Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-5272 March 19, 1910
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. AH CHONG,
defendant-appellant.
Gibb & Gale, for appellant. Attorney-General Villamor, for appellee.
CARSON, J.:
The evidence as to many of the essential and vital facts in this case is
limited to the testimony of the accused himself, because fom the vey
natue of these facts and fom the cicumstances suoundin! the incident
upon "hich these poceedin!s est, no othe evidence as to these facts
"as available eithe to the posecution o to the defense. #e thin$,
ho"eve, that, !ivin! the accused the benefit of the doubt as to the "ei!ht
of the evidence touchin! those details of the incident as to "hich thee
can be said to be any doubt, the follo"in! statement of the mateial facts
disclose by the ecod may be ta$en to be substantially coect%
The defendant, Ah Chon!, "as employed as a coo$ at &'ffices( )uates,
No. *+,& ,ot Mc -inley, Ri.al Povince, and at the same place Pascual
/ualbeto, deceased, "as employed as a house boy o muchacho.
&'ffices( )uates No. *+& as a detached house situates some 01 metes
fom the neaest buildin!, and in Au!ust, 2314+, "as occupied solely as
an offices( mess o club. No one slept in the house e5cept the t"o
sevants, "ho 6ointly occupied a small oom to"ad the ea of the
buildin!, the doo of "hich opened upon a nao" poch unnin! alon!
the side of the buildin!, by "hich communication "as had "ith the othe
pat of the house. This poch "as coveed by a heavy !o"th of vines fo
its entie len!th and hei!ht. The doo of the oom "as not funished "ith
a pemanent bolt o loc$, and occupants, as a measue of secuity, had
attached a small hoo$ o catch on the inside of the doo, and "ee in the
habit of einfocin! this some"hat insecue means of fastenin! the doo
by placin! a!ainst it a chai. 7n the oom thee "as but one small "indo",
"hich, li$e the doo, opened on the poch. Aside fom the doo and
"indo", thee "ee no othe openin!s of any $ind in the oom.
'n the ni!ht of Au!ust 20, 2314, at about 21 o(cloc$, the defendant, "ho
had eceived fo the ni!ht, "as suddenly a"a$ened by some tyin! to
foce open the doo of the oom. 8e sat up in bed and called out t"ice,
&#ho is thee9& 8e head no ans"e and "as convinced by the noise at
the doo that it "as bein! pushed open by someone bent upon focin! his
"ay into the oom. :ue to the heavy !o"th of vines alon! the font of
the poch, the oom "as vey da$, and the defendant, feain! that the
intude "as a obbe o a thief, leaped to his feet and called out. &7f you
ente the oom, 7 "ill $ill you.& At that moment he "as stuc$ 6ust above
the $nee by the ed!e of the chai "hich had been placed a!ainst the doo.
7n the da$ness and confusion the defendant thou!ht that the blo" had
been inflicted by the peson "ho had foced the doo open, "hom he
supposed to be a bu!la, thou!h in the li!ht of afte events, it is pobable
that the chai "as meely tho"n bac$ into the oom by the sudden
openin! of the doo a!ainst "hich it ested. ;ei.in! a common $itchen
$nife "hich he $ept unde his pillo", the defendant stuc$ out "ildly at
the intude "ho, it afte"ads tuned out, "as his oommate, Pascual.
Pascual an out upon the poch and fell do"n on the steps in a despeately
"ounded condition, follo"ed by the defendant, "ho immediately
eco!ni.ed him in the moonli!ht. ;eein! that Pascual "as "ounded, he
called to his employes "ho slept in the ne5t house, No. *4, and an bac$
to his oom to secue banda!es to bind up Pascual(s "ounds.
Thee had been seveal obbeies in ,ot Mc-inley not lon! pio to the
date of the incident 6ust descibed, one of "hich too$ place in a house in
"hich the defendant "as employed as coo$< and as defendant alle!es, it
"as because of these epeated obbeies he $ept a $nife unde his pillo"
fo his pesonal potection.
The deceased and the accused, "ho oomed to!ethe and "ho appea to
have on fiendly and amicable tems pio to the fatal incident, had an
undestandin! that "hen eithe etuned at ni!ht, he should $noc$ at the
doo and ac)uiant his companion "ith his identity. Pascual had left the
house ealy in the evenin! and !one fo a "al$ "ith his fiends, Celestino
=uiambao and Maiano 7ba>e., sevants employed at offices( )uates
No. *4, the neaest house to the mess hall. The thee etuned fom thei
"al$ at about 21 o(cloc$, and Celestino and Maiano stopped at thei
oom at No. *4, Pascual !oin! on to his oom at No. *+. A fe" moments
afte the paty sepaated, Celestino and Maiano head cies fo assistance
and upon etunin! to No. *+ found Pascual sittin! on the bac$ steps
fatally "ounded in the stomach, "heeupon one of them an bac$ to No.
*4 and called ?iuetenants @acobs and 8ealy, "ho immediately "ent to the
aid of the "ounded man.
The defendant then and thee admitted that he had stabbed his oommate,
but said that he did it unde the impession that Pascual "as &a ladon&
because he foced open the doo of thei sleepin! oom, despite
defendant(s "anin!s.
No easonable e5planation of the ema$able conduct on the pat of
Pascuals su!!ests itself, unless it be that the boy in a spiit of mischief
"as playin! a tic$ on his Chinese oommate, and sou!ht to fi!htened
him by focin! his "ay into the oom, efusin! to !ive his name o say
"ho he "as, in ode to ma$e Ah Chon! believe that he "as bein!
attac$ed by a obbe.
:efendant "as placed unde aest foth"ith, and Pascual "as conveyed
to the militay hospital, "hee he died fom the effects of the "ound on
the follo"in! day.
The defendant "as cha!ed "ith the cime of assassination, tied, and
found !uilty by the tial cout of simple homicide, "ith e5tenuatin!
cicumstances, and sentenced to si5 yeas and one day presidio mayor,
the minimum penalty pescibed by la".
At the tial in the cout belo" the defendant admitted that he $illed his
oommate, Pascual /ualbeto, but insisted that he stuc$ the fatal blo"
"ithout any intent to do a "on!ful act, in the e5ecise of his la"ful i!ht
of self-defense.
Aticle 4 of the Penal Code povides that A
The follo"in! ae not delin)uent and ae theefoe e5empt fom ciminal
liability%
555 555 555
0 8e "ho acts in defense of his peson o i!hts, povided thee ae the
follo"in! attendant cicumstances%
B2C 7lle!al a!!ession.
B*C Reasonable necessity of the means employed to pevent o epel it.
BDC ?ac$ of sufficient povocation on the pat of the peson defendin!
himself.
Ende these povisions "e thin$ that thee can be no doubt that defendant
"ould be entitle to complete e5ception fom ciminal liability fo the
death of the victim of his fatal blo", if the intude "ho foced open the
doo of his oom had been in fact a dan!eous thief o &ladon,& as the
defendant believed him to be. No one, unde such cicumstances, "ould
doubt the i!ht of the defendant to esist and epel such an intusion, and
the thief havin! foced open the doo not"ithstandin! defendant(s thice-
epeated "anin! to desist, and his theat that he "ould $ill the intude if
he pesisted in his attempt, it "ill not be )uestioned that in the da$ness
of the ni!ht, in a small oom, "ith no means of escape, "ith the thief
advancin! upon him despite his "anin!s defendant "ould have been
"holly 6ustified in usin! any available "eapon to defend himself fom
such an assault, and in sti$in! pomptly, "ithout "aitin! fo the thief to
discove his "heeabouts and delive the fist blo".
But the evidence clealy discloses that the intude "as not a thief o a
&ladon.& That neithe the defendant no his popety no any of the
popety unde his cha!e "as in eal dan!e at the time "hen he stuc$
the fatal blo". That thee "as no such &unla"ful a!!ession& on the pat
of a thief o &ladon& as defendant believed he "as epellin! and esistin!,
and that thee "as no eal &necessity& fo the use of the $nife to defend
his peson o his popety o the popety unde his cha!e.
The )uestion then s)uaely pesents it self, "hethe in this 6uisdiction
one can be held ciminally esponsible "ho, by eason of a mista$e as to
the facts, does an act fo "hich he "ould be e5empt fom ciminal
liability if the facts "ee as he supposed them to be, but "hich "ould
constitute the cime of homicide o assassination if the acto had $no"n
the tue state of the facts at the time "hen he committed the act. To this
)uestion "e thin$ thee can be but one ans"e, and "e hold that unde
such cicumstances thee is no ciminal liability, povided al"ays that the
alle!ed i!noance o mista$e o fact "as not due to ne!li!ence o bad
faith.
7n boade tems, i!noance o mista$e of fact, if such i!noance o
mista$e of fact is sufficient to ne!ative a paticula intent "hich unde the
la" is a necessay in!edient of the offense cha!ed Be.!., in laceny,
animus furendi< in mude, malice< in cimes intentC &cancels the
pesumption of intent,& and "o$s an ac)uittal< e5cept in those cases
"hee the cicumstances demand a conviction unde the penal povisions
touchin! ciminal ne!li!ence< and in cases "hee, unde the povisions of
aticle 2 of the Penal Code one voluntaily committin! a cime o
misdeamo incus ciminal liability fo any "on!ful act committed by
him, even thou!h it be diffeent fom that "hich he intended to commit.
B#haton(s Ciminal ?a", sec. 4+ and cases cited< McClain(s Cim. ?a",
sec. 2DD and cases cited< Pettit vs. ;., *4 Te5. Ap., *01< Common"ealth
vs. Po"e, + Met., F3G< Hates vs. People, D* N.H., F13< 7sham vs. ;tate, D4
Ala., *2D< Common"ealth vs. Ro!es, + Met., F11.C
The !eneal poposition thus stated hadly admits of discussion, and the
only )uestion "othy of consideation is "hethe malice o ciminal
intent is an essential element o in!edient of the cimes of homicide and
assassination as defined and penali.ed in the Penal Code. 7t has been said
that since the definitions thee !iven of these as "ell as most othe cimes
and offense theein defined, do not specifically and e5pessly declae that
the acts constitutin! the cime o offense must be committed "ith malice
o "ith ciminal intent in ode that the acto may be held ciminally
liable, the commission of the acts set out in the vaious definitions
sub6ects the acto to the penalties descibed theein, unless it appeas that
he is e5empted fom liability unde one o othe of the e5pess povisions
of aticle 4 of the code, "hich teats of e5emption. But "hile it is tue
that contay to the !eneal ule of le!islative enactment in the Enited
;tates, the definitions of cimes and offenses as set out in the Penal Code
aely contain povisions e5pessly declain! that malice o ciminal
intent is an essential in!edient of the cime, nevetheless, the !eneal
povisions of aticle 2 of the code clealy indicate that malice, o ciminal
intent in some fom, is an essential e)uisite of all cimes and offense
theein defined, in the absence of e5pess povisions modifyin! the
!eneal ule, such as ae those touchin! liability esultin! fom acts
ne!li!ently o impudently committed, and acts done by one voluntaily
committin! a cime o misdemeano, "hee the act committed is diffeent
fom that "hich he intended to commit. And it is to be obseved that even
these e5ceptions ae moe appaent than eal, fo &Thee is little
distinction, e5cept in de!ee, bet"een a "ill to do a "on!ful thin! and
indiffeence "hethe it is done o not. Theefoe caelessness is ciminal,
and "ithin limits supplies the place of the affimative ciminal intent&
BBishop(s Ne" Ciminal ?a", vol. 2, s. D2DC< and, a!ain, &Thee is so
little diffeence bet"een a disposition to do a !eat ham and a disposition
to do ham that one of them may vey "ell be loo$ed upon as the
measue of the othe. ;ince, theefoe, the !uilt of a cime consists in the
disposition to do ham, "hich the ciminal sho"s by committin! it, and
since this disposition is !eate o less in popotion to the ham "hich is
done by the cime, the conse)uence is that the !uilt of the cime follo"s
the same popotion< it is !eate o less accodin! as the cime in its o"n
natue does !eate o less ham& BRuth. 7nts. C. 24, p. 22C< o, as it has
been othe"ise stated, the thin! done, havin! poceeded fom a coupt
mid, is to be vie"ed the same "hethe the couption "as of one
paticula fom o anothe.
Aticle 2 of the Penal Code is as follo"s%
Cimes o misdemeanos ae voluntay acts and ommissions punished by
la".
Acts and omissions punished by la" ae al"ays pesumed to be
voluntaily unless the contay shall appea.
An peson voluntaily committin! a cime o misdemeano shall incu
ciminal liability, even thou!h the "on!ful act committed be diffeent
fom that "hich he had intended to commit.
The celebated ;panish 6uist Pacheco, discussin! the meanin! of the
"od &voluntay& as used in this aticle, say that a voluntay act is a free,
intelligent, and intentional act, and oundly assets that "ithout intention
Bintention to do "on! o ciminal intentionC thee can be no cime< and
that the "od &voluntay& implies and includes the "ods &con malicia,&
"hich "ee e5pessly set out in the definition of the "od &cime& in the
code of 24**, but omitted fom the code of 24+1, because, as Pacheco
insists, thei use in the fome code "as edundant, bein! implied and
included in the "od &voluntay.& BPacheco, Codi!o Penal, vol. 2, p. +0.C
Iiada, "hile insistin! that the absence of intention to commit the cime
can only be said to e5empt fom ciminal esponsibility "hen the act
"hich "as actually intended to be done "as in itself a la"ful one, and in
the absence of ne!li!ence o impudence, nevetheless admits and
eco!ni.es in his discussion of the povisions of this aticle of the code
that in !eneal "ithout intention thee can be no cime. BIiada, vol. 2, p.
2G.C And, as "e have sho"n above, the e5ceptions insisted upon by Iiada
ae moe appaent than eal.
;ilvela, in discussin! the doctine heein laid do"n, says%
7n fact, it is sufficient to emembe the fist aticle, "hich declaed that
"hee thee is no intention thee is no cime . . . in ode to affim,
"ithout fea of mista$e, that unde ou code thee can be no cime if thee
is no act, an act "hich must fall "ithin the sphee of ethics if thee is no
moal in6uy. BIol. *, the Ciminal ?a", folio 2G3.C
And to the same effect ae vaious decisions of the supeme cout of
;pain, as, fo e5ample in its sentence of May D2, 244*, in "hich it made
use of the follo"in! lan!ua!e%
7t is necessay that this act, in ode to constitute a cime, involve all the
malice "hich is supposed fom the opeation of the "ill and an intent to
cause the in6uy "hich may be the ob6ect of the cime.
