to the purchase price you paid. Thus, Art. 315 par. 2 (a) applies. YOU MAY file A CASE FOR ESTAFA AGAINST the person who sold the land to you.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.