FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 238096. June 25, 2018.]
TERESA RAPIO, petitioner,vs. COURT OF APPEALS, PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND HEIRS OF CORAZON SAMONTE, REPRESENTED BY JOCELYN S. DELA FUENTE, respondents.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedJune 25, 2018which reads as follows: HTcADC
"G.R. No. 238096 (Teresa Rapio v. Court of Appeals, People of the Philippines, and Heirs of Corazon Samonte, represented by Jocelyn S. Dela Fuente). — After review of the records, the Court resolves to DISMISS the petition. Petitioner availed of the wrong remedy by filing a petition for certiorari before the Court instead of appealing the Decision of the Court of Appeals (CA). A petition for certiorari is not a substitute for a lost appeal.
In any event, the petition failed to sufficiently show that the CA committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it issued the Decision dated June 15, 2017 and the Resolution dated January 10, 2018 in CA-G.R. CR No. 36335 upholding petitioner's conviction for the complex crime of estafa thru falsification of public document. It is a fundamental rule that the trial court's factual findings, especially its assessment of the credibility of witnesses, are accorded great weight and respect, and deemed binding upon this Court, particularly when affirmed by the CA. 1 It was proven during trial that petitioner misrepresented herself to have the authority to enter into loans on behalf of several teachers and staff of Pio Del Pilar National High School by presenting to Corazon Samonte (Corazon) Special Power of Attorneys purported to be executed by these loan applicants, and it was precisely this misrepresentation that convinced Corazon to accommodate the loans and release the proceeds to petitioner.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED.
SO ORDERED." Leonardo-de Castro, J., on official leave; Del Castillo, J., designated as Acting Chairperson of the First Division per Special Order No. 2562 dated June 20, 2018; Gesmundo, J., designated as Acting Member per Special Order No. 2560 dated May 11, 2018.
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENAActing Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.People v. Delen, G.R. No. 194446, April 21, 2014, 722 SCRA 334, 344.