And a!ain in its sentence of Mach 2G, 243*, "heein it held that
&considein! that, "hateve may be the civil effects of the insciption of
his thee sons, made by the appellant in the civil e!isty and in the
paochial chuch, thee can be no cime because of the lac$ of the
necessay element o ciminal intention, "hich chaactei.es evey action
o ommission punished by la"< no is he !uilty of ciminal ne!li!ence.&
And to the same effect in its sentence of :ecembe D1, 243G, it made use
of the follo"in! lan!ua!e%
. . . Considein! that the moal element of the cime, that is, intent o
malice o thei absence in the commission of an act defined and punished
by la" as ciminal, is not a necessay )uestion of fact submitted to the
e5clusive 6ud!ment and decision of the tial cout.
That the autho of the Penal Code deemed ciminal intent o malice to be
an essential element of the vaious cimes and misdemeanos theein
defined becomes clea also fom an e5amination of the povisions of
aticle FG4, "hich ae as follo"s%
8e "ho shall e5ecute thou!h ec$less ne!li!ence an act that, if done
"ith malice, "ould constitute a !ave cime, shall be punished "ith the
penalty of arresto mayor in its ma5imum de!ee, to prision correccional
in its minimum de!ees if it shall constitute a less !ave cime.
8e "ho in violation of the e!ulations shall commit a cime thou!h
simple impudence o ne!li!ence shall incu the penalty of arresto mayor
in its medium and ma5imum de!ees.
7n the application of these penalties the couts shall poceed accodin! to
thei discetion, "ithout bein! sub6ect to the ules pescibed in aticle 42.
The povisions of this aticle shall not be applicable if the penalty
pescibed fo the cime is e)ual to o less than those contained in the fist
paa!aph theeof, in "hich case the couts shall apply the ne5t one
theeto in the de!ee "hich they may conside pope.
The "od &malice& in this aticle is manifestly substantially e)uivalent to
the "ods &ciminal intent,& and the diect infeence fom its povisions is
that the commission of the acts contemplated theein, in the absence of
malice Bciminal intentC, ne!li!ence, and impudence, does not impose
any ciminal liability on the acto.
The "od &voluntay& as used in aticle 2 of the Penal Code "ould seem
to appo5imate in meanin! the "od &"illful& as used in En!lish and
Ameican statute to desi!nate a fom of ciminal intent. 7t has been said
that "hile the "od &"illful& sometimes means little moe than
intentionally o desi!nedly, yet it is moe fe)uently undestood to e5tent
a little futhe and appo5imate the idea of the milde $ind of le!al
malice< that is, it si!nifies an evil intent "ithout 6ustifiable e5cuse. 7n one
case it "as said to mean, as employed in a statute in contemplation,
&"antonly& o &causelessly<& in anothe, &"ithout easonable !ounds to
believe the thin! la"ful.& And ;ha", C. @., once said that odinaily in a
statute it means &not meely Jvoluntaily( but "ith a bad pupose< in othe
"ods, couptly.& 7n En!lish and the Ameican statutes definin! cimes
&malice,& &malicious,& &maliciously,& and &malice afoethou!ht& ae
"ods indicatin! intent, moe puely technical than &"illful& o "illfully,&
but &the diffeence bet"een them is not !eat<& the "od &malice& not
often bein! undestood to e)uie !eneal malevolence to"ad a paticula
individual, and si!nifyin! athe the intent fom ou le!al 6ustification.
BBishop(s Ne" Ciminal ?a", vol. 2, secs. 0*4 and 0*3, and cases cited.C
But even in the absence of e5pess "ods in a statute, settin! out a
condition in the definition of a cime that it be committed &voluntaily,&
"illfully,& &maliciously& &"ith malice afoethou!ht,& o in one of the
vaious modes !eneally constued to imply a ciminal intent, "e thin$
that easonin! fom !eneal pinciples it "ill al"ays be found that "ith
the ae e5ceptions heeinafte mentioned, to constitute a cime evil intent
must combine "ith an act. M. Bishop, "ho suppots his position "ith
numeous citations fom the decided cases, thus focely pesent this
doctine%
7n no one thin! does ciminal 6uispudence diffe moe fom civil than in
the ule as to the intent. 7n contovesies bet"een pivate paties the quo
animo "ith "hich a thin! "as done is sometimes impotant, not al"ays<
but cime poceeds only fom a ciminal mind. ;o that A
Thee can be no cime, la!e o small, "ithout an evil mind. 7n othe
"ods, punishment is the sentence of "ic$edness, "ithout "hich it can
not be. And neithe in philosophical speculation no in eli!ious o motal
sentiment "ould any people in any a!e allo" that a man should be
deemed !uilty unless his mind "as so. 7t is theefoe a pinciple of ou
le!al system, as pobably it is of evey othe, that the essence of an
offense is the "on!ful intent, "ithout "hich it can not e5ists. #e find
this doctine confimed by A
Legal maxims. A The ancient "isdom of the la", e)ually "ith the
moden, is distinct on this sub6ect. 7t conse)uently has supplied to us such
ma5ims as Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, &the act itself does not
ma$e man !uilty unless his intention "ee so<& Actus me incito factus non
est meus actus, &an act done by me a!ainst my "ill is not my act<& and
othes of the li$e sot. 7n this, as 6ust said, ciminal 6uispudence diffes
fom civil. ;o also A
oral science and moral sentiment teach the same thin!. &By efeence
to the intention, "e inculpate o e5culpate othes o ouselves "ithout any
espect to the happiness o misey actually poduced. ?et the esult of an
action be "hat it may, "e hold a man !uilty simply on the !ound of
intention< o, on the dame !ound, "e hold him innocent.& The calm
6ud!ment of man$ind $eeps this doctine amon! its 6e"els. 7n times of
e5citement, "hen ven!eance ta$es the place of 6ustice, evey !uad
aound the innocent is cast do"n. But "ith the etun of eason comes the
public voice that "hee the mind is pue, he "ho diffes in act fom his
nei!hbos does not offend. And A
7n the spontaneous 6ud!ment "hich spin!s fom the natue !iven by /od
to man, no one deems anothe to deseve punishment fo "hat he did
fom an upi!ht mind, destitute of evey fom of evil. And "heneve a
peson is made to suffe a punishment "hich the community deems not
his due, so fa fom its placin! an evil ma$ upon him, it elevates him to
the seat of the maty. Even infancy itself spontaneously pleads the "ant
of bad intent in 6ustification of "hat has the appeaance of "on!, "ith
the utmost confidence that the plea, if its tuth is cedited, "ill be
accepted as !ood. No" these facts ae only the voice of natue uttein!
one of he immutable tuths. 7t is, then, the doctine of the la", supeio to
all othe doctines, because fist in natue fom "hich the la" itself
poceeds, that no man is to be punished as a ciminal unless his intent is
"on!. BBishop(s Ne" Ciminal ?a", vol. 2, secs. *4G to *31.C
Compelled by necessity, &the !eat maste of all thin!s,& an appaent
depatue fom this doctine of abstact 6ustice esult fom the adoption of
the abitay ule that !gnorantia "uris non excusat B&7!noance of the la"
e5cuses no man&C, "ithout "hich 6ustice could not be administeed in ou
tibunals< and compelled also by the same doctine of necessity, the
couts have eco!ni.ed the po"e of the le!islatue to fobid, in a limited
class of cases, the doin! of cetain acts, and to ma$e thei commission
ciminal "ithout e!ad to the intent of the doe. #ithout discussin! these
e5ceptional cases at len!th, it is sufficient hee to say that the couts have
al"ays held that unless the intention of the la"ma$e to ma$e the
commission of cetain acts ciminal "ithout e!ad to the intent of the
doe is clea and beyond )uestion the statute "ill not be so constued
Bcases cited in Cyc., vol. 2*, p. 2F4, notes +G and ++C< and the ule that
i!noance of the la" e5cuses no man has been said not to be a eal
depatue fom the la"(s fundamental pinciple that cime e5ists only
"hee the mind is at fault, because &the evil pupose need not be to bea$
the la", and if suffices if it is simply to do the thin! "hich the la" in fact
fobids.& BBishop(s Ne" Ciminal ?a", sec. D11, and cases cited.C
But, ho"eve this may be, thee is no technical ule, and no pessin!
necessity theefoe, e)uiin! mista$e in fact to be dealt "ith othe"ise
that in stict accod "ith the pinciples of abstact 6ustice. 'n the
contay, the ma5im hee is !gnorantia facti excusat B&7!noance o
mista$e in point of fact is, in all cases of supposed offense, a sufficient
e5cuse&C. BBo"n(s ?e!. Ma5., *d ed., 231.C
;ince evil intent is in !eneal an insepaable element in evey cime, any
such mista$e of fact as sho"s the act committed to have poceeded fom
no sot of evil in the mind necessaily elieves the acto fom ciminal
liability povided al"ays thee is no fault o ne!li!ence on his pat< and
as laid do"n by Baon Pa$e, &The !uilt of the accused must depend on
the cicumstances as they appea to him.& BRe!. vs. Thubon, 2 :en. C.,
D4+< P. vs.Andeson, 00 Cal.., GF< P. vs. ?amb, F0 Bab., D0*< Hates vs. P.,
D* N. H., F13< Patteson vs. P., 0G Bab., G*F< Re!. vs. Cohen, 4 Co5 C.
C., 02< P. vs. Miles, FF Cal., *1+, *13< Nalley vs. ;., *4 Te5. Ap., D4+.C
That is to say, the )uestion as to "hethe he honestly, in !ood faith, and
"ithout fault o ne!li!ence fell into the mista$e is to be detemined by
the cicumstances as they appeaed to him at the time "hen the mista$e
"as made, and the effect "hich the suoundin! cicumstances mi!ht
easonably be e5pected to have on his mind, in fomin! the intent,
ciminal o othe "ise, upon "hich he acted.
7f, in lan!ua!e not uncommon in the cases, one has reasonable cause to
believe the e5istence of facts "hich "ill 6ustify a $illin! A o, in tems
moe nicely in accod "ith the pinciples on "hich the ule is founded, if
"ithout fault o caelessness he does believe them A he is le!ally
!uiltless of the homicide< thou!h he mistoo$ the facts, and so the life of
an innocent peson is unfotunately e5tin!uished. 7n othe "ods, and
"ith efeence to the i!ht of self-defense and the not )uite hamonious
authoities, it is the doctine of eason and sufficiently sustained in
ad6udication, that not"ithstandin! some decisions appaently advese,
"heneve a man undeta$es self-defense, he is 6ustified in actin! on the
facts as they appea to him. 7f, "ithout fault o caelessness, he is misled
concenin! them, and defends himself coectly accodin! to "hat he thus
supposes the facts to be the la" "ill not punish him thou!h they ae in
tuth othe"ise, and he "as eally no occassion fo the e5teme measues.
BBishop(s Ne" Ciminal ?a", sec. D1F, and la!e aay of cases thee
cited.C
The common illustation in the Ameican and En!lish te5tboo$s of the
application of this ule is the case "hee a man, mas$ed and dis!uised as
a footpad, at ni!ht and on a lonely oad, &holds up& his fiends in a spiit
of mischief, and "ith leveled pistol demands his money o his life, but is
$illed by his fiend unde the mista$en belief that the attac$ is a eal one,
that the pistol leveled at his head is loaded, and that his life and popety
ae in imminent dan!e at the hands of the a!!esso. No one "ill doubt
that if the facts "ee such as the slaye believed them to be he "ould be
innocent of the commission of any cime and "holly e5empt fom
ciminal liability, althou!h if he $ne" the eal state of the facts "hen he
too$ the life of his fiend he "ould undoubtedly be !uilty of the cime of
homicide o assassination. Ende such cicumstances, poof of his
innocent mista$e of the facts ovecomes the pesumption of malice o
ciminal intent, and Bsince malice o ciminal intent is a necessay
in!edient of the &act punished by la"& in cases of homicide o
assassinationC ovecomes at the same time the pesumption established in
aticle 2 of the code, that the &act punished by la#& "as committed
&voluntaily.&
Pason, C.@., in the Massachusetts cout, once said%
7f the paty $illin! had easonable !ounds fo believin! that the peson
slain had a felonious desi!n a!ainst him, and unde that supposition $illed
him, althou!h it should afte"ads appea that thee "as no such desi!n,
it "ill not be mude, but it "ill be eithe manslau!hte o e5cusable
homicide, accodin! to the de!ee of caution used and the pobable
!ounds of such belief. BCha!e to the !and 6uy in ;elfid!e(s case,
#hat, 8om., 02+, 024, ?loyd(s epot of the case, p.+.C
7n this case, Pa$e, @., cha!in! the petit 6uy, enfoced the doctine as
follo"s%
A, in the peaceable pusuit of his affais, sees B ushin! apidly to"ad
him, "ith an outstetched ams and a pistol in his hand, and usin! violent
menaces a!ainst his life as he advances. 8avin! appoached nea enou!h
in the same attitude, A, "ho has a club in his hand, sti$es B ove the
head befoe o at the instant the pistol is discha!ed< and of the "ound B
dies. 7t tuns out the pistol "as loaded "ith po#der only, and that the eal
desi!n of B "as only to terrify A. #ill any easonable man say that A is
moe ciminal that he "ould have been if thee had been a bullet in the
pistol9 Those "ho hold such doctine must e)uie that a man so attac$ed
must, befoe he sti$es the assailant, stop and ascetain ho" the pistol is
loaded A a doctine "hich "ould entiely ta$e a"ay the essential i!ht of
self-defense. And "hen it is consideed that the 6uy "ho ty the cause,
and not the paty $illin!, ae to 6ud!e of the easonable !ounds of his
appehension, no dan!e can be supposed to flo" fom this pinciple.
B?loyd(s Rep., p. 2G1.C
To the same effect ae vaious decisions of the supeme cout of ;pain,
cited by Iiada, a fe" of "hich ae hee set out in full because the facts
ae some"hat analo!ous to those in the case at ba.
=EE;T7'N 777. #hen it is sho"n that the accused "as sittin! at his
heath, at ni!ht, in company only of his "ife, "ithout othe li!ht than
eflected fom the fie, and that the man "ith his bac$ to the doo "as
attendin! to the fie, thee suddenly enteed a peson "hom he did not see
o $no", "ho stuc$ him one o t"o blo"s, poducin! a contusion on the
shoulde, because of "hich he tuned, sei.ed the peson and too$ fom his
the stic$ "ith "hich he had undoubtedly been stuc$, and !ave the
un$no"n peson a blo", $noc$in! him to the floo, and afte"ads
sti$in! him anothe blo" on the head, leavin! the un$no"n lyin! on the
floo, and left the house. 7t tuned out the un$no"n peson "as his fathe-
in-la", to "hom he endeed assistance as soon as he leaned his identity,
and "ho died in about si5 days in conse)uence of ceebal con!estion
esultin! fom the blo". The accused, "ho confessed the facts, had
al"ays sustained pleasant elations "ith his fathe-in-la", "hom he
visited duin! his sic$ness, demonstatin! !eat !ief ove the occuence.
