Republic of the Philippines

Department of Justice
National Prosecution Service
OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL PROSECUTOR
Cauayan City, Isabela

NEW HOPE ISABELA AGRICULTURE INC.

Represented by: RG KIER VALDEZ,
Complainant/s,

NPS DOCKET NO. II-04-

INV-20J-01334
-versus- FOR: ESTAFA

VALENTINO PAGGAO,
DOMINIC LAURENCIANO and
NIEVES PICIO
Respondents.
X--------------------------------------------------------X

COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT

I, VALENTINO M. PAGGAO, of legal age, married, Filipino citizen, and

with postal address in Barangay Cutog-Grande, Reina Mercedes, Isabela,
in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that:

1. I am the same person executing this affidavit;

2. I am the respondent in a criminal complaint docketed as NPS

DOCKET NO. II-04-INV-20J-01334 now pending before the
Honorable Office of the Provincial Prosecutor, Cauayan City, Isabela;

3. I received a Subpoena from this Honorable Office on 03 December

2020 requiring me to submit Counter-Affidavit and other supporting
documents within ten (10) days from receipt of the same, or until 13
December 2020. Since 13 December 2020 falls on a Sunday, then
under the rules the undersigned have until the next working day or
until 14 December 2020. Hence, this Counter-Affidavit is timely filed;

4. I strongly and vehemently deny the allegations of the private

complainant in his sworn Complaint-Affidavit, for being mere
fabrications full of lies. The truth of the matter are as follows:
 4.1. It is true that I, Valentino M. Paggao, was
the former Assistant Sales Manager of the
Complainant. As a former Assistant Sales Manager, I
was the person responsible in meeting the sales quota
of the corporation. I was in-charge in the marketing
and looking for qualified person to enter into a Broiler
Feeding Cooperation to increase the sale and
production of the aforesaid corporation;

4.2. However, being an Assistant Sales

Manager, my authority was only to the extent of
recommending possible persons to be a contract
broiler of the corporation. The final approval for
qualified contract broiler will still come from the
General Manager. I will just submit the documentary
requirements given by those whom I recruited to avail
as contract broiler which is to be reviewed and studied
by the Manager to attest their qualifications;

4.3. Eventually, somewhat in October 2019, I

encouraged Nieves Picio and Dominic Laurenciano to
increase and expand their farm production by creating
an additional account as contract broilers of New Hope
Isabela Agriculture, Inc. because I learned that the
breeding area of Dominic was left empty and unused.
On the other hand, since Dominic had an existing and
unsettled account in New Hope Isabela Agriculture,
Inc., Nieves and Dominic entered into an internal
agreement. It was agreed upon by Nieves and
Dominic that they will just use the name of Nieves to
process the application, but the livestock shall be
brought to the breeding area of Dominic and it will be
him who will manage;

4.4. Having trusted Nieves and Dominic for they

have been our clients for a long time, I agreed with
their plan. I advised them then to submit all the
necessary requirements needed by Nieves in applying
for an account. I also reminded Nieves to prepare for a
deposit of a qualified land title or an amount of Ten
Pesos (Php 10.00) per bird to be given to New Hope
Isabela Agriculture Inc. as a security before signing the
contract agreement if ever she was qualified;
 4.5. After submitting all the requirements (filled-
out account application form, duly accomplished feeds
terms application, bank account deposit record list,
Bureau of Internal Revenue Permit, Mayor’s Permit,
Farm Rent Contract or other Business Permit, Two
Valid Government Issued Identification Cards,
Certificate of Good Standing and Letter of
Authorization of Feeds Receiver), I then submitted
Nieves’s documents to the General Manager for
evaluation. Fortunately, Nieves was evaluated by the
General Manager to be qualified as contract
broiler. Hence, I told to Nieves to prepare her security
deposit upon signing the agreement between her and
the corporation;

4.6. It was on 6 November 2019 when New

Hope Isabela Agriculture Inc., represented by its
General Manager, Li Yu, and Nieves C. Picio,
executed a Conventional Broiler Farm Agreement
where it contained the terms and conditions of the
Broiler Feeding Cooperation Contract wherein Nieves
will manage the broiler farming with the corresponding
equipment and facilities and the Day Old Chicks
(DOC), feeds and vaccine shall be provided by New
Hope Isabela Agriculture, Inc. A copy of the Broiler
Feeding Cooperation Contract is hereby attached and
marked as Annex “1” and made an integral part
hereof;

4.7. Accordingly, Nieves gave a Certificate of

Title of a lot as a security for the contract she entered
between New Hope Isabela Agriculture Inc.;

4.8. Upon execution of the contract, the Day Old

Chicks (DOC), feeds and vaccines were provided by
New Hope Isabela Agriculture, Inc. and duly delivered
to Nieves and Dominic. The aforesaid livestock and
feeds supply were then turned-over personally by
Nieves to Dominic. It was Dominic who took charge in
managing the broiler breeding;

