Businessman In Iloilo City Convicted By Court Over Estafa
ILOILO CITY – A businessman in Iloilo City was recently convicted by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) over the crime of estafa.
According to Panay News, the suspect, identified as Bernie G. Miaque, were sentenced to suffer the penalty of eight years and one day of prision mayor as minimum to 20 years of reclusion temporal as maximum by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28.
“(Miaque) is also ordered to pay the private complainant Taytay sa Kauswagan, Inc. (TSKI) the sum of P1,600,000 plus interest at the legal rate of 12 percent per annum until the amount is fully paid with said interest accruing at the time the Information was filed,”
The decision was made on April 14, 2020 and was penned by Acting Presiding Judge Jose Mauricio E. Gomez but the parties concerned learned about it recently.
The conviction was based from a sale transaction he made with TSKI via its Executive Director Angel L. de Leon on September 2004. Miaque sold a Nissan Patrol wagon type to de Leon.
There was no written Deed of Absolute Sale or Contract to Sell that was made in favor of TSKI or De Leon. However, there were check vouchers amounting to P1.6 million which represents payments to Miaque for the said vehicle.
TSKI accused accused Miaque of “using false pretenses” and “employing fraudulent means” to sell the said vehicle by representing himself to be the lawful owner”, and claimed that the vehicle was “free from all liens and encumbrances” when the motor vehicle was actually “encumbered in favor of BASECO Finance Corporation.”.
The suspect, who is the publisher of the defunct Daily Informer, denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty and testified that on January 2005, a court sheriff went to his office to get the vehicle and was told that the vehicle was mortgaged to BASECO Finance Corporation but that Miaque was not able to pay his obligation.
Based on the report, Miaque’s arguments was not given any credence and ruled that “false pretense” was employed to deceive TSKI.
The vehicle in question was also falsely represented as free from encumbrances when in fact it was encumbered in favor of BASECO.
“Second, to induce De Leon/TSKI to purchase the said vehicle, Miaque gave him a CR and an OR without any entry of encumbrance on the space provided for such entry,”
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