;hall he be consideed fee fom ciminal esponsibility, as havin! acted
in self-defense, "ith all the cicumstances elated in paa!aph 0, aticle
4, of the Penal Code9 The ciminal banch of the Audiencia of Ialladolid
found that he "as an ille!al a!!esso, "ithout sufficient povocation, and
that thee did not e5ists ational necessity fo the employment of the foce
used, and in accodance "ith aticles 023 and 4+ of the Penal Code
condemned him to t"enty months of impisonment, "ith accessoy
penalty and costs. Epon appeal by the accused, he "as ac)uitted by the
supeme cout, unde the follo"in! sentence% &Considein!, fom the
facts found by the sentence to have been poven, that the accused "as
supised fom behind, at ni!ht, in his house beside his "ife "ho "as
nusin! he child, "as attac$ed, stuc$, and beaten, "ithout bein! able to
distin!uish "ith "hich they mi!ht have e5ecuted thei ciminal intent,
because of the thee "as no othe than fie li!ht in the oom, and
considein! that in such a situation and "hen the acts e5ecuted
demonstated that they mi!ht endan!e his e5istence, and possibly that of
his "ife and child, moe especially because his assailant "as un$no"n,
he should have defended himself, and in doin! so "ith the same stic$
"ith "hich he "as attac$ed, he did not e5ceed the limits of self-defense,
no did he use means "hich "ee not ationally necessay, paticulaly
because the instument "ith "hich he $illed "as the one "hich he too$
fom his assailant, and "as capable of poducin! death, and in the
da$ness of the house and the consteation "hich natually esulted fom
such ston! a!!ession, it "as not !iven him to $no"n o distin!uish
"hethe thee "as one o moe assailants, no the ams "hich they mi!ht
bea, not that "hich they mi!ht accomplish, and considein! that the
lo"e cout did not find fom the accepted facts that thee e5isted ational
necessity fo the means employed, and that it did not apply paa!aph 0
of aticle 4 of the Penal Code, it eed, etc.& B;entence of supeme cout
of ;pain, ,ebuay *4, 24+G.C BIiada, Iol. 7, p. *GG.C .
=EE;T7'N K7K. A peson etunin!, at ni!ht, to his house, "hich "as
situated in a etied pat of the city, upon aivin! at a point "hee thee
"as no li!ht, head the voice of a man, at a distance of some 4 paces,
sayin!% &,ace do"n, hand ove you moneyL& because of "hich, and
almost at the same money, he fied t"o shots fom his pistol,
distin!uishin! immediately the voice of one of his fiends B"ho had
befoe simulated a diffeent voiceC sayin!, &'hL they have $illed me,& and
hastenin! to his assistance, findin! the body lyin! upon the !ound, he
cied, &Mi!uel, Mi!uel, spea$, fo /od(s sa$e, o 7 am uined,& eali.in!
that he had been the victim of a 6o$e, and not eceivin! a eply, and
obsevin! that his fiend "as a copse, he etied fom the place. ;hall he
be declaed e5empt in toto fom esponsibility as the autho of this
homicide, as havin! acted in 6ust self-defense unde the cicumstances
defined in paa!aph 0, aticle 4, Penal Code9 The ciminal banch of the
Audiencia of Mala!a did not so find, but only found in favo of the
accused t"o of the e)uisites of said aticle, but not that of the
easonableness of the means employed to epel the attac$, and, theefoe,
condemned the accused to ei!ht yeas and one day of prison mayor, etc.
The supeme cout ac)uitted the accused on his appeal fom this
sentence, holdin! that the accused "as actin! unde a 6ustifiable and
e5cusable mista$e of fact as to the identity of the peson callin! to him,
and that unde the cicumstances, the da$ness and emoteness, etc., the
means employed "ee ational and the shootin! 6ustifiable. B;entence
supeme cout, Mach 2+, 244F.C BIiada, Iol. 7, p. 2DG.C
=EE;T7'N I7. The o"ne of a mill, situated in a emote spot, is
a"a$ened, at ni!ht, by a la!e stone tho"n a!ainst his "indo" A at this,
he puts his head out of the "indo" and in)uies "hat is "anted, and is
ans"eed &the delivey of all of his money, othe"ise his house "ould be
buned& A because of "hich, and obsevin! in an alley ad6acent to the
mill fou individuals, one of "hom addessed him "ith blasphemy, he
fied his pistol at one the men, "ho, on the ne5t monin! "as found dead
on the same spot. ;hall this man be declaed e5empt fom ciminal
esponsibility as havin! acted in 6ust self-defense "ith all of the e)uisites
of la"9 The ciminal banch of the e)uisites of la"9 The ciminal banch
of the Audiencia of Maa!o.a finds that thee e5isted in favo of the
accused a ma6oity of the e)uisites to e5empt him fom ciminal
esponsibility, but not that of easonable necessity fo the means,
employed, and condemned the accused to t"elve months of prision
correctional fo the homicide committed. Epon appeal, the supeme cout
ac)uitted the condemned, findin! that the accused, in fiin! at the
malefactos, "ho attac$ his mill at ni!ht in a emote spot by theatenin!
obbey and incendiaism, "as actin! in 6ust self-defense of his peson,
popety, and family. B;entence of May *D, 24++C. B7 Iiada, p. 2*4.C
A caeful e5amination of the facts as disclosed in the case at ba
convinces us that the defendant Chinaman stuc$ the fatal blo" alle!ed in
the infomation in the fim belief that the intude "ho foced open the
doo of his sleepin! oom "as a thief, fom "hose assault he "as in
imminent peil, both of his life and of his popety and of the popety
committed to his cha!e< that in vie" of all the cicumstances, as they
must have pesented themselves to the defendant at the time, he acted in
!ood faith, "ithout malice, o ciminal intent, in the belief that he "as
doin! no moe than e5ecisin! his le!itimate i!ht of self-defense< that
had the facts been as he believed them to be he "ould have been "holly
e5empt fom ciminal liability on account of his act< and that he can not
be said to have been !uilty of ne!li!ence o ec$lessness o even
caelessness in fallin! into his mista$e as to the facts, o in the means
adopted by him to defend himself fom the imminent dan!e "hich he
believe theatened his peson and his popety and the popety unde his
cha!e.
The 6ud!ment of conviction and the sentence imposed by the tial cout
should be evesed, and the defendant ac)uitted of the cime "ith "hich
he is cha!ed and his bail bond e5oneated, "ith the costs of both
instance de oficio. ;o odeed.
$ohnson oreland and %lliott, $$., concu.
Arellano, &.$., and apa, $., dissent.
S!ara" O!#$#o$%
TORRES, J., dissentin!%
The "ite, "ith due espect to the opinion of the ma6oity of the cout,
believes that, accodin! to the meits of the case, the cime of homicide
by ec$less ne!li!ence, defined and punishes in aticle FG4 of the Penal
Code, "as committed, inasmuch as the victim "as "ilfully
BvoluntariomenteC $illed, and "hile the act "as done "ithout malice o
ciminal intent it "as, ho"eve, e5ecuted "ith eal ne!li!ence, fo the
acts committed by the deceased could not "aant the a!!ession by the
defendant unde the eoneous belief on the pat of the accused that the
peson "ho assaulted him "as a malefacto< the defendant theefoe
incued esponsibility in attac$in! "ith a $nife the peson "ho "as
accustomed to ente said oom, "ithout any 6ustifiable motive.
By eason of the natue of the cime committed, in the opinion of the
undesi!ned the accused should be sentenced to the penalty of one yea
and one month of prision correctional, to suffe the accessoy penalties
povided in aticle G2, and to pay an indemnify of P2,111 to the heis of
the deceased, "ith the costs of both instances, theeby evesin! the
6ud!ment appealed fom.
Epon aai!nment the accused enteed a plea of not !uilty to the cha!es
contained in the infomation.
Then the case "as tied in one of the banches of the Cout of ,ist
7nstance of Manila pesided ove by the honoable Buenaventua 'campo
"ho, afte the submission of the evidence of the posecution and the
defense, endeed 6ud!ment as above stated.
7n this connection it should be stated that, at the be!innin! of the tial and
befoe aai!nment, counsel de oficiofo the accused moved that the
mental condition of /uillen be e5amined. The cout, not"ithstandin! that
it had found out fom the ans"es of the accused to )uestions popounded
to him in ode to test the soundness of his mind, that he "as not
suffein! fom any mental dean!ement, odeed that @ulio /uillen be
confined fo 8ospital, thee to be e5amined by medical e5pets "ho
should epot thei findin!s accodin!ly. This "as done, and, accodin! to
the epot of the boad of medical e5pets, pesided ove by :.
,enande. of the National Psychopathic 8ospital, @ulio /uillen "as not
insane. ;aid epot BE5hibit ?C, unde the headin! &,omulation and
:ia!nosis,& at pa!es 2D and 20, eads%
,'RME?AT7'N AN: :7A/N';7;
@ulio C. /uillen "as placed unde constant obsevation since admission.
Thee "as not a sin!le moment duin! his "hole *0 hous daily, that he
"as not unde obsevation.
The motive behind the commission of the cime is stated above. The
veacity of this motivation "as detemined in the Nacosynthesis. That
the naco-synthesis "as successful "as chec$ed up the day afte the test.
The naco-synthesis poved not only eveal any conflict o comple5 that
may e5plain a delusional o hallucinatoy motive behind the act.
'u obsevation and e5amination failed to elicit any si!n o symptom of
insanity in M. @ulio C. /uillen. 8e "as found to be intelli!ent, al"ays
able to diffeentiate i!ht fom "on!, fully a"ae of the natue of the
cime he committed and is e)ually decided to suffe fo it in any manne
o fom.
8is vesion of the cicumstances of the cime, his conduct and
convesation elative theeto, the motives, temptations and povocations
that peceded the act, "ee all those of an individual "ith a sound mind.
'n the othe hand he is an man of ston! "ill and conviction and once
aivin! at a decision he e5ecutes, iespective of conse)uences and as in
this case, the commission of the act at Pla.a Mianda.
#hat is of some inteest in the pesonality of @ulio C. /uillen is his
commission of some ovet acts. This is seen not only in the pesent
instance, but sometime "hen an employee in la Clementina Ci!a ,actoy
he en!a!ed in a bo5in! bout M. Man.ano, a ;pan-"anted to abuse the
"omen ci!a ma$es, and felt it his duty to defend them. 'ne time he an
afte a policeman "ith a $nife in hand afte bein! povo$ed to a fi!ht
seveal times. 8e even challen!ed Con!essman Nueno to a fi!ht
sometime befoe "hen M. Nueno "as unnin! fo a seat in the
Municipal Boad of the City of Manila, afte heain! him delive one of
his appaently outspo$en speeches.
All these mean a defect in his pesonality chaactei.ed by a "ea$ness of
censoship especially in elation to ationali.ation about the conse)uences
of his acts.
7n vie" of the above findin!s it is ou consideed opinion that @ulio C.
/uillen is not insane but is an individual "ith a pesonality defect "hich
in Psychiaty is temed, Constitutional Psychopathic 7nfeioity.
'inal (iagnosis
Not insane% Constitutional Psychopathic 7nfeioity, "ithout psychosis.
7n vie" of the above-)uoted findin!s of the medical boad, and
not"ithstandin! the contay opinion of one :. Alvae., "ho "as as$ed
by the defense to !ive his opinion on the matte, the cout uled that
/uillen, not bein! insane, could be tied, as he "as tied, fo the offenses
he committed on the date in )uestion.
T8E ,ACT;
Epon caeful peusal of the evidence and the biefs submitted by counsel
fo the accused, the ;olicito /eneal and thei espective memoanda, "e
find that thee is no disa!eement bet"een the posecution and the
defense, as to the essential facts "hich caused the filin! of the pesent
ciminal case a!ainst this accused. Those facts may be stated as follo"s%
'n the dates mentioned in this decision, @ulio /uillen y Copus, althou!h
not affimed "ith any paticula political !oup, has voted fo the
defeated candidate in the pesidential elections held in 230G. Manuel A.
Ro5as, the successful candidate, assumed the office of Pesident of the
Common"ealth and subse)uently Pesident of the Pesident of the
Philippine Republic. Accodin! to /uillen, he became disappointed in
Pesident Ro5as fo his alle!ed failue to edeem the pled!es and fulfill
the pomises made by him duin! the pesidential election campai!n< and
his disappointment "as a!!avated "hen, accodin! to him, Pesident
Ro5as, instead of loo$in! afte the inteest of his county, sponsoed and
campai!ned fo the appoval of the so-called &paity& measue. 8ence he
detemined to assassinate the Pesident.
Afte he had pondeed fo some time ove the "ays and means of
assassinatin! Pesident Ro5as, the oppotunity pesented itself on the
ni!ht of Mach 21, 230+, "hen at a popula meetin! held by the ?ibeal
Paty at Pla.a de Mianda, =uiapo, Manila attended by a bi! co"d,
Pesident Ro5as, accompanied by his "ife and dau!hte and suounded
by a numbe of ladies and !entlemen pominent in !ovenment and
politics, stood on a platfom eected fo that pupose and deliveed his
speech e5poundin! and tyin! to convince his thousand of listenes of the
advanta!es to be !ained by the Philippines, should the constitutional
amendment !antin! Ameican citi.ens the same i!hts !anted to
,ilipino nationals be adopted.
/uillen had fist intended to use a evolve fo the accomplishment of his
pupose, but havin! lost said fieam, "hich "as duly licensed, he
thou!ht of t"o hand !enades "hich "ee !iven him by an Ameican
soldie in the ealy days of the libeation of Manila in e5chan!e fo t"o
bottles of "his$y. 8e had li$e"ise been "ei!hin! the chances of $illin!
Pesident Ro5as, eithe by !oin! to Malaca>an, o follo"in! his intended
victim in the latte(s tips to povinces, fo instance, to Tayabas Bno"
=ue.onC "hee the Pesident "as scheduled to spea$, but havin!
encounteed many difficulties, he decided to cay out his plan at the po-
paity meetin! held at Pla.a de Mianda on the ni!ht of Mach 21, 230+.
'n the monin! of that he "ent to the house of Amando 8enande.
