Issuing checks in violation of BP 22

Issuing checks in violation of BP 22 "I issued a check in the amount of P150,000 as payment for the sacks of rice that I bought from our supplier. At that time, my account has sufficient money to cover the check that I issued. However, because of sudden financial difficulty, I withdrew a big part of it such that the check boun­ced when it was encashed by my supplier two weeks after I issued it. Can I be prosecuted for BP 22 even if I can prove that there is enough money in my account when I issued the check? Can I be imprisoned for my act?Val Dear Val,The law applicable in your case is Batas Pambansa (BP) 22, which is commonly known as the Bouncing Checks Law. BP 22 was enacted to put a stop to the proliferation of worthless checks by punishing a person who makes, draws, or issues any check that is subsequently dishonored. BP 22 may be violated in two ways: 1. By making or drawing and issuing any check to apply on account or for value, knowing at the time of issue that he does not have sufficient funds in or credit with the drawee bank for the payment of such check in full presentment, which check is subsequently dishonored by the drawee bank for insufficiency of funds or credit or would have been dishonored for the same reason had not the drawer, without any valid reason, ordered the bank to stop payment.2. Having sufficient funds in or credit with the drawee bank when he makes or draws and issues a check, by failing to keep sufficient funds or to maintain a credit to cover the full amount of the check if presented within a period of 90 days from the date appearing thereon, for which reason it is dishonored by the drawee bank (Section 1, BP 22). Even if you can submit incontrovertible evidence that your account has sufficient funds to cover the amount of P150,000 when you issued the check, you may still be liable for BP 22. The second paragraph of Section 1 of BP 22 punishes the failure of the drawer to keep sufficient funds in the bank or to maintain a credit to cover the full amount of the check.To avoid prosecution under BP 22, you should have maintained sufficient money in your account to cover the whole amount of the check you issued within 90 days from the date appearing on the check. Your act in withdrawing most of your money from your account within the said period compels your drawee bank to dishonor your check when it was presented by your supplier for encashment two weeks after you issued it.Any person who was found to have violated the aforementioned provision may be punished by imprisonment of not less than thirty days but not more than one 1 year or by a fine not less than but not more than double the amount of the check which fine shall in no case exceed two hundred thousand pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court.Finally, we wish to remind you that this opinion is solely based on your narration of facts and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary if other facts are added or elaborated. We hope that we were able to address your concern.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net or via text message (key in: Times dearpao and send to 2299)." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/