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correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum (i.e., from 4 years, 2 months, and 1
day to 8 years). Under the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the minimum term shall be
within the range of the penalty next lower to that prescribed by the Revised Penal
Code, or anywhere within prision correccional minimum and medium (i.e., from 6
months and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months).[31] Consequently, the minimum terms in
Criminal Case Nos. 03-0123, 03-127, and 03-0130 were correctly fixed by the RTC, and
affirmed by the Court of Appeals, at 2 years and 4 months of prision correccional.
The maximum term under the Indeterminate Sentence Law shall be that which, in view
of attending circumstances, could be properly imposed under the rules of the Revised
Penal Code.
To compute the minimum, medium, and maximum periods of the
prescribed penalty for estafa when the amount of fraud exceeds P12,000.00, the time
included in prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum shall be divided
into three equal portions, with each portion forming a period.
Following this
computation, the minimum period for prision correccional maximum to prision mayor
minimum is from 4 years, 2 months, and 1 day to 5 years, 5 months, and 10 days; the
medium period is from 5 years, 5 months, and 11 days to 6 years, 8 months, and 20
days; and the maximum period is from 6 years, 8 months, and 21 days to 8 years.
Any incremental penalty (i.e., one year for every P10,000.00 in excess of P22,000.00)
shall thus be added to anywhere from 6 years, 8 months, and 21 days to 8 years, at
the discretion of the court, provided that the total penalty does not exceed 20 years.
[32]
In Criminal Case Nos. 03-0123, 03-127, and 03-0130, the maximum term shall be
taken from the maximum period of the prescribed penalty, which is 6 years, 8 months,
and 21 days to 8 years. The Court of Appeals fixed the maximum term at 8 years.
But then, since private complainants were defrauded in the amounts exceeding
P22,000.00, incremental penalty shall be imposed upon appellant, determined as
follows:
Criminal Case
No.
(Private
Complainant)
03-0123
(De Guzman)
03-0127
(Decena)
03-130
(Poserio)
Amount
Defrauded
P80,000.00
Difference
After
Subtracting
P22,000.00
P58,000.00
Quotient
Incremental
After
Penalty[33]
Dividing by
P10,000.00
5.8
5 years
P35,000.00
P13,000.00
1.3
1 year
P70,000.00
P48,000.00
4.8
4 years
The incremental penalty shall be added to the maximum term of 8 years fixed by the
Court of Appeals. Thus, we agree with the Court of Appeals in imposing the maximum
penalty in Criminal Case No. 03-0123 at thirteen (13) years of reclusion temporal; in
Criminal Case No. 03-0127 at nine (9) years of prision mayor; and in Criminal Case No.
03-0130 at twelve (12) years of prision mayor.
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