"hom he e)uested to pepae fo him a document BE5hibit BC, in
accodance "ith thei pevious undestandin! in the pecedin! aftenoon,
"hen they met at the pemises of the Manila @oc$ey Club on the occasion
of an &anti-paity& meetin! held thee. 'n account of its mateially in this
case, "e deem it pope to )uote heeunde the contents of said
document. An En!lish tanslation BE5hibit B-*C fom its oi!inal Ta!alo!
eads%
,'R T8E ;A-E ', A ,REE P87?7PP7NE;
7 am the only one esponsible fo "hat happened. 7 conceived it, 7
planned it, and 7 caied it out all by myself alone. 7t too$ me many days
and ni!hts pondein! ove this act, tal$in! to my o"n conscience, to my
/od, until 7 eached my conclusion. 7t "as my duty.
7 did not e5pected to live lon!< 7 only had on life to spae. And had 7
e5pected to lives to spae, 7 "ould not have hesitated eithe ton sacifice
it fo the sa$e of a pinciple "hich "as the "elfae of the people.
Thousands have died in Bataan< many moe have mouned the loss of
thei husbands, of thei sons, and thee ae millions no" suffein!. Thei
deeds boe no fuits< thei hopes "ee fustated.
7 "as told by my conscience and by my /od that thee "as a man to be
blamed fo all this% he had deceived the people, he had astounded them
"ith no othe pupose than to entice them< he even "ent to the e5tent of
is$in! the heita!e of ou futue !eneations. ,o these easons he should
not continue any lon!e. 8is life "ould mean nothin! as compaed "ith
the "elfae of ei!hteen million souls. And "hy should 7 not !ive up my
life too if only the !ood of those ei!hteen million souls.
These ae the easons "hich impelled me to do "hat 7 did and 7 am
"illin! to bea up the conse)uences of my act. 7 t mattes not if othes
"ill cuse me. Time and histoy "ill sho", 7 am sue, that 7 have only
displayed a hi!h de!ee of patiotism in my pefomance of my said act.
8uah fo a fee Philippines.
Chees fo the happiness of evey ,ilipino home.
May /od pity on me.
Amen.
@E?7' C. /E7??EN
A copy BE5hibit B-2C of the oi!inal in Ta!alo! BE5hibit BC, made at the
e)uest of /uillen by his nephe", "as handed to him only at about G
o(cloc$ in the aftenoon of Mach 21, 230+, fo "hich eason said E5hibit
B-2 appeas unsi!ned, because he "as in a huy fo that meetin! at Pla.a
de Mianda.
#hen he eached Pla.a de Mianda, /uillen "as cayin! t"o hand
!enades concealed in a pape ba! "hich also contained peanuts. 8e
buied one of the hand !enades BE5hibit :C, in a plant pot located close
to the platfom, and "hen he decided to cay out his evil pupose he
stood on the chai on "hich he had been sittin! and, fom a distance of
about seven metes, he huled the !enade at the Pesident "hen the latte
had 6ust closed his speech, "as bein! con!atulated by Ambassado
Romulo and "as about to leave the platfom.
/eneal Casta>eda, "ho "as on the platfom, sa" the smo$in!, hissin!,
!enade and "ithout losin! his pesence of mind, $ic$ed it a"ay fom the
platfom, alon! the stai"ay, and to"ads an open space "hee the
!eneal thou!ht the !enade "as li$ely to do the least ham< and, covein!
the Pesident "ith his body, shouted to the co"d that eveybody should
lie do"n. The !enade fell to the !ound and e5ploded in the middle of a
!oup of pesons "ho "ee standin! close to the platfom. Confusion
ensued, and the co"d dispesed in a panic. 7t "as found that the
fa!ments of the !enade had seiously in6ued ;imeon Iaela Bo
Baela C A "ho died on the follo"in! day as the esult of motal "ounds
caused by the fa!ments of the !enade BE5hibits , and ,-2C A Alfedo
Eva, @ose ,abio, Pedo Caillo and Emilio Ma!lalan!.
/uillen "as aested by membes of the Police :epatment about t"o
hous afte the occuence. 7t appeas that one An!el /acia, "ho "as one
spectatos at that meetin!, sa" ho" a peson "ho "as standin! ne5t to
him huled an ob6ect at the platfom and, afte the e5plosion, an a"ay
to"ads a babe shop located nea the platfom at Pla.a de Mianda.
;uspectin! that peson "as the tho"e of the ob6ect that e5ploded,
/acia "ent afte him and had almost succeeded in holdin! him, but
/uillen offeed stiff esistance, !ot loose fom /acia and mana!ed to
escape. /acia pusued him, but some detectives, mista$in! the fome
fo the eal ciminal and the autho of the e5plosion, placed him unde
aest. 7n the meantime, "hile the City Mayo and some a!ents of the
Manila Police :epatment "ee investi!atin! the affai, one Manuel
Robles volunteeed the infomation that the peson "ith "hom An!el
/acia "as "estlin! "as @ulio /uillen< that he BManuel RoblesC "as
ac)uainted "ith @ulio /uillen fo the pevious ten yeas and had seen
each othe in the pla.a a fe" moments pevious to the e5plosion.
The police opeatives inteo!ated /acia and Robles, and @ulio /uillen
"as, "ithin t"o hous afte the occuence, found in his home at 2+*0
@uan ?una ;teet, Manila, bou!ht to the police head)uates and
identified by An!el /acia, as the same peson "ho huled to"ads the
platfom the ob6ect "hich e5ploded and "hom /acia tied to hold "hen
he "as unnin! a"ay.
:uin! the investi!ation conducted by the police he eadily admitted his
esponsibility, althou!h at the same time he tied to 6ustify his action in
tho"in! the bomb at Pesident Ro5as. 8e also indicated to his captos
the place "hee he had hidden his so called last "ill )uoted above and
ma$ed E5hibit B, "hich "as then unsi!ned by him and subse)uently
si!ned at the police head)uates.
Re-enactin! the cime BE5hibit CC, he pointed out to the police "hee he
had buied BE5hibit C-2C the othe hand !enade BE5hibit :C, and, in the
pesence of "itnesses he si!ned a statement "hich contained his ans"es
to )uestion popounded to him by Ma6o A. =uintos of the Manila Police,
"ho investi!ated him soon afte his aest BE5hibit EC. ,om a peusal of
his voluntay statement, "e ae satisfied that it tallies e5actly "ith the
declaations and made by him on the "itness stand duin! the tial of this
case.
T8E 7;;EE;
7n the bief submitted by counsel de oficio fo this appellant, seveal
eos ae assi!ned alle!edly committed by the tial cout, namely% first,
&in findin! the appellant !uilty of mude fo the death of ;imeon
Iaela&< second, &in declain! the appellant !uilty of the comple5 cime
of mude and multiple fustated mude&< third, &in applyin! sub-section
2 of aticle 03 of the Revised Penal Code in deteminin! the penalty to be
imposed upon the accused&< and fourth, &in considein! the concuence
of the a!!avatin! cicumstances of noctunity and of contempt of public
authoities in the commission of cime.&
The evidence fo the posecution, suppoted by the ba.en statements
made by the accused, sho"s beyond any shado" of doubt that, "hen
/uillen attended that meetin!, cayin! "ith him t"o hand !enades, to
put into e5ecution his peconceived plan to assassinate Pesident Ro5as,
he $ne" fully "ell that, by tho"in! one of those t"o hand !enades in
his possession at Pesident Ro5as, and causin! it to e5plode, he could not
pevent the pesons "ho "ee aound his main and intended victim fom
bein! $illed o at least in6ued, due to the hi!hly e5plosive natue of the
bomb employed by him to cay out his evil pupose.
/uillen, testifyin! in his o"n behalf, in ans"e to )uestions popounded
by the tial 6ud!e Bpa!e 3G of tansciptC suppots ou conclusion. 8e
stated that he pefomed the act voluntaily< that his pupose "as to $ill
the Pesident, but that it did not ma$e any diffeence to him if thee "ee
some people aound the Pesident "hen he huled that bomb, because the
$illin! of those "ho suounded the Pesident "as tantamount to $illin!
the Pesident, in vie" of the fact that those pesons, bein! loyal to the
Pesident bein! loyal to the Pesident, "ee identified "ith the latte. 7n
othe "od, althou!h it "as not his main intention to $ill the pesons
suoundin! the Pesident, he felt no con6unction in $illin! them also in
ode to attain his main pupose of $illin! the Pesident.
The facts do not suppot the contention of counsel fo appellant that the
latte is !uilty only of homicide thou!h ec$less impudence in e!ad to
the death of ;imeon Iaela and of less seious physical in6uies in e!ad
to Alfedo Eva, @ose ,abio, Pedo Caillo and Emilio Ma!lalan!, and
that he should be sentenced to the coespondin! penalties fo the
diffeent felonies committed, the sum total of "hich shall not e5ceed
thee times the penalty to be imposed fo the most seious cime in
accodance "ith aticle +1 in elation to aticle +0 of the Revised Penal
Code.
7n tho"in! hand !enade at the Pesident "ith the intention of $illin!
him, the appellant acted "ith malice. 8e is theefoe liable fo all the
conse)uences of his "on!ful act< fo in accodance "ith aticle 0 of the
Revised Penal Code, ciminal liability is incued by any peson
committin! felony BdelitoC althou!h the "on!ful act done be diffeent
fom that "hich he intended. 7n ciminal ne!li!ence, the in6uy caused to
anothe should be unintentional, it bein! simply the incident of anothe
act pefomed "ithout malice. BPeople vs. ;aa, FF Phil., 3D3.C 7n the
"ods of Iiada, &in ode that an act may be )ualified as impudence it is
necessay that eithe malice no intention to cause in6uy should
intevene< "hee such intention e5ists, the act should )ualified by the
felony it has poduced even thou!h it may not have been the intention of
the acto to cause an evil of such !avity as that poduced.( BIiada(s
Comments on the Penal Code, vol. +, Fth ed., p.+.C And, as held by this
Cout, a delibeate intent to do an unla"ful act is essentially inconsistent
"ith the idea of ec$less impudence. BPeople vs. Nan)uil, 0D Phil., *D*.C
#hee such unla"ful act is "ilfully done, a mista$e in the identity of the
intended victim cannot be consideed as ec$less impudence. BPeople vs.
/ona, F0 Phil., G1FC
;)uaely on the point by counsel is the follo"in! decision of the ;upeme
Cout of ;pain%
&uestion G*. ;e pesenta A, a las ocho de la noche, en el estanco de B a
compa tabaco, y habiendose ne!ado este a daselo al fiado, se etia a
)uel sin media ente ambos disputa al!una< peo< tnscuido un cuato
de hoa, hallandose el estan)ueo despachando a C, se oye la detonacion
de un ama de fue!o dispaada po A desde la calle, )uedando muetos en
el acto C y el estan)ueo< supuesta la no intencion en A de mata a C y si
solo al estan)ueo, cabe califica la muete de este de homicidio y la de c
de impudencia temeaia9 A ?a ;ala de lo Ciminal de la Auudiencia de
/anada lo estimo asi, y condeno al pocesado a catose anos de eclusion
po el homivcidio y a un a>o de pision coectional po la impudencia.
Apate de )ue la muete del estan)ueo debio calificase de assesinato y
no de homicidio, po habese e6ecutado con aleviosa. es evidente )ue la
muete de C, suponiendo )ue no se popusiea e6ecutaia el pocesado, no
pudo calificase de impudencia teme aia, sino )ue tambien debio
declaasele esponsable de la misma, a teno de lo puesto en este
apatado ultimo del aticulo< y )ue siendo ambas muetes poducidas po
un solo hecho, o sea po un solo dispao, debio imponese al eo la pena
del delito de asesinato en el !ado ma5imo, a teno de lo dispuesto en el
at. 31 del Codi!o, o sea la pena de muete. ;e ve, pues, claamente )ue
en el antedicha sentencia, apate de otos aticulos del Codi!o, se
infin!io po la ;ala la disposicion de este apatado ultimo del aticulo
muy pincipalmente, y asi lo declao el Tibunal ;upemo en ;. de 24
6unio de 24+*. B/aceta de 2,1 de a!osto.C B7 Iiada, Fth Ed., p. 0*.C
Aticle 04 of the Revised Penal Code povides as follo"s%
At. 04. )enalty for &omplex &rimes. A #hen a sin!le act constitutes
t"o o moe !ave o less !ave felonies, o "hen an offense is a
necessay means fo committin! the othe, the penalty fo the most
seious cime shall be imposed, the same to be applied in its ma5imum
peiod.
#e thin$ it is the above-)uoted aticle and not paa!aph 2 of aticle 03
that is applicable. The case befoe us is clealy !ovened by the fist
clause of aticle 04 because by a sin!le act, that a tho"in! hi!hly
e5plosive hand !enade at Pesident Ro5as, the accused committed t"o
!ave felonies, namely% B2C mude, of "hich ;imeon Iaela "as the
victim< and B*C multiple attempted mude, of "hich Pesident Ro5as,
Alfedo Eva, @ose ,abio, Pedo Caillo and Emilio Ma!lalan! "ee the
in6ued paties.
The $illin! of ;imeon Iaela "as attended by the )ualifyin!
cicumstance of teachey. 7n the case of )eople vs. abug-at, supra, this
cout held that the )ualifyin! cicumstance of teachey may be popely
consideed, even "hen the victim of the attac$ "as not the one "hom the
defendant intended to $ill, if it appeas fom the evidence that neithe of
the t"o pesons could in any manne put up defense a!ainst the attac$, o
become a"ae of it. 7n the same case it "as held that the )ualifyin!
cicumstance of pemeditation may not be popely ta$en into the account
"hen the peson "hom the defendant poposed to $ill "as diffeent fom
the one "ho became his victim.
Thee can be no )uestion that the accused attempted to $ill Pesident
Ro5as by tho"in! a hand !enade at him "ith the intention to $ill him,
theeby commencin! the commission of a felony by ove acts, but he did
not succeed in assassinatin! him &by eason of some cause o accident
othe than his o"n spontaneous desistance.& ,o the same eason "e
)ualify the in6uies caused on the fou othe pesons aleady named as
meely attempted and not fustated mude.
7n this connection, it should be stated that , althou!h thee is abundant
poof that , in violation of the povisions of aticle 204 of the Revised
Penal Code, the accused /uillen has committed amon! othes the offense
of assault upon a peson in authoity, fo in fact his effots "ee diected
to"ads the e5ecution of his main pupose of eliminatin! Pesident Ro5as
fo his failue to edeem his electoal campai!n pomises, by tho"in! at
him in his official capacity as the Chief E5ecutive of the nation the hand
!enade in )uestion, yet, in vie" of the appopiate alle!ation cha!in!
/uillen "ith the commission of said offense, "e shall efain ma$in! a
findin! to that effect.
