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Philippine Law Updates
Philippine Law Updates is a podcast about relevant Philippine laws and jurisprudence compiled by Amicus Juris Production, a group of volunteer lawyers and law students based in Iloilo City and the Ilonggo Volunteer Lawyers (IVL).
Philippine Law Updates
SONIA BALAGTAS, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT. [ G.R. No. 257483, October 30, 2024 ]
In summary, given the prosecution's inability to prove that Balagtas enjoyed the higher degree of confidence of Visatech, her conviction for the crime of theft cannot be aggravated to qualified theft. The failure to establish this element renders the prosecution's case insufficient to justify a more severe penalty.
Even if a relationship of confidence had been established—which it was not—the prosecution's failure to separately prove the gravity of Balagtas's exploitation of this trust would similarly render the conviction for qualified theft tenuous.
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