SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 232763. January 8, 2018.]
EDUARDO N. VICENTE, petitioner,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 08 January 2018 which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 232763 (Eduardo N. Vicente v. People of the Philippines)
After a judicious study of the case, the Court resolves to DENY the instant petition and AFFIRM with MODIFICATION the April 19, 2017 Decision 1 and July 5, 2017 Resolution 2 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No. 35559 finding petitioner Eduardo N. Vicente (petitioner) GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Perjury, as defined and penalized under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, sentencing him to suffer the indeterminate imprisonment of three (3) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to one (1) year and eight (8) months of prision correccional, as maximum.
As correctly ruled by the CA, the prosecution had sufficiently established the essential elements of the crime of Perjury, 3 considering that: (a) in executing his verified petition for disbarment against private complainant Atty. Jose Aliling IV (Atty. Aliling), petitioner made statements under oath upon a material matter, i.e., the latter's alleged acts of legal malpractice; (b) the statements were made before a notary public, an officer duly authorized to receive and administer oaths; (c) such statements were deliberate assertions of falsehoods as Atty. Aliling did not influence the sheriffs of the Regional Trial Court of Pasig City (RTC-Pasig) in levying upon and thereafter selling petitioner's properties at public auction; (d) in fact, such acts were pursuant to the RTC-Pasig's writ of execution in Civil Case No. 66003; and (e) the false statements were made for a legal purpose as the filing of petitions for disbarment by private individuals have to be made under oath. It is settled that factual findings of the trial court, especially when affirmed by the CA, deserve great weight and respect, unless there are facts of weight and substance that were overlooked or misinterpreted and that would materially affect the disposition of the case, 4 which do not obtain herein.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
MA. LOURDES C. PERFECTODivision Clerk of Court
By:
(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 40-54. Penned by Associate Justice Nina G. Antonio-Valenzuela with Associate Justices Jose C. Reyes, Jr. and Stephen C. Cruz concurring.
2.Id. at 37-38.
3. "The elements of perjury under Article 183 [of the RPC] are: (a) that the accused made a statement under oath or executed an affidavit upon a material matter; (b) that the statement or affidavit was made before a competent officer, authorized to receive and administer oath; (c) that in the statement or affidavit, the accused made a willful and deliberate assertion of a falsehood; and (d) that the sworn statement or affidavit containing the falsity is required by law or made for a legal purpose." Union Bank of the Philippines v. People, 683 Phil. 108, 117 (2012); citation omitted.
4. See Almojuela v. People, 734 Phil. 636, 651 (2014); citations omitted.