The comple5 cimes of mude and multiple attempted mude committed
by the accused "ith the sin!le act of tho"in! a hand !enade at the
Pesident, "as attended by the vaious a!!avatin! cicumstances alle!ed
in the infomation, "ithout any miti!atin! cicumstance. But "e do not
deem it necessay to conside said a!!avatin! cicumstances because in
any event aticle 04 of the Revised Penal Code above-)uoted e)uies
that the penalty fo the most seious of said cimes be applied in its
ma5imum peiod. The penalty fo mude is reclusion temporalin its
ma5imum peiod to death. BAt. *04.C
7t is ou painful duty to apply the la" and mete out to the accused the
e5teme penalty povided by it upon the facts and cicumstances
heeinabove naated.
The sentence of the tial cout bein! coect, "e have no altenative but to
affim it, and "e heeby do so by a unanimous vote. The death sentence
shall be e5ecuted in accodance "ith aticle 42 of the Revised Penal
Code, unde authoity of the :iecto of Pisons, on such "o$in! day as
the tial cout may fi5 "ithin D1 days fom the date the ecod shall have
been emanded. 7t is so odeed.
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
,7R;T :7I7;7'N G.R. No. L-7&'2& No()*r 17, 19++
THE PEOPLE O, THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.
,ERNANDO PUGA- . /ALCITA, 0 /EN1AMIN SAMSON .
MAGDALENA, accused-appellants.
*he +olicitor General for plaintiff-appellee. Citi.ens ?e!al Assistance
'ffice fo accused-appellants.
ME:7A?:EA, $.,
,o the death of Bayani Mianda, a etadate, ,ERNAN:' PE/AH y
BA?C7TA and BEN@AM7N ;AM;'N y MA/:A?ENA "ee cha!ed
"ith the cime of MER:ER in Ciminal Case No. ?-2+F-4* of the Cout
of ,ist 7nstance Bno" Re!ional Tial CoutC of Cavite, unde an
infomation "hich eads as follo"s%
That on o about May 23, 234* at the to"n pla.a of the Municipality of
Rosaio, Povince of Cavite, Philippines, and "ithin the 6uisdiction of
this 8onoable Cout, the above-named accused, conspiin!,
confedeatin! and mutually helpin! and assistin! one anothe, "ith
teachey and evident pemeditation, ta$in! advanta!e of thei supeio
sten!th, and "ith the decided pupose to $ill, poued !asoline, a
combustible li)uid to the body of Bayani Mianda and "ith the use of fie
did then and thee, "ilfully, unla"fully and feloniously, bun the "hole
body of said Bayani Mianda "hich caused his subse)uent death, to the
dama!e and pe6udice of the heis of the afoenamed Bayani Mianda.
That the cime "as committed "ith the )ualifyin! cicumstance of
teachey and the a!!avatin! cicumstances of evident pemeditation and
supeio sten!th, and the means employed "as to "ea$en the defense<
that the "on! done in the commission of the cime "as delibeately
au!mented by causin! anothe "on!, that is the bunin! of the body of
Bayani Mianda.
C'NTRARH T' ?A# Bp. 2, -ecordsC.
Epon bein! aai!ned, both accused pleaded not !uilty to the offense
cha!ed. Afte tial, the tial cout endeed a decision findin! both
accused !uilty on the cime of mude but ceditin! in favo of the
accused Pu!ay the miti!atin! cicumstance of lac$ of intention to commit
so !ave a "on!, the dispositive potion of "hich eads as follo"s%
#8ERE,'RE, the accused ,enando Pu!ay y Balcita and Ben6amin
;amson y Ma!dalena ae ponounced !uilty beyond easonable doubt as
pincipals by diect paticipation of the cime of mude fo the death of
Bayani Mianda, and appeciatin! the afoestated miti!atin! cicumstance
in favo of Pu!ay, he is sentenced to a pison tem an!in! fom t"elve
B2*C yeas of prision mayor, as minimum, to t"enty B*1C yeas of
reclusion temporal, as ma5imum, and ;amson to suffe the penalty of
reclusion perpetua to!ethe "ith the accessoies of the la" fo both of
them. The accused ae solidaily held liable to indemnify the heis of the
victim in the amount of P2D,301.11 plus moal dama!es of P21,111.11
and e5emplay dama!es of PF,111.11.
?et the peventive impisonment of Pu!ay be deducted fom the pincipal
penalty.
Cost a!ainst both accused.
;' 'R:ERE: Bp. *04, -ecordsC.
Not satisfied "ith the decision, both accused inteposed the pesent
appeal and assi!ned the follo"in! eos committed by the cout a quo%
2. T8E C'ERT A ./0 ERRE: 7N ET7?7M7N/ T8E ;TATEMENT;
', ACCE;E:-APPE??ANT; 7N 7T; APPREC7AT7'N ', ,ACT;
:E;P7TE 7T; A:M7;;7'N T8AT T8E ACCE;E:-APPE??ANT;
#ERE N'T A;;7;TE: BH A C'EN;E? :ER7N/ T8E CE;T':7A?
7NIE;T7/AT7'N.
*. T8E C'ERT A ./0 ERRE: 7N N'T ,7N:7N/ T8AT T8E
;EPPRE;;7'N BH T8E PR';ECET7'N ', ;'ME EI7:ENCE 7;
,ATA? T' 7T; CA;E.
D. T8E C'ERT A ./0 ERRE: 7N ?EN:7N/ CRE:ENCE T' T8E
7NCRE:7B?E TE;T7M'NH ', E:EAR:' /AB7'N #8' #A;
'NE ', T8E MANH ;E;PECT; ARRE;TE: BH T8E P'?7CE
BAccused-appellants( Bief, p. 04, RolloC.
The antecedent facts ae as follo"s%
The deceased Mianda, a *F-yea old etadate, and the accused Pu!ay
"ee fiends. Mianda used to un eands fo Pu!ay and at times they
slept to!ethe. 'n the evenin! of May 23, 234*, a to"n fiesta fai "as
held in the public pla.a of Rosaio, Cavite. Thee "ee diffeent $inds of
ide and one "as a feis "heel.
;ometime afte midni!ht of the same date, Eduado /abion "as sittin! in
the feis "heel and eadin! a comic boo$ "ith his fiend 8eny. ?ate,
the accused Pu!ay and ;amson "ith seveal companions aived. These
pesons appeaed to be dun$ as they "ee all happy and noisy. As the
!oup sa" the deceased "al$in! neaby, they stated ma$in! fun of him.
They made the deceased dance by tic$lin! him "ith a piece of "ood.
Not content "ith "hat they "ee doin! "ith the deceased, the accused
Pu!ay suddenly too$ a can of !asoline fom unde the en!ine of the fens
"heel and poued its contents on the body of the fome. /abion told
Pu!ay not to do so "hile the latte "as aleady in the pocess of pouin!
the !asoline. Then, the accused ;amson set Mianda on fie ma$in! a
human toch out of him.
The feis "heel opeato late aived and doused "ith "ate the bunin!
body of the deceased. ;ome people aound also poued sand on the
bunin! body and othes "apped the same "ith a!s to e5tin!uish the
flame.
The body of the deceased "as still aflame "hen police office Rolando
;ilan!cu. and othe police offices of the Rosaio Police ,oce aived at
the scene of the incident. Epon in)uiin! as to "ho "ee esponsible fo
the dastadly act, the pesons aound spontaneously pointed to Pu!ay and
;amson as the authos theeof.
The deceased "as late ushed to the /ace 8ospital fo teatment. 7n the
meantime, the police offices bou!ht /abion, the t"o accused and five
othe pesons to the Rosaio municipal buildin! fo inteo!ation. Police
office Reynaldo Canlas too$ the "itten statements of /abion and the
t"o accused, afte "hich /abion "as eleased. The t"o accused
emained in custody.
Afte a caeful evie" of the ecods, #e find the !ounds elied upon by
the accused-appellants fo the evesal of the decision of the cout a quo
to be "ithout meit.
7t beas emphasis that baely a fe" hous afte the incident, accused-
appellants !ave thei "itten statements to the police. The accused Pu!ay
admitted in his statement, E5hibit ,, that he poued a can of !asoline on
the deceased believin! that the contents theeof "as "ate and then the
accused ;amson set the deceased on fie. The accused ;amson, on the
othe hand, alle!ed in his statement that he sa" Pu!ay pou !asoline on
Mianda but did not see the peson "ho set him on fie. #othy of note is
the fact that both statements did not impute any paticipation of
eye"itness /abion in the commission of the offense.
#hile testifyin! on thei defense, the accused-appellants epudiated thei
"itten statements alle!in! that they "ee e5tacted by foce. They
claimed that the police malteated them into admittin! authoship of the
cime. They also en!a!ed in a conceted effot to lay the blame on
/abion fo the commission of the offense.
Thus, "hile it is tue that the "itten statements of the accused-appellants
"ee mentioned and discussed in the decision of the cout a quo, the
contents theeof "ee not utili.ed as the sole basis fo the findin!s of
facts in the decision endeed. The said cout cate!oically stated that
&even "ithout E5hibits (,( and (/(, thee is still /abion(s stai!htfo"ad,
positive and convincin! testimony "hich emains unaffected by the
uncooboated, self-sevin! and unealiable testimonies of Pu!ay and
;amson& Bp. *0+, -ecordsC.
Accused-appellants ne5t asset that the posecution suppessed the
testimonies of othe eye"itnesses to the incident. They claim that despite
the fact that thee "ee othe pesons investi!ated by the police, only
/abion "as pesented as an eye"itness duin! the tial of the case. They
a!ue that the delibeate non- pesentation of these pesons aises the
pesumption that thei testimonies "ould be advese to the posecution.
Thee is no dispute that thee "ee othe pesons "ho "itnessed the
commission of the cime. 7n fact thee appeas on ecod Bpp. 2G-2+,
-ecordsC the "itten statements of one Abelado Reyes and one Monico
Alimoon! alle!in! the same facts and imputin! the espective acts of
pouin! of !asoline and settin! the deceased on fie to the accused-
appellants as testified to by /abion in open cout. They "ee listed as
posecution "itnesses in the infomation filed. Considein! that thei
testimonies "ould be meely cooboative, thei non-pesentation does
not !ive ise to the pesumption that evidence "ilfully suppessed "ould
be advese if poduced. This pesumption does not apply to the
suppession of meely cooboative evidence BE.;. vs. :inola, D+ Phil.
+3+C.12re33an4567#8 Besides, the matte as to "hom to utili.e as "itness
is fo the posecution to decide.
Accused-appellants also attac$ the cedibility of the eye"itness /abion
alle!in! that not only "as the latte e)uested by the mothe of the
deceased to testify fo the posecution in e5chan!e fo his absolution
fom liability but also because his testimony that he "as eadin! a comic
boo$ duin! an unusual event is contay to human behavio and
e5peience.
/abion testified that it "as his uncle and not the mothe of the deceased
"ho as$ed him to testify and state the tuth about the incident. The
mothe of the deceased li$e"ise testified that she neve tal$ed to /abion
and that she sa" the latte fo the fist time "hen the instant case "as
tied. Besides, the accused Pu!ay admitted that /abion "as his fiend and
both Pu!ay and the othe accused ;amson testified that they had no
pevious misundestandin! "ith /abion. Clealy, /abion had no eason
to testify falsely a!ainst them.
7n suppot of thei claim that the testimony of /abion to the effect that he
sa" Pu!ay pou !asoline on the deceased and then ;amson set him on
fie is incedible, the accused-appellants )uote /abion(s testimony on
coss-e5amination that, afte tellin! Pu!ay not to pou !asoline on the
deceased, he B/abionC esumed eadin! comics< and that it "as only
"hen the victim(s body "as on fie that he noticed a commotion.
8o"eve, e5plainin! this testimony on e-diect e5amination, /abion
stated%
=. M. /abion, you told the Cout on coss-e5amination that you "ee
eadin! comics "hen you sa" Pu!ay poued !asoline unto Bayani
Mianda and li!hted by ;amson. 8o" could you possibly see that
incident "hile you "ee eadin! comics9
A. 7 put do"n the comics "hich 7 am eadin! and 7 sa" "hat they "ee
doin!.
=. Accodin! to you also befoe Bayani "as poued "ith !asoline and
li!hted and buned late you had a tal$ "ith Pu!ay, is that coect9
A. #hen he "as pouin! !asoline on Bayani Mianda 7 "as tyin! to
pevent him fom doin! so.
=. #e "ant to claify. Accodin! to you a "hile a!o you had a tal$ "ith
Pu!ay and as a matte of fact, you told him not to pou !asoline. That is
"hat 7 "ant to $no" fom you, if that is tue9
A. Hes, si.
=. Aside fom Bayani bein! tic$led "ith a stic$ on his ass, do you mean
to say you come to $no" that Pu!ay "ill pou !asoline unto him9
A. 7 do not $no" that "ould be that incident.
=. #hy did you asB$C Pu!ay in the fist place not to pou !asoline befoe
he did that actually9
A. Because 7 pity Bayani, si.
=. #hen you sa" Pu!ay tic$lin! Bayani "ith a stic$ on his ass you tied
accodin! to you to as$ him not to and then late you said you as$ed not
to pou !asoline. :id Pu!ay tell you he "as !oin! to pou !asoline on
Bayani9
A. 7 "as not told, si.
=. :id you come to $no"..... ho" did you come to $no" he "as !oin! to
pou !asoline that is "hy you pevent him9
A. Because he "as holdin! on a containe of !asoline. 7 thou!ht it "as
"ate but it "as !asoline.
=. 7t is clea that "hile Pu!ay "as tic$lin! Bayani "ith a stic$ on his ass,
he late !ot hold of a can of !asoline, is that coect9
A. Hes, si.
=. And "hen he pic$ up the can of !asoline, "as that the time you told
him not to pou !asoline "hen he meely pic$ up the can of !asoline.
A. 7 sa" him pouin! the !asoline on the body of @oe.
=. ;o, it is clea "hen you told Pu!ay not to pou !asoline he "as aleady
in the pocess of pouin! !asoline on the body of Bayani9
A. Hes, si BTsn, @uly D1, 234D, pp. D*-DDC.
7t is thus clea that pio to the incident in )uestion, /abion "as eadin! a
comic boo$< that /abion stopped eadin! "hen the !oup of Pu!ay
stated to ma$e fun of the deceased< that /abion sa" Pu!ay !et the can of
!asoline fom unde the en!ine of the feis "heel< that it "as "hile
Pu!ay "as in the pocess of pouin! the !asoline on the body of the
deceased "hen /abion "aned him not to do so< and that /abion late
sa" ;amson set the deceased on fie.