4.9. In the sudden turn of events, Dominic was not

able to successfully breed all the livestock which
were under his care and management. The broilers,
starting from day 1, slowly died one by one.
According to the technician of New Hope Agriculture
Isabela Inc., the delivered Day Old Chicks were not
physically fit, that was the reason why there was in
increased and massive mortality rate day by day. A
copy of the pictures of the dead broilers and Form
Monitoring Record from the technician are hereby
attached and marked as Annex “2”, “2-A”, “2-B”,
“2-C”, “2-D”, “2-E”, “2-F”, “2-G”, “2-H”, “2-I”, “2-
J”, “2-K”, “2-L”, “2-M”, “2-N” and “3” respectively,
and made an integral part hereof;

4.10. Due to this very unfortunate incident, the

harvest was not profitable. After the harvest broilers
were sold, it turned out that the management incurred
losses and shall pay the penalty as stated in the
Feeding Convertion Ratio. A copy of the Feeding
Convertion Ratio for the computation of Penalty is
hereby attached herewith and marked as Annex “4”
and made an integral part hereof;

4.11. Thereafter, a billing statement was

presented by the corporation containing the
computation of the penalty that Nieves was required to
pay. A copy of the computation of penalty is hereby
attached and marked as Annex “5” and made an
integral part hereof;

4.12. Meanwhile, due to the upsurge of Corona

Virus Disease (COViD19), I was forced to resign in the
aforesaid corporation by the end of July 2020. New
Hope Isabela Agriculture, Inc. was not giving the
benefits which I was entitled to in my contract of
employment like my monthly salary, meal allowance,
position allowance and my 13th month pay. At the
same time, I also filed a labor case at the National
Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Regional
Arbitration Branch 2, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
against New hope Isabela Agriculture Inc. to collect
the aforesaid payment of benefits I was entitled to. A
copy of the NLRC complaint is hereby attached and
marked as Annex “6” and made an integral part
hereof;

4.13. Hence, I still cannot believe from the time I

received a subpoena requiring me to submit my
 Counter-Affidavit to answer the criminal complaint for
the crime of Estafa under Article 315, paragraph 2 (a)
of the Revised Penal Code filed by New Hope Isabela
Agriculture, Inc.;

5. In sustaining a conviction for Estafa under Article 315, paragraph 2

(a) of the Revised Penal Code, the following elements must concur:

(a) That there must be a false pretense or fraudulent

representation as to his power, influence, qualifications,
property, credit, agency, business or imaginary transactions;

(b) that such false pretense or fraudulent representation was

made or executed prior to or simultaneously with the
commission of the fraud;

(c) that the offended party relied on the false pretense,

fraudulent act, or fraudulent means and was induced to part
with his money or property; and

(d) that, as a result thereof, the offended party suffered

damage.

In the case of Maria C. Osorio vs People of the Philippines, G.R. No.

207711, the Supreme Court explained that there are different modalities of
committing the crime of estafa under Article 315(2)(a). The false pretense
or fraudulent representation referred to under the first element exists when
the accused uses a fictitious name, pretends to possess power, influence,
qualifications, property, credit, agency, business, or imaginary transactions,
or when the accused commits other similar deceits;

In the case at bar, there is no showing that the first element is present.
There is no evidence to prove that I committed any of these acts at the time
the application of Nieves was sent to the General Manager for approval;

In fact, a perusal from the records will reveal that Nieves was not a fictitious
person, Nieves Picio really did exist and the application which I
recommended for approval was legitimate. Nieves was able to show
competent evidence of identity by showing her identifying card issued by
the government and all her valid business permits. She was able to comply
all the requisites for contract broiling and she had a Certificate of Title
which she used as a security upon approval of the contract. Nieves also did
not pretend to have possessed all these qualifications because she is more
than qualified to become a contract broiler;
 All the more that this was not an imaginary transaction, because there was
a valid and legitimate transaction. At the time the contract was approved,
the old chicks were delivered to Nieves and these were duly sent to
Dominic’s farm for raising. Even up to the last time that Nieves was
ajudged by New Hope Isabela Agriculture Inc. to pay for the penalty due to
its losses, still the liability was acknowledged by Nieves and Dominic. And
they never denied this fact and tried to negotiate to the aforesaid
corporation as to the terms of payment of the obligation;

According to my judgment there is no reason for me not to recommend

Nieves because aside from being a qualified applicant, she had been with
the corporation for a couple of time and there was no record to show
evidencing any incompetence, malice or bad faith on her part;

6. Furthermore, I never employed deceit in order to induce

complainant to part with its property and eventually agreed to enter into a
Conventional Broiler Farm Agreement with Nieves. Based from the
complaint, it was alleged that I recommended Nieves as qualified contract
broiler. Yes, I admit that I recommended her because from my judgment as
an Assistant Sales Manager, she was qualified and it had been one of my
duties to look for contract broilers to increase the sales and production of the
corporation;

