Dagupan couple sued for bouncing checks

The Quezon City prosecutor’s office has found sufficient cause to recommend the filing of criminal charges for alleged violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, also known as the Bouncing Check Law, against a Dagupan City-based businessman and his wife.

Assistant city prosecutor Raniel Cruz charged businessman Alfredo Quinto Sr. with seven counts of violation of the Bouncing Check Law, which has been criminalized by BP 22, and his wife, Placida, with two counts of the same violation.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Photokina Marketing Corp. after the Quinto couple issued the company unfounded checks as payment for various photographic supplies and merchandise, photographic processing equipment and other technical services totaling P23.03 million.

The Quintos are engaged in the photo imaging business under the name "Fred Photo" in Dagupan City, Pangasinan. They received the Photokina supplies from 2000 until the filing of the complaint.

According to lawyer Raymond Palad, Photokina assistant vice president for legal, banks returned unpaid several postdated checks issued by the Quinto couple because they were "drawn against insufficient funds" or against an "account closed."

In a five-page resolution, Cruz said, "Settled is the rule that violation of BP 22 is already committed when a maker or drawer issues a worthless check regardless of whether or not the said check (was) later replaced" which, in this case, was not.

He added that the replacement of a bounced check does not absolve the guilt or liability of the issuer, more so when the replacement check is also dishonored.

The law punishes the issuer of a bad check for the act of making and issuing a check that is dishonored upon its presentation for payment.

Cruz recommended a P30,000 bail for each count of violation of BP 22 or a total of P270,000 for the nine counts.

If found guilty, the Quinto couple could be sentenced to several years in jail, aside from the payment of their obligations to Photokina.

The complaints were docketed as Criminal Case Nos. 118136 to 118144 and were assigned to the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 33 in Quezon City.