8o"eve, thee is nothin! in the ecods sho"in! that thee "as pevious
conspiacy o unity of ciminal pupose and intention bet"een the t"o
accused-appellants immediately befoe the commission of the cime.
Thee "as no animosity bet"een the deceased and the accused Pu!ay o
;amson. Thei meetin! at the scene of the incident "as accidental. 7t is
also clea that the accused Pu!ay and his !oup meely "anted to ma$e
fun of the deceased. 8ence, the espective ciminal esponsibility of
Pu!ay and ;amson aisin! fom diffeent acts diected a!ainst the
deceased is individual and not collective, and each of them is liable only
fo the act committed by him BE.;. vs. Ma!comot, et. al. 2D, Phil. D4G<
E.;. vs. Abio!, et. al. D+ Phil. 2D+2C.
The ne5t )uestion to be detemined is the ciminal esponsibility of the
accused Pu!ay. 8avin! ta$en the can fom unde the en!ine of the feis
"heel and holdin! it befoe pouin! its contents on the body of the
deceased, this accused $ne" that the can contained !asoline. The stin!in!
smell of this flammable li)uid could not have escaped his notice even
befoe pouin! the same. Clealy, he failed to e5ecise all the dili!ence
necessay to avoid evey undesiable conse)uence aisin! fom any act
that may be committed by his companions "ho at the time "ee ma$in!
fun of the deceased. #e a!ee "ith the ;olicito /eneal that the accused
is only !uilty of homicide thou!h ec$less impudence defined in Aticle
DGF of the Revised Penal Code, as amended. 7n /.+. vs. ale9a, et. al. 20
Phil. 0G4, 0+1, this Cout uled as follo"s%
A man must use common sense and e5ecise due eflection in all his acts<
it is his duty to be cautious, caeful, and pudent, if not fom instinct, then
thou!h fea of incuin! punishment. 8e is esponsible fo such esults
as anyone mi!ht foesee and fo acts "hich no one "ould have pefomed
e5cept thou!h culpable abandon. 'the"ise his o"n peson, i!hts and
popety, all those of his fello"-bein!s, "ould eve be e5posed to all
manne of dan!e and in6uy.
The pope penalty that the accused Pu!ay must suffe is an indeteminate
one an!in! fom fou B0C months ofarresto mayor, as minimum, to fou
B0C yeas and t"o B*C months of prision correccional, as ma5imum. #ith
espect to the accused ;amson, the ;olicito /eneal in his bief contends
that &his conviction of mude, is pope considein! that his act in settin!
the deceased on fie $no"in! that !asoline had 6ust been poued on him is
chaactei.ed by teachey as the victim "as left completely helpless to
defend and potect himself a!ainst such an outa!e& Bp. F+, -olloC. #e do
not a!ee.
Thee is entie absence of poof in the ecod that the accused ;amson
had some eason to $ill the deceased befoe the incident. 'n the contay,
thee is ade)uate evidence sho"in! that his act "as meely a pat of thei
fun-ma$in! that evenin!. ,o the cicumstance of teachey to e5ist, the
attac$ must be delibeate and the culpit employed means, methods, o
foms in the e5ecution theeof "hich tend diectly and specially to insue
its e5ecution, "ithout is$ to himself aisin! fom any defense "hich the
offended paty mi!ht ma$e.
Thee can be no doubt that the accused ;amson $ne" vey "ell that the
li)uid poued on the body of the deceased "as !asoline and a flammable
substance fo he "ould not have committed the act of settin! the latte on
fie if it "ee othe"ise. /ivin! him the benefit of doubt, it call be
conceded that as pat of thei fun-ma$in! he meely intended to set the
deceased(s clothes on fie. 8is act, ho"eve, does not elieve him of
ciminal esponsibility. Bunin! the clothes of the victim "ould cause at
the vey least some $ind of physical in6uies on his peson, a felony
defined in the Revised Penal Code. 7f his act esulted into a !ave
offense, as "hat too$ place in the instant case, he must be held
esponsible theefo. Aticle 0 of the afoesaid code povides, inter alia,
that ciminal liability shall be incued by any peson committin! a felony
BdelitoC althou!h the "on!ful act done be diffeent fom that "hich he
intended.
As no sufficient evidence appeas in the ecod establishin! any
)ualifyin! cicumstances, the accused ;amson is only !uilty of the cime
of homicide defined and penali.ed in Aticle *03 of the Revised Penal
Code, as amended. #e ae disposed to cedit in his favo the odinay
miti!atin! cicumstance of no intention to commit so !ave a "on! as
that committed as thee is evidence of a fact fom "hich such conclusion
can be da"n. The eye"itness /abion testified that the accused Pu!ay
and ;amson "ee stunned "hen they noticed the deceased bunin! BTsn,
@une 2, 234D, pp. 2G-2+C.12re33an4567#8
The pope penalty that the accused ;amson must suffe is an
indeteminate one an!in! fom ei!ht B4C yeas ofprision mayor, as
minimum, to fouteen B20C yeas of reclusion temporal, as ma5imum.
The lo"e cout held the accused solidaily liable fo P2D,301.11, the
amount spent by Mianda(s paents fo his hospitali.ation, "a$e and
intement. The indemnity fo death is PD1,111.11. 8ence, the indemnity
to the heis of the deceased Mianda is inceased to P0D,301.11.
Both accused shall be 6ointly and seveally liable fo the afoesaid
amount plus the P21,111.11 as moal dama!es and PF,111.11 as
e5emplay dama!es as found by the cout a quo.
Accodin!ly, the 6ud!ment is affimed "ith the modifications above-
indicated. Costs a!ainst the accused-appellants.
;' 'R:ERE:
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. L-'+511 Oc"o*r 2, 19''
THE PEOPLE O, THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
,RANCISCO CAGOCO - RAMONES 3alias ,RANCISCO
CAGURO, alias ,RANCISCO ADMONES, alias/UCO-, alias
,RISCO GU-4, defendant-appellant.
:.A. &ald#ell and +otto and Astilla for appellant.
0ffice of the +olicitor-General ;eng9on for appellee.
5IC6ERS, J.:
The accused "as cha!ed in the Cout of ,ist 7nstance of Manila "ith the
cime of asesinato, committed as follo"s%
That on o about the *0th day of @uly, 23D*, in the City of Manila,
Philippine 7slands, the said accused did then and thee "illfully,
unla"fully and feloniously, "ithout any 6ust cause theefo and "ith
intent to $ill and teachey, assault and attac$ one Hu ?on by suddenly
!ivin! him a fist blo" on the bac$ pat of the head, unde conditions
"hich intended diectly and especially to insue, the accomplishment of
his pupose "ithout is$ to himself aisin! fom any defense the victim
Hu ?on mi!ht ma$e, thus causin! him to fall on the !ound as a
conse)uence of "hich he suffeed a laceated "ound on the scalp and a
fissued factue on the left occipital e!ion, "hich "ee necessaily
motal and "hich caused the immediate death of the said Hu ?on.
Afte heain! the evidence, @ud!e ?uis P. Toes found the defendant
!uilty as cha!ed, and sentenced him to suffe reclusion perpetua, "ith
the accessoy penalties of the la", to indemnify the heis of the deceased
Hu ?on in the sum of P2,111, "ithout subsidiay impisonment in case of
insolvency, and to pay the costs.
Appellant(s attoney de oficio ma$es the follo"in! assi!nments of eo%
2. The tial cout eed in findin! that the appellant the peson "ho
committed the assault on Hu ?on, the victim to the cime cha!ed in the
infomation.
*. Assumin! that the appellant is the peson "ho committed the assault
on Hu ?on Ba fact "hich "e specifically denyC, the tial cout eed in
findin! that the appellant stuc$ his supposed victim.
D. Assumin! that the appellant is the peson "ho committed the assault
on Hu ?on, and that the appellant did sti$e his supposed victim Bfacts
"hich "e specifically denyC the tial cout eed in findin! that the blo"
"as dealt fom the victim(s ea.
0. The tial cout eed in findin! that the identity of the appellant "as
fully established.
F. Assumin! that the fou pecedin! eos assi!ned ae "ithout meit, the
tial cout eed in convictin! the appellant of the cime of mude, unde
aticle *04 of the Revised Penal Code, instead of convictin! him of the
cime of malteatment, unde aticle *GG of the said Code.
7t appeas fom the evidence that about 4%D1 on the ni!ht of @uly *0, 23D*
Hu ?on and Hu Hee, fathe and son, stopped to tal$ on the side"al$ at the
cone of Mesti.os and ;an ,enando ;teets in the :istict of ;an
Nicolas Hu ?on "as standin! nea the oute ed!e of the side"al$, "ith his
bac$ to the steet. #hile they "ee tal$in!, a man passed bac$ and foth
behind Hu ?on once o t"ice, and "hen Hu Hee "as about to ta$e leave of
his fathe, the man that had been passin! bac$ the foth behind Hu ?on
appoached him fom behind and suddenly and "ithout "anin! stuc$
him "ith his fist on the bac$ pat of the head. Hu ?on totteed and fell
bac$"ads. 8is head stuc$ the asphalt pavement< the lo"e pat of his
body fell on the side"al$. 8is assailants immediately an a"ay. Hu Hee
pusued him thou!h ;an ,enando, Camba, and @aboneos ;teets, and
then lost si!ht of him. T"o othe Chinese, Chin ;am and Hee ,un!, "ho
"ee "al$in! alon! Calle Mesti.os, sa" the incident and 6oined him in
the pusuit of Hu ?on(s assailant. The "ounded man "as ta$en to the
Philippine /eneal 8ospital, "ee he died about midni!ht. A post-motem
e5amination "as made the ne5t day by :. Anastacia Iille!as, "ho found
that the deceased had sustained a laceated "ound and factue of the
s$ull in the occipital e!ion, and that he had died fom ceebal
hemoha!e< that he had tubeculosis, thou!h not in an advanced sta!e,
and a tumo in the left $idney.
Hu Hee pomptly epoted the incident to the police, and about D o(cloc$
the ne5t monin! ;e!eant ;ol Cu. and othe detectives, accompanied by
Hu Hee, "ent to the scene of the cime and found blood stains in the
steet. Hu Hee said that he could eco!ni.e his fathe(s assailant, and
descibed him as bein! about five feet in hei!ht, *F o D1 yeas old, "ith
lon! hai and "eain! a suit of da$ clothes. Afte ;e!eant ;ol Cu. had
been "o$in! on the case fo thee o fou days he eceived infomation
that the accused mi!ht be the peson that had assaulted Hu ?on, and on
Au!ust 0th the accused "as aested by detectives Mani)ue and
Bustamante. 8e "as "eain! a da$ "ool suit. Hu Hee "as immediately
called to the police station. The accused "as placed nea the middle of a
line of some eleven pesons that had been detained fo investi!ation.
They "ee "eain! diffeent $inds of clothes. Hu Hee "ithout hesitation
pointed out the defendant as the peson that had assaulted Hu ?on. 8e
identified him not only by his lon! hai combed to"ads the bac$ and
"on lon! on the sides in the fom of side-"his$es <patillas=, but also by
his hi!h chee$-bones and the fact that his eas have no lobes. The
defendant "as identified at the tial not only by Hu Hee, but also by Chin
;am and Hee ,un!.
#ith espect to the fist fou assi!nment of eo, "hich aise )uestions of
fact as to the identification of the accused, and "hethe o not be stuc$
the deceased, and if he did assault the deceased, "hethe he did so in a
teacheous manne, "e see no sufficient eason, afte considein! the
evidence and a!uments of counsel, to doubt the coectness of the
findin!s of the tial 6ud!e. The accused "as identified by Hu Hee and t"o
othe Chinese, and althou!h Hu Hee may have ovestated at the tial some
of the facial peculiaities in the defendant that he claimed to have
obseved at the time of the incident, it must be emembeed that Hu Hee
"ithout hesitation pic$ed the defendant out of a !oup of eleven pesons
as his fathe(s assailant, and that he had e5ceptional oppotunities fo
obsevin! his fathe(s assailant, because "hile that peson "as "al$in!
bac$ and foth behind Hu ?on, Hu Hee "as facin! the assailant.
#e find the testimony of the defendant and his "itnesses as to the
"heeabouts of the defendant on the ni!ht in )uestion un"othy of
cedit.6a#phil.net
The testimony of the thee Chinese that a man stuc$ the deceased and
then an a"ay is cooboated by the testimony of a 2F-yea old boy,
:ominado ;ales.
As to the contention that the deceased "ould have fallen on his face if he
had been stuc$ on the bac$ of the head, the e5pet testimony sho"s that
in such a case a peson instinctively ma$es an effot to peseve o e!ain
his balance, and that as esult theeof the deceased may have fallen
bac$"ads. Anothe consideation is that side"al$s almost invaiably
slope to"ads the pavement, and this bein! tue, "hen the deceased
stai!htened up, he natually tended to fall bac$"ads. The evidence
leaves no oom fo doubt that the accused stuc$ the deceased on the bac$
of the head, because "hen the deceased "as assaulted he and Hu Hee
"ee standin! on the side"al$, facin! each othe, and if the accused had
not stuc$ the deceased on the bac$ of the head, it "ould have been
necessay fo him to !o bet"een the deceased and Hu Hee. ;ince the
accused stuc$ the deceased fom behind and "ithout "anin!, he acted
"ith teachey. &Thee is teachey "hen the offende commits any of the
cimes a!ainst the peson, employin! means, methods, o foms in the
e5ecution theeof "hich tend diectly and especially to insue its
e5ecution, "ithout is$ to himself aisin! fom the defense "hich the
offended paty mi!ht ma$e.& BAticle 20, No. 2G, of the Revised Penal
Code.C
The fouth assi!nment of eo is a epetition of the fist.
7n the fifth assi!nment of eo it is contended that the appellant if !uilty
at all, should be punished in accodance "ith aticle *GG of the Revised
Penal Code, o fo sli!ht physical in6uies instead of mude.
Paa!aph No. 2 of aticle 0 of the Revised Penal Code povide that
ciminal liability shall be incued by any peson committin! a felony
BdelitoC althou!h the "on!ful act done be diffeent fom that "hich he
intended< but in ode that a peson may be ciminally liable fo a felony
diffeent fom that "hich he poposed to commit, it is indispensable that
the t"o follo"in! e)uisites be pesent, to "it% BaC That a felony "as
committed< and BbC that the "on! done to the a!!ieved peson be the
diect conse)uence of the cime committed by the offende. E.;. vs.
