BP 22

HI Atty,

Can you please help me with my current situation.
I have a business with a supplier who I issued
PDC's. I missed payments dated june 30
and july 15 because my agent/seller said she was
scammed and will not be paying me until Aug 30.
The June 30 PDC's that bounced was replaced with
another check. When July 15 due came and still
no funds on my checking account, I had no choice
but to close the account. PDC's will run until
Dec. 30, 2010 amounting to 2.5M pesis. Until now
I am still in contact with my supplier. We have
not come face to face to discuss plans on how to
pay for the future dues. My agent have the
intention to pay. She is asking for more time. My
supplier and agent does not know each other. The
cheques are all other my wife's name and mine.

Questions:

1. I know I may be sued under BP22 for the
bounced cheques but can they sue me for the other
PDCs dated aug-dec(account is already close)?

2. Me and my agent are willing to pay and will
enter into an amicable settlement. How can go
about this to prevent a law suit?

3. Can we go to jail for this?

1) yes, they can still try to deposit them and if they do not clear, you can still be liable.

2) draw up your agreement in writing and make sure it has a clause that this replaces your previous obligations and there is a waiver of rights for the previous checks.

3) If you are unable to pay or draw up a compromise, then your supplier has the right to institute criminal proceedings against you. jail is a possibility unless the court applies the current doctrine that a fine is preferred to jail time for bp 22. good luck.

hi atty..
id like to ask advise on my situation... i lent my live in partner 10 checks amounting to 10k each monthly for payment of a machine which his client asked for him to sell, 5 of which have been funded and the rest have not been funded due to closure of my account. Now his client is asking me to pay the balance in a month. i have been summon by the barangay but we werent able to settle the matter coz they want me to pay it in a months time. I have asked them for three months though im not one of the contracting partner and they know i just accomodated request of my partner to issue check for the machine. what advise can you give me now that they have already been isssued by the barangay cfa. hope you could enlighten me.

waterbelle, an accommodation check can still lead to a valid complaint of bp 22. where is your live-in partner now? maybe best to re-sell the machine and use the proceeds to pay off the debt. otherwise, just try your best to re-negotiate some other deal.

the good news is that the supreme court has issued a directive that if circumstances warrant, a fine is better than imprisonment for bp22 cases.

the bad news is that issuing bad checks for purchase of goods or services is considered estafa, but I don't believe it will prosper because some of the checks cleared.

i recommend re-negotiating some form of payment scheme. if you are unable to pay, then at least you've novated your obligation to a mere debt and it will be impossible for an estafa case to prosper.