Moreover, I would like to stress the fact that my authority was only to the
extent of recommending possible persons to become a contract broiler of
the corporation. The final approval for qualified contract broiler will still come
from the General Manager. Hence, it is then correct to say that all contracts,
involving those contract broilers that I have recruited, made and entered into
by New Hope Isabela Agriculture Inc., are done within the knowledge and
acquiescence of the corporation. Therefore, I am not personally
responsible to whatever liabilities that may arise as violation by the contract
broiler since I was not engaged in a self-dealing transaction;

After personally collating the requirements of the applicant, I submitted the

same to the General Manager for further evaluation and my job as an
assistant already ended there. I do not have any moral ascendancy to
influence or coerce the General Manager to approve any application. It is
then the General Manager who is in the position to further attest and screen
the applicants that I have recommended. According to the complainant,
Nieves was not qualified as contract broiler. If this assertion was all true,
then why is it that they still approved her application. In fact, I was NOT
EVEN A SIGNATORY of the involved contract, it was the General
Manager, Li Yu, who represented the corporation in the said
transaction;
Assuming, for the sake of argument, that the corporation was induced to
believe that Nieves was qualified due to my recommendation, there was
already an implied ratification by the corporation’s acceptance or retention of
benefits at the time the day-old-chicks were sold upon their maturity.
According to the complaint, and I quote:

14. The day-old chickens were SOLD WITH A PROCEED OF PHP

1,505,159.97 upon their maturity;

A copy of the complaint-affidavit, paragraph 14 is hereby attached and

marked as Annex “7” and made an integral part hereof;

This already came from the complainant itself that it accepted and retained
the proceeds of the sale of the chickens. Assuming that they were induced
by my recommendation, they are already barred to invoke the same
because they have received the initial proceeds of the sale;

This is actually of form of harassment against me, because instead of

enforcing the penalty clause in the Conventional Broiler Farm Agreement,
the corporation ran after me to answer for the liability of the involved party. I
never even benefited in the contract involved, so why should I answer for the
penalty of Nieves and Dominic as to the losses they have incurred. If I will
be held to answer for their liability, then it will be a case of unjust enrichment
under Article 22 of the Civil Code;

7. As to the last element of the felony, yes the complainant suffered

damage. But it is noteworthy that not all kinds of damage can be classified
as an element of estafa. The damage suffered by the complainant can be
compensated by enforcing the penalty clause of the Conventional Farm
Agreement. According to the said agreement, to wit:

XXX

Other Agreement:

1. In order to ensure the implementation of this contract, Party B should

deposit qualified land title or an amount of 10 pesos per bird to Party A
before signing the contract agreement.

During the implementation of this contract, in case of any BREACH

CAUSED BY PARTY B, Party A may DEDUCT THE DEPOSIT CAPITAL
OF PARTY B. and within 3 days, Party B should redeposit as required
capital again. Otherwise, Party A has the right to terminate this contract.

XXX

According to the complaint, it was alleged by the complainant that Nieves

had an outstanding obligation or an unpaid balance amounting to Two
Hundred Six Thousand Five Hundred Fifty-Seven Pesos and Ninety-
Six Centavos (Php 206,557.96) Philippine Currency. If this is really true
that the aforesaid corporation was not able to collect from Nieves and
Dominic despite several demands, then why can they not enforce the
penalty clause of the contract. Anyway a security deposit, in the form of a
Certificate of Title was given by Nieves. So why can they not enforce the
security as a form of payment of penalty by Nieves.

Running after me was a desperate move by the complainant. This situation

is a manifestation of their ill-motive as a form of counter-attack due to my
resignation and filing of labor case against them.

8. I am executing this counter-affidavit for all legal intents and purposes

and to attest to the truthfulness and veracity of the foregoing statements;

9. I am executing this counter-affidavit freely and voluntarily without

being forced, intimidated or otherwise coerced or anything that vitiates my
free act and deed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have here unto set my hand this 11 th day

of December 2020 at Santiago City.

VALENTINO M. PAGGAO
Respondent-Affiant
Driver’s License B02-00-050802

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 11th day of December

2020 at Santiago City. I hereby certify that I have personally examined the
affiant and I am convinced that he personally executed and understood the
contents of his counter-affidavit.

Doc. No. ______

Page No. ______
Book No. ______
Series No. _____

Copy Furnished by Registered Mail:

NEW HOPE ISABELA AGRICULTURE, INC.

Mambabanga, Luna, Isabela
Copy Furnished by Registered Mail:

NEW HOPE ISABELA AGRICULTURE, INC.

Mambabanga, Luna, Isabela

EXPLANATION

This Counter-Affidavit by the undersigned was sent to the Complainant

via registered mail due to lack of manpower to effect personal service since
I have to attend to an equally important work.

VALENTINO M. PAGGAO
Respondent