Bobst, 20 Phil., D21< E.;. vs. Mallai, *3 Phil., 20 E.;. vs. :iana, D*
Phil., D00.C
7n the Bobst case, supra, it "as held that death may esult fom a blo"
ove o nea the heat o in the abdominal e!ion, not"ithstandin! the fact
that the blo" leaves no out"ad ma$ of violence< that "hee death esult
as the diect conse)uence of the use of ille!al violence, the mee fact that
the diseased o "ea$ened condition of the in6ued peson contibuted to
his death, does not elieve the ille!al a!!esso of ciminal esponsibility<
that one is not elieved, unde the la" in these 7slands, fom ciminal
liability fo the natual conse)uences of one(s ille!al acts, meely because
one does not intend to poduce such conse)uences< but that in such cases,
the lac$ of intention, "hile it does not e5empt fom ciminal liability, is
ta$en into consideation as an e5tenuatin! cicumstance. BE.;. vs.
?uciano, * Phil., 3G.C
The easonin! of the decisions cited is applicable to the case at ba. Thee
can be no easonable doubt as to the cause of the death of Hu ?on. Thee
is nothin! to indicate that it "as due to some e5taneous case. 7t "as
clealy the diect conse)uence of defendants felonious act, and the fact
that the defendant did not intend to cause so !eat an in6uy does not
elieve him fom the conse)uence of his unla"ful act, but is meely a
miti!atin! cicumstance BE.;. vs. Rodi!ue., *D Phil., **C.
The ne5t )uestion is "hethe the cime committed by the defendant
should be classified as homicide o mude. Can the defendant be
convicted of mude "hen he did not intend to $ill the deceased9
#e have seen that unde the cicumstances of this case the defendant is
liable fo the $illin! of Hu ?on, because his death "as the diect
conse)uence of defendant(s felonious act of sti$in! him on the head. 7f
the defendant had not committed the assault in a teacheous manne. he
"ould nevetheless have been !uilty of homicide, althou!h he did not
intend to $ill the deceased< and since the defendant did commit the cime
"ith teachey, he is !uilty of mude, because of the pesence of the
)ualifyin! cicumstance of teachey.
The ;upeme Cout of ;pain has held that thee is no incompatibility,
moal o le!al, bet"een alevosia and the miti!atin! cicumstance of not
havin! intended to cause so !eat an in6uy%
Considein! that thee is no moal o le!al incompatibility bet"een
teachey and the miti!atin! cicumstance No. D of aticle 3 of the Penal
Code, because the fome depends upon the manne of e5ecution of the
cime and the latte upon the tendency of the "ill to"ads a definite
pupose, and theefoe thee is no obstacle, in case teacheous means,
modes o foms ae employed, to the appeciation of the fist of said
cicumstances and simultaneously of the second if the in6uy poduced
e5ceeds the limits intended by the accused< and fo that eason it cannot
be held in the instant case that this miti!atin! cicumstances e5cludes
teachey, o that the accused, bein! cha!eable "ith the death of the
offended paty, should not be liable due to the voluntay pesence of
teachey in the act pepetated, althou!h "ith miti!ation coespondin!
to the dispaity bet"een the act intended and the act consummated, etc.
B:ecision of May 21, 231F, /a.ette of Apil *1, 31G< Iiada% Fth edition,
Iol. *, p. 2FG.C
7n the case of the Enited ;tates vs. Candelaia B* Phil., 210C, this cout
spea$in! thou!h Chief @ustice Aellano said%
7n tyin! @acinto to a tee the thee defendants acted teacheously
BalevosamenteC. #hethe it "as to pevent him fom ma$in! esistance,
"hethe it "as to totue him fo the pupose of ma$in! him !ive
infomation, o "hethe it "as fo the pupose of inflictin! futhe
punishment, the fact is that by this means the defendants secued
themselves a!ainst any is$ "hich mi!ht have aisen fom an attempt at
self-defense on the pat of the victim. #e ae of opinion that they had no
intention to cause so !eat an evil as that "hich esulted, but this does not
neutali.e that othe )ualifyin! cicumstance of the esultin! death,
because if thee "as no alevosia fo the pupose of $illin! thee "as
alevosia fo the pupose of the illteatin!. The means employed "ee not
made use of fo the pecise pupose of ma$in! cetain the death of @acinto
de @esus but as a safe means of illteatin! him "ithout is$ to the pesons
"ho "ee doin! so. 7f by this means the ill teatment "as a!!avated, it
follo"s that it is a )ualifyin! cicumstances in the death "hich esulted. 7t
"as not a condition of the pupose, but it "as a condition of the ciminal
act itself, in "hateve sense this be ta$en.
The penalty of mude Baticle *04 of the Revised Penal CodeC is
reclusion temporal in its ma5imum peiod to death, and thee bein!
pesent in this case one miti!atin! and no a!!avatin! cicumstance the
pison sentence of the appellant is educed to seventeen yeas, fou
months, and one day of reclusion temporal. As thus modified, the
decision appealed fom is affimed, "ith the costs a!ainst the appellant.
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
,7R;T :7I7;7'N
G.R. No. 1521'' ,*r7ar. 9, 2002
ROLLIE CALIMUTAN, Petitione,
vs.
PEOPLE O, THE PHILIPPINES, ET AL., Respondents.
: E C 7 ; 7 ' N
CHICO-NA8ARIO, J.:
7n this Petition fo Revie" on Cetioai unde Rule 0F of the Revised
Rules of Cout, petitione Rollie Calimutan pays fo the evesal of the
:ecision of the Cout of Appeals in CA-/.R. CR No. *DD1G, dated *3
Au!ust *112,
2
affimin! the :ecision of the Re!ional Tial Cout BRTCC,
Banch 0G, of Masbate, Masbate, in Ciminal Case No. 4240, dated 23
Novembe 2334,
*
findin! petitione Calimutan !uilty beyond easonable
doubt of the cime of homicide unde Aticle *03 of the Revised Penal
Code.
The 7nfomation
D
filed "ith the RTC cha!ed petitione Calimutan "ith
the cime of homicide, alle!edly committed as follo"s N
That on o about ,ebuay 0, 233G, in the monin! theeof, at sitio
Capsay, Baan!ay Pani)ue, Municipality of Aooy, Povince of Masbate,
Philippines "ithin the 6uisdiction of this 8onoable Cout, the above-
named accused "ith intent to $ill, did then and thee "illfully, unla"fully
and feloniously attac$, assault and tho" a stone at P87?7P CANTRE,
hittin! him at the bac$ left potion of his body, esultin! in laceation of
spleen due to impact "hich caused his death a day afte.
C'NTRARH T' ?A#.
Masbate, Masbate, ;eptembe 22, 233G.
Accodin!ly, the RTC issued, on 1* :ecembe 233G, a "aant
0
fo the
aest of petitione Calimutan. 'n 13 @anuay 233+, ho"eve, he "as
povisionally eleased
F
afte postin! sufficient bailbond.
G
:uin! the
aai!nment on *2 May 233+, petitione Calimutan pleaded not !uilty to
the cime of homicide cha!ed a!ainst him.
+
7n the couse of the tial, the posecution pesented thee "itnesses,
namely% B2C :. Ronaldo B. Mende., a ;enio Medico-?e!al 'ffice of
the National Bueau of 7nvesti!ation BNB7C< B*C Belen B. Cante, mothe
of the victim, Philip Cante< and BDC Rene ?. ;a>ano, companion of the
victim Cante "hen the alle!ed cime too$ place. Thei testimonies ae
collectively summai.ed belo".
'n 10 ,ebuay 233G, at aound 21%11 a.m., the victim Cante and
"itness ;a>ano, to!ethe "ith t"o othe companions, had a din$in!
spee at a video$e ba in Cossin! Capsay, Pani)ue, Aooy, Masbate.
,om the video$e ba, the victim Cante and "itness ;a>ano poceeded to
!o home to thei espective houses, but alon! the "ay, they cossed paths
"ith petitione Calimutan and a cetain Michael Bulalacao. Iictim Cante
"as haboin! a !ud!e a!ainst Bulalacao, suspectin! the latte as the
culpit esponsible fo tho"in! stones at the CanteOs house on a
pevious ni!ht. Thus, upon seein! Bulalacao, victim Cante suddenly
punched him. #hile Bulalacao an a"ay, petitione Calimutan dashed
to"ads the bac$s of victim Cante and "itness ;a>ano. Petitione
Calimutan then pic$ed up a stone, as bi! as a manOs fist, "hich he the"
at victim Cante, hittin! him at the left side of his bac$. #hen hit by the
stone, victim Cante stopped fo a moment and held his bac$. #itness
;a>ano put himself bet"een the victim Cante and petitione Calimutan,
and attempted to pacify the t"o, even convincin! petitione Calimutan to
put do"n anothe stone he "as aleady holdin!. 8e also u!ed victim
Cante and petitione Calimutan to 6ust !o home. #itness ;a>ano
accompanied victim Cante to the latteOs house, and on the "ay, victim
Cante complained of the pain in the left side of his bac$ hit by the stone.
They aived at the CanteOs house at aound 2*%11 noon, and "itness
;a>ano left victim Cante to the cae of the latteOs mothe, Belen.
4
Iictim Cante immediately told his mothe, Belen, of the stonin! incident
involvin! petitione Calimutan. 8e a!ain complained of bac$ache and
also of stomachache, and "as unable to eat. By ni!httime, victim Cante
"as altenately feelin! cold and then "am. 8e "as s"eatin! pofusely
and his entie body felt numb. 8is family "ould have "anted to bin!
him to a docto but they had no vehicle. At aound D%11 a.m. of the
follo"in! day, 1F ,ebuay 233G, Belen "as "ipin! his son "ith a piece
of cloth, "hen victim Cante as$ed fo some food. 8e "as able to eat a
little, but he also late vomited "hateve he ate. ,o the last time, he
complained of bac$ache and stomachache, and shotly theeafte, he
died.
3
Ri!ht afte his death, victim Cante "as e5amined by :. Conchita ;.
Elanday, the Municipal 8ealth 'ffice of Aooy, Masbate. The Post-
Motem E5amination Repot
21
and Cetification of :eath,
22
issued and
si!ned by :. Elanday, stated that the cause of death of victim Cante "as
cadio-espiatoy aest due to suspected food poisonin!. The body of
victim Cante "as subse)uently embalmed and buied on 2D ,ebuay
233G.
Ensatisfied "ith the findin!s of :. Elanday, the Cante family, "ith the
help of the ?in!$od Bayan-Ciculo de Abo!adas of the AB;-CBN
,oundation, e)uested fo an e5humation and autopsy of the body of the
victim Cante by the NB7. The e5humation and autopsy of the body of the
victim Cante "as conducted by :. Ronaldo B. Mende. on 2F Apil
233G,
2*
afte "hich, he epoted the follo"in! findin!s N
Body< faily "ell-peseved "ith si!n of patial autopsy< clad in "hite
Baon! Ta!alo! and blue pants placed inside a "ooden !olden-bo"n
coffin and buied in a concete niche.
Contused-abasion, *.D 5 2.1 cms., posteio chest "all, left side.
8ematoma, 2G.1 5 4.1 cms., abdomen, alon! mid-line.
8emopeitoneum, massive, clotte PsicQ.
?aceation, spleen.
'the visceal o!an, pale and embalmed.
;tomach contains small amount of "hitish fluid and othe patially
di!ested food paticles.
5 5 5 5
CAE;E ', :EAT8% TRAEMAT7C 7N@ERH ', T8E AB:'MEN.
7n his testimony befoe the RTC, :. Mende. affimed the contents of his
e5humation and autopsy epot. 8e e5plained that the victim Cante
suffeed fom an intenal hemoha!e and thee "as massive
accumulation of blood in his abdominal cavity due to his laceated
spleen. The laceation of the spleen can be caused by any blunt
instument, such as a stone. 8ence, :. Mende. confimed the possibility
that the victim Cante "as stoned to death by petitione Calimutan.
2D
To counte the evidence of the posecution, the defense pesented the sole
testimony of the accused, heein petitione, Calimutan.
Accodin! to petitione Calimutan, at about 2%11 p.m. on 10 ,ebuay
233G, he "as "al$in! "ith his house helpe, Michael Bulalacao, on thei
"ay to Cossin! Capsay, Pani)ue, Aooy, Masbate, "hen they met "ith
the victim Cante and "itness ;a>ano. The victim Cante too$ hold of
Bulalacao and punched him seveal times. Petitione Calimutan attempted
to pacify the victim Cante but the latte efused to calm do"n, pullin!
out fom his "aist an ei!ht-inch Batan!as $nife and uttein! that he "as
loo$in! fo touble, eithe &to $ill o be $illed.& At this point, petitione
Calimutan "as about ten metes a"ay fom the victim Cante and "as too
fi!htened to move any close fo fea that the ena!ed man "ould tun
on him< he still had a family to ta$e cae of. #hen he sa" that the victim
Cante "as about to stab Bulalacao, petitione Calimutan pic$ed up a
stone, "hich he descibed as appo5imately one-inch in diamete, and
the" it at the victim Cante. 8e "as able to hit the victim Cante on his
i!ht buttoc$. Petitione Calimutan and Bulalacao then stated to un
a"ay, and victim Cante chased afte them, but "itness ;a>ano "as able
to pacify the victim Cante. Petitione Calimutan alle!edly epoted the
incident to a >aga#ad of Baan!ay Pani)ue and to the police authoities
and sou!ht thei help in settlin! the dispute bet"een Bulalacao and the
victim Cante. Bulalacao, mean"hile, efused to see$ medical help
despite the advice of petitione Calimutan and, instead, chose to !o bac$
to his hometo"n.
20
Petitione Calimutan "as totally una"ae of "hat had happened to the
victim Cante afte the stonin! incident on 10 ,ebuay 233G. ;ome of his
fiends told him that they still sa" the victim Cante din$in! at a video$e
ba on the ni!ht of 10 ,ebuay 233G. As fa as he $ne", the victim
Cante died the follo"in! day, on 1F ,ebuay 233G, because of food
poisonin!. Petitione Calimutan maintained that he had no pesonal
!ud!e a!ainst the victim Cante pevious to the stonin! incident.
2F
'n 23 Novembe 2334, the RTC endeed its :ecision,
2G
essentially
adoptin! the posecutionOs account of the incident on 10 ,ebuay 233G,
and ponouncin! that N
7t cannot be le!ally contended that the tho"in! of the stone by the
accused "as in defense of his companion, a stan!e, because afte the
bo5in! Michael "as able to un. #hile it appeas that the victim "as the
unla"ful a!!esso at the be!innin!, but the a!!ession aleady ceased
afte Michael "as able to un and thee "as no moe need fo tho"in! a
stone. The tho"in! of the stone to the victim "hich "as a etaliatoy act
can be consideed unla"ful, hence the accused can be held ciminally
liable unde paa!aph 2 of At. 0 of the Revised Penal Code.
