Office Of Solicitor General Files MR On Falsification Case

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has filed a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) regarding the Court of Appeals’ decision to set aside the conviction for falsification of a document issued by the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of Trece Martires City, Cavite, and later affirmed by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of the Fourth Judicial Region.

The CA stated that the Prosecution failed to prove the second and third elements of the crime of Falsification of a Public Document under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code. I Photo: Supreme Court - Court. of Appeals

The conviction was against Rolando Benitez y Belamide, who was charged in connection with a Deed of Donation supposedly made by his mother—who had already been deceased for six years at the time the donation was executed.

In its Omnibus Motion for Reconsideration and Leave to Present Evidence before the CA's Fourth Division, the OSG argued that the prosecution had successfully presented the original Deed of Absolute Sale in the criminal case against Benitez.

The OSG further asserted that the copy of the Deed of Donation submitted before the MTC in Trece Martires was admissible as an official record under the Revised Rules of Evidence governing the courts.

However, the CA's Fourth Division reversed and set aside the Judgment dated October 6, 2023, and the Order dated January 5, 2024, which had convicted Benitez of falsifying public documents.

The reversal was made on the basis of reasonable doubt. The decision, penned by Associate Justice Louis P. Acosta and concurred in by Associate Justices Marlene Gonzales-Sison and Rex Bernardo Pascual, stated that the original document allegedly proving the falsification of the Deed of Donation for a parcel of land was not presented in court.

"Insofar as the copies of the instruments presented by the Prosecution should not have been admitted as evidence of their contents, as they were not the originals, this Court is of the opinion that the MTCC could not be considered to have made a definitive finding regarding the existence of any forgery with respect to said instruments."

As a result, the CA ruled that there was reasonable doubt regarding the existence of forgery in relation to the Deed of Donation and the Deed of Absolute Sale. This uncertainty led to Rolando Benitez’s acquittal.

Additionally, the CA stated that the Prosecution failed to prove the second and third elements of the crime of Falsification of a Public Document under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code.

In its filing last month, the OSG reiterated that the Prosecution had presented the original Deed of Absolute Sale in the criminal case against Benitez.

The OSG also cited court records and requested the CA to review the Transcript of Stenographic Notes from the proceedings before the Municipal Trial Court of Trece Martires City.

Judge Jaclyn Vicente of the MTC had found Rolando Benitez guilty of falsification of a public document, a decision later affirmed by Presiding Judge Jean Desuasido-Gil of the RTC.

According to Judge Vicente’s decision, Rolando Benitez "willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously prepared and/or caused to be prepared a document", specifically a Deed of Absolute Sale executed in 2016 and notarized.

The document falsely appeared to have been executed and signed by Rosa Belamide-Benitez, when in reality, Benitez was aware that his mother had already died on December 28, 2010.

Court records confirm that Rosa Belamide-Benitez was the mother of Rolando Belamide Benitez.