People vs. Banez (para.

4)

Facts: Accused is a trainee/draftee of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Fully

suited, he drunk with his co-trainee, and then later on fired his gun to the
deceased.

Issue: Whether or not the acts of the accused committed with abuse of confidence
or obvious ungratefulness.

Ruling: No. The acts of the accused were not committed with abuse of confidence
or obvious ungratefulness.

The Court ruled that the abuse of confidence cannot be inferred from the
mere fact that an army draftee who was allowed on board a vehicle later on fired
his gun at its occupants.

In order that abuse of confidence be deemed as aggravating, it is

necessary that “there exists a relation of trust and confidence between the accused
and one against whom the crime was committed and the accused made use of such
a relationship to commit the crime.” (People vs. Comendador, 100 SCRA 155, 172).
It is also essential that the confidence between the parties must be immediate and
personal such as would give that accused some advantage or make it easier for him
to commit the crime; that such confidence was a means of facilitating the
commission of the crime, the culprit taking advantage of the offended party’s belief
that the former would not abuse said confidence (People vs. Hanasan, 29 SCRA
534).

In the instant case, there is absolutely no showing of any personal or

immediate relationship upon which confidence might rest between the victims and
the assailants who had just met each other then. Consequently, no confidence and
abuse thereof could have facilitated the crimes.

Similarly, there could have been no obvious ungratefulness in the

commission of the crime for the simple reason that the requisite trust of the victims
upon the accused prior to the criminal act and the breach thereof as contemplated
under Article 14, par, 4 of the Revised Penal Code are manifestly lacking or non-
existent. In all likelihood, the accused Army men in their uniforms and holding their
high-powered firearms cowed the victims into boarding their jeep for a ride at
machine gun point which certainly is no source of gratefulness or appreciation.

There is no obvious ungratefulness from the mere fact that an army draftee
who was allowed to hitch a ride in a jeep shot its occupants.
 People vs. Arrojado (para. 4)

Facts: Accused and the victim are first cousins. The former lived with the victim to
help care for the victim’s father who suffered stroke.

The victim feared the accused, thus she entrusted her jewelry to one Erlinda
but her fear melt away by allowing the accused sleep in the same room with her
father and leaving the doors unlocked.

Issue: Whether or not there is an abuse of confidence in this case contemplated

under Article 14, para. 4 of the Revised Penal Code.

Ruling: Yes. There is an abuse of confidence in this case contemplated under

Article 14, para. 4 of the Revised Penal Code.

The Court held that for this aggravating circumstance to exist, it is essential
to show that the confidence between the parties must be immediate and personal
such as would give the accused some advantage or make it easier for him to
commit the criminal act. The confidence must be a means of facilitating the
commission of the crime, the culprit taking advantage of the offended party’s belief
that the former would not abuse said confidence.

In this case, while the victim may have intimated her fear for her safety for
which reason she entrusted her jewelry and bank book to Erlinda Arrojado
Magdaluyo, her fears were subsequently allayed as shown by the fact that she took
back her personal effects from Erlinda. Thinking that accused-appellant would not
do her any harm, because he was after all her first cousin, the victim allowed
accused-appellant to sleep in the same room with her father and left the bedroom
doors unlocked.