FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 220500. December 5, 2018.]
CRISTINA AMPOSTA-MORTEL, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220504. December 5, 2018.]
THERON VICTOR V. LACSON, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220505. December 5, 2018.]
LEO V. PADILLA, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220552. December 5, 2018.]
DANIEL T. DAYAN, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220568. December 5, 2018.]
FRISCO F. SAN JUAN, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220580. December 5, 2018.]
ELPIDIO G. DAMASO, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220587. December 5, 2018.]
JESUSITO D. LEGASPI, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
[G.R. No. 220592. December 5, 2018.]
CARMELITA CHAN, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedDecember 5, 2018which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 220500 (CRISTINA AMPOSTA-MORTEL, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220504 (THERON VICTOR V. LACSON, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220505 (LEO V. PADILLA, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220552 (DANIEL T. DAYAN, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220568 (FRISCO F. SAN JUAN, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220580 (ELPIDIO G. DAMASO, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); G.R. No. 220587 (JESUSITO D. LEGASPI, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent); and G.R. No. 220592 (CARMELITA CHAN, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.) — The petitioner filed a motion to travel abroad dated November 19, 2018 to seek permission to travel to the United States of America (USA) with his family via Korean Airlines in the period from December 19, 2018 to January 21, 2019. He avers that he had been allowed in previous years to travel abroad with his wife and their children to strengthen their family bond and make them closer to each other. He manifests that he and his family intend to depart from the Philippines on December 19, 2017 and enter the USA through the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada; they will stay at the Venetian Hotel, with address at 3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas Nevada 89109, and contact numbers 1-702-4141000 and 1-877-8836423; and that the family will return to the Philippines from said place and arrive in the country on January 21, 2019. He attaches his E-Ticket for the trip (Annex A of the motion).
The petitioner reiterates that he was previously allowed to travel to the USA with his family in the past years; that in all that time he demonstrated that he was not a flight risk by returning promptly each time, often ahead of the scheduled return; and that he always complied with all the conditions prescribed for the travels.
Further, the petitioner impresses that he has every reason to return to the country to directly attend to his business, particularly to complete several pending construction projects in the country; that his company, J.D. Legaspi Construction, is a sole proprietorship that primarily depends on his construction business; that he will not also jeopardize the welfare of his family and his employees who have been dependent on him for their livelihood; and that he has been among the top 15 tax-paying contractors in the country.
The petitioner represents that he has not yet withdrawn the travel bond of P500,000.00 deposited with this Court in connection with his previous authorized travels. He requests that should the Court grant his motion to travel said cash deposit can be considered as his bond to be subject of the condition that he would strictly comply with whatever terms and conditions the Court will prescribe for the travel proposed herein. He also designated Atty. Julieanne R. Jorge-Santos to be his personal agent during his travel to the USA. He attaches the Special Power of Attorney in this regard with the express acceptance of the designate (Annex "C" of the Motion). cSaATC
In the resolution of June 6, 2016, 1 whereby the Court first authorized the foreign travel of the petitioner, the Court noted that he and several of his co-accused had been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan of violating Section 3 (3) of Republic Act No. 3019 under the decision promulgated on February 5, 2015, and meted the indeterminate sentence of six years and one month of imprisonment, as the minimum, to eight years of imprisonment, as the maximum; that the Sandiganbayan had convicted him of conspiring with co-accused Manuel Beriña, Jr. and Jaime Millan in having the Seaside Drive Extension contract awarded to him based on an affidavit he had executed; that he sincerely believed in the justness of his appeal because the affidavit did not support his conviction, firstly, because the State had not offered the affidavit as evidence during the trial, and, secondly, because the affidavit, which concerned the Bay Boulevard contract, was absolutely irrelevant to the Seaside Drive Extension contract to which his conviction related.
The Court observed in the same resolution of June 6, 2016 that the Sandiganbayan had allowed the petitioner and some of his co-accused to travel abroad during their protracted trial that took all of 13 years; and that all who had been allowed to travel abroad had complied with all the conditions strictly prescribed by the Sandiganbayan.
After a judicious review of the petitioner's motion to travel and the accompanying documents, the Court RESOLVES to grant the request of the petitioner to travel to the USA with his family in the inclusive period from December 19, 2018 to January 21, 2019 subject to the following conditions, namely:
a. His existing cash deposit of P500,000.00 shall constitute his travel bond, conditioned upon his compliance with all the conditions herein prescribed, and shall be in addition to the existing bail justifying his provisional liberty;
b. He shall submit a detailed flight and travel itinerary; and,
c. He shall forthwith give written advice to the Court within 24 hours from his return to the country.
WHEREFORE, the Court AUTHORIZES petitioner JESUSITO D. LEGASPI to travel with his family to the United States of America in the inclusive period from December 19, 2018 to January 21, 2019 subject to the conditions stated hereinabove. cHDAIS
SO ORDERED."Hernando, J., designated Additional Member per Special Order No. 2607-C dated December 5, 2018.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, Volume II, pp. 1122-1125.