G. R. No. 178337 16 of 21 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2009/june2009/178337.htm Australia. In the end, Biacora was neither able to leave for work overseas nor did he get his money back, thus causing him damage and prejudice. Hence, the conviction of petitioner Ritualo of the crime of estafa should be upheld. While this Court affirms the conviction of the petitioner Ritualo for estafa, we find, however, that both the trial court and the appellate court erroneously computed the penalty of the crime. The amount of which the private complainant, Biacora, was defrauded was Eighty Thousand Pesos (P80,000.00) and not merely Sixty Six Thousand Pesos (P66,000.00). Under the Revised Penal Code, an accused found guilty of estafa shall be sentenced to: Art. 315. Swindling (estafa). Any person who shall defraud another by any of the means mentioned herein below shall be punished by: 1st. The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period to prision mayor in its minimum period, if the amount of the fraud is over 12,000 pesos but does not exceed 22,000 pesos, and if such amount exceeds the latter sum, the penalty provided in this paragraph shall be imposed in its maximum period, adding one year for each additional 10,000 pesos; but the total penalty which may be imposed shall not exceed twenty years. In such cases, and in connection with the accessory penalties which may be imposed under the provisions of this Code, the penalty shall be termed prision mayor or reclusion temporal, as the case may be. 2nd. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods, if the amount of the fraud is over 6,000 pesos but does not exceed 12,000 pesos; 3rd. The penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its minimum period if such amount is over 200 pesos but does not exceed 6,000 pesos; and 4th. By arresto mayor in its maximum period, if such amount does not exceed 200 pesos, x x x. Computing the penalty for the crime of Estafa based on the above-quoted provision, the proper penalty to be imposed upon petitioner Ritualo is the maximum term of prision correccional maximum to prision mayor minimum as mandated by Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code. But considering that the amount defrauded exceeded Twenty-Two Thousand Pesos (P22,000.00), per the same provision, the prescribed penalty is not only imposed in its maximum period, but there is imposed an incremental penalty of one (1) year imprisonment for every Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) in excess of the cap of 1/28/2016 11:03 AM