The act of tho"in! a stone fom behind "hich hit the victim at his bac$
on the left side "as a teacheous one and the accused committed a felony
causin! physical in6uies to the victim. The physical in6uy of hematoma
as a esult of the impact of the stone esulted in the laceation of the
spleen causin! the death of the victim. The accused is ciminally liable
fo all the diect and natual conse)uences of this unla"ful act even if the
ultimate esult had not been intended. BAt. 0, Pa. 2, Revised Penal Code<
People vs. Naciso, CA-/.R. No. 1DFD*-CR, @an. 2D, 23G0C
'ne is not elieved fom ciminal liability fo the natual conse)uences of
oneOs ille!al acts meely because one does not intend to poduce such
conse)uences BE.;. vs. Bobst, 20 Phil. D21C.
The cime committed is 8omicide as defined and penali.ed unde At.
*03 of the Revised Penal Code.
#8ERE,'RE, the Cout finds and so holds that accused R'??7E
CA?7METAN is /E7?TH beyond easonable doubt of the cime of
8omicide defined and penali.ed unde At. *03 of the Revised Penal
Code "ith no miti!atin! o a!!avatin! cicumstance and applyin! the
7ndeteminate ;entence ?a" heeby imposes the penalty of impisonment
fom E7/8T B4C HEAR; of Pision Mayo as minimum, to T#E?IE
B2*C HEAR; and 'NE B2C :AH of Reclusion Tempoal as ma5imum, and
to indemnify the heis of Philip Cante the sum of ,ifty Thousand
BPF1,111.11C Pesos as compensatoy dama!es and the sum of ,ifty
Thousand BPF1,111.11C Pesos as moal dama!es, "ithout subsidiay
impisonment in case of insolvency.
Petitione Calimutan appealed the :ecision of the RTC to the Cout of
Appeals. The Cout of Appeals, in its :ecision, dated *3 Au!ust *112,
2+
sustained the conviction of homicide endeed by the RTC a!ainst
petitione Calimutan, atiocinatin! thus N
The posecution has sufficiently established that the seious intenal
in6uy sustained by the victim "as caused by the stone tho"n at the
victim by the accused "hich, the accused-appellant does not deny. 7t "as
li$e"ise sho"n that the intenal in6uy sustained by the victim "as the
esult of the impact of the stone that hit the victim. 7t esulted to a
taumatic in6uy of the abdomen causin! the laceation of the victimOs
spleen.
This is clealy sho"n by the autopsy epot pepaed by :. Ronaldo
Mende., a ;enio Medico ?e!al 'ffice of the NB7 afte the e5humation
of the victimOs cadaveR
The Cout cannot !ive cedence to the post motem epot pepaed by
Municipal 8ealth 'ffice :. Conchita Elanday statin! that the cause of
the victimOs death "as food poisonin!. :. Elanday "as not even
pesented to testify in cout hence she "as not even able to identify
andSo affim the contents of he epot. ;he "as not made available fo
coss-e5amination on the accuacy and coectness of he findin!s.
:. Conchita ElandayOs post motem epot cannot pevail ove the
autopsy epot BE5h. &C&C of the Medico-?e!al 'ffice of the NB7 "ho
testified and "as coss-e5amined by the defense.
Besides, if accused-appellant "as convinced that the victim indeed died
of food poisonin!, as epoted by :. Conchita Elanday, "hy did they not
pesent he as thei "itness to belie the epot of the Medico-?e!al
'ffice of the NB7.
The tial coutOs evaluation of the testimony of :. Mende. is accoded
the hi!hest espect because it had the oppotunity to obseve the conduct
and demeano of said "itness.
#8ERE,'RE, in vie" of the foe!oin!, the decision of the Re!ional
Tial Cout of Masbate, Banch 0G, findin! accused-appellant !uilty
beyond easonable doubt of the cime of homicide is heeby A,,7RME:.
The Cout of Appeals, in its Resolution, dated 2F @anuay *11*,
24
denied
the Motion fo Reconsideation filed by petitione Calimutan fo lac$ of
meit since the issues aised theein had aleady been passed and uled
upon in its :ecision, dated *3 Au!ust *112.
Comes no" petitione Calimutan, by "ay of the pesent Petition fo
Revie" on Cetioai, see$in! B2C the evesal of the :ecisions of the
RTC, dated 23 Novembe 2334, and of the Cout of Appeals, dated *3
Au!ust *112, convictin! him of the cime of homicide< and, B*C
conse)uently, his ac)uittal of the said cime based on easonable doubt.
Petitione Calimutan contended that the e5istence of the t"o autopsy
epots, "ith dissimila findin!s on the cause of death of the victim
Cante, constituted easonable doubt as to the liability of petitione
Calimutan fo the said death, a!uin! that N
5 5 5 P7Qt "as :a. Conchita Elanday, Municipal 8ealth 'ffice of
Aooy, Masbate "as the fist physician of the !ovenment "ho
conducted an e5amination on the cadave of the victim Philip Cante
"hose findin!s "as that the cause of his death "as due to food poisonin!
"hile the second !ovenment physician NB7 Medico ?e!al 'ffice :.
Ronaldo Mende. "hose findin!s "as that the cause of the death "as due
to a taumatic in6uy of the abdomen caused by a laceated spleen and
"ith these findin!s of t"o B*C !ovenment physicians "hose findin!s ae
at vaiance "ith each othe mateially, it is humbly contended that the
same issue aised a easonable doubt on the culpability of the petitione.
As thee ae impobabilities and uncetainties of the evidence fo the
posecution in the case at ba, it suffices to eaise PsicQ easonable doubt
as to the petitioneOs !uilt and theefoe, he is entitled to ac)uittal BPeople
vs. :elmendo, /.R. No. D*20G, Novembe *D, 2342C.
23
7n this 6uisdiction, an accused in a ciminal case may only be convicted
if his o he !uilt is established by poof beyond easonable doubt. Poof
beyond easonable doubt e)uies only a moal cetainty o that de!ee of
poof "hich poduces conviction in an unpe6udiced mind< it does not
demand absolute cetainty and the e5clusion of all possibility of eo.
*1
7n the Petition at ba, this Cout finds that thee is poof beyond
easonable doubt to hold petitione Calimutan liable fo the death of the
victim Cante.
Endoubtedly, the e5humation and autopsy epot and the pesonal
testimony befoe the RTC of posecution "itness, NB7 ;enio Medico-
?e!al 'ffice :. Mende., ae vital pieces of evidence a!ainst petitione
Calimutan. :. Mende. detemined that the victim Cante died of intenal
hemoha!e o bleedin! due to the laceation of his spleen. 7n his
testimony, :. Mende. clealy and consistently e5plained that the spleen
could be laceated o uptued "hen the abdominal aea "as hit "ith a
blunt ob6ect, such as the stone tho"n by petitione Calimutan at the
victim Cante.
7t beas to emphasi.e that :. Mende. "as pesented by the posecution
as an e5pet "itness, "hose &competency and academic )ualification and
bac$!ound& "as admitted by the defense itself.
*2
As a S$#or M9#co-
L:a; O<<#cr of the NB7, :. Mende. is pesumed to possess sufficient
$no"led!e of patholo!y, su!ey, !ynecolo!y, to5icolo!y, and such othe
banches of medicine !emane to the issues involved in a case.
**
:. Mende.Os testimony as an e5pet "itness is evidence,
*D
and althou!h
it does not necessaily bind the couts, both the RTC and the Cout of
Appeals had popely accoded it !eat "ei!ht and pobative value.
8avin! testified as to mattes undeniably "ithin his aea of e5petise, and
havin! pefomed a thoou!h autopsy on the body of the victim Cante,
his findin!s as to the cause of death of the victim Cante ae moe than
6ust the mee speculations of an odinay peson. They may sufficiently
establish the causal elationship bet"een the stone tho"n by the
petitione Calimutan and the laceated spleen of the victim Cante "hich,
subse)uently, esulted in the latteOs death. #ith no appaent mista$e o
ie!ulaity, "hethe in the manne by "hich :. Mende. pefomed the
autopsy on the body of the victim Cante o in his findin!s, then his
epot and testimony must be seiously consideed by this Cout.
Moeove, efeence to othe esouce mateials on abdominal in6uies
"ould also suppot the conclusion of :. Mende. that the stone tho"n
by petitione Calimutan caused the death of the victim Cante.
'ne souce e5plains the natue of abdominal in6uies
*0
in the follo"in!
manne N
The s$in may r)a#$ 7$)ar=9 inspite of e5tensive intenal in6uies
"ith bleedin! and disuption of the intenal o!ans. The aeas most
vulneable ae the point of attachment of intenal o!ans, especially at the
souce of its blood supply and at the point "hee blood vessels chan!e
diection.
The aea in the middle supeio half of the abdomen, fomin! a tian!le
bounded by the ibs on the t"o sides and a line da"n hoi.ontally
thou!h the umbilicus fomin! its base is (7;$ra*; "o "ra7)a a!!;#9
<ro) a$. 9#rc"#o$. 7n this tian!le ae found seveal blood vessels
chan!in! diection, paticulaly the celiac tun$, its banches B"h
h!a"#c, %!;$#c a$9 :a%"r#c ar"r#%C as "ell as the accompanyin!
veins. The loop of the duodenum, the li!ament of Teit. and the panceas
ae in the etopeitoneal space, and the stomach and tansvese colon ae
in the tian!le, located in the peitoneal cavity. Compession o blo" on
the aea may cause detachment, laceation, stetch-stess, contusion of the
o!ans BLegal edicine 6?@A, &yril B. :echt et., p. C6C.
As to in6uies to the spleen, in paticula,
*F
the same souce e5pounds that
N
The spleen usually suffes taumatic uptue esultin! fom the impact of
a fall o blo" fom the cushin! and !indin! effects of "heels of moto
vehicles. Althou!h the o!an is potected at its uppe potion by the ibs
and also by the ai-containin! visceal o!ans, yet on account of its
%7!r<#c#a;#". a$9 <ra:#;#"., it is usually affected by tauma. 5 5 5.
Cetainly, thee ae some tems in the above-)uoted paa!aphs difficult
to compehend fo people "ithout medical bac$!ounds. Nevetheless,
thee ae some points that can be plainly deived theefom% B2C Contay
to common peception, the abdominal aea is moe than 6ust the "aist
aea. The entie abdominal aea is divided into diffeent tian!les, and the
spleen is located in the uppe tian!le, bounded by the ib ca!e< B*C The
spleen and all intenal o!ans in the same tian!le ae vulneable to
tauma fom a;; 9#rc"#o$%. Theefoe, the stone need not hit the victim
Cante fom the font. Even impact fom a stone hittin! the bac$ of the
victim Cante, in the aea of the afoe-mentioned tian!le, could uptue
the spleen< and BDC Althou!h the spleen had aleady been uptued o
laceated, thee may not al"ays be a peceptible e5tenal in6uy to the
victim. 7n6uy to the spleen cannot, at all times, be attibuted to an
obvious, e5tenal in6uy such as a cut o buise. The laceation of the
victim CanteOs spleen can be caused by a stone tho"n had enou!h,
"hich )ualifies as a nonpenetatin! tauma
*G
N
No$!$"ra"#$: Tra7)a. The spleen, alone o in combination "ith othe
viscea, is the )o%" <r>7$";. #$?7r9 or:a$ follo"in! *;7$" "ra7)a
to the abdomen o the lo"e thoacic ca!e. Automobile accidents povide
the pedominatin! cause, "hile falls, sleddin! and bicycle in6uies, and
blo"s incued duin! contact spots ae fe)uently implicated in
childen. 5 5 5
The shee impact of the stone tho"n by petitione Calimutan at the bac$
of the victim Cante could uptue o laceate the spleen N an o!an
descibed as vulneable, supeficial, and fa!ile N even "ithout causin!
any othe e5tenal physical in6uy. Accodin!ly, the findin!s of :.
Mende. that the victim Cante died of intenal hemoha!e fom his
laceated spleen, and the cause of the laceation of the spleen "as the
stone tho"n by petitione Calimutan at the bac$ of the victim Cante,
does not necessaily contadict his testimony befoe the RTC that none of
the e5tenal in6uies of the victim Cante "ee fatal.
Based on the foe!oin! discussion, the posecution "as able to establish
that the po5imate cause of the death of the victim Cante "as the stone
tho"n at him by petitione Calimutan. Po5imate cause has been defined
as &that cause, "hich, in natual and continuous se)uence, unbo$en by
any efficient intevenin! cause, poduces the in6uy, and "ithout "hich
the esult "ould not have occued.&
*+
The t"o othe "itnesses pesented by the posecution, namely ;a>ano
and Belen Cante, had ade)uately ecounted the events that tanspied on
10 ,ebuay 233G to 1F ,ebuay 233G. Bet"een the t"o of them, the
said "itnesses accounted fo the "heeabouts, actions, and physical
condition of the victim Cante duin! the said peiod. Befoe the
encounte "ith petitione Calimutan and Bulalacao, the victim Cante
seemed to be physically fine. 8o"eve, afte bein! hit at the bac$ by the
stone tho"n at him by petitione Calimutan, the victim Cante had
continuously complained of bac$ache. ;ubse)uently, his physical
condition apidly deteioated, until finally, he died. 'the than bein!
stoned by petitione Calimutan, thee "as no othe instance "hen the
victim Cante may have been hit by anothe blunt instument "hich could
have caused the laceation of his spleen.
8ence, this Cout is moally pesuaded that the victim Cante died fom a
laceated spleen, an in6uy sustained afte bein! hit by a stone tho"n at
him by petitione Calimutan. Not even the post-motem epot of :.
Elanday, the Municipal 8ealth 'ffice "ho fist e5amined the body of
the victim Cante, can aise easonable doubt as to the cause of death of
the victim Cante. 7nvo$in! :. ElandayOs post-motem epot, the
defense insisted on the possibility that the victim Cante died of food
poisonin!. The post-motem epot, thou!h, cannot be !iven much "ei!ht
and pobative value fo the follo"in! easons N
,ist, a close scutiny of the "ods used by :. Elanday in he post-
motem epot, as "ell as in the death cetificate of the victim Cante,
eveals that althou!h she suspected food poisonin! as the cause of death,
she held bac$ fom ma$in! a cate!oical statement that it "as so. 7n the
post-motem epot,
*4
she found that &5 5 5 the povable BsicC cause of
death "as due to cadio-espiatoy aest. ,ood poisonin! must be
confim BsicC by laboatoy eB5Cam.& 7n the death cetificate of the victim
Cante,
*3
she "ote that the immediate cause of death "as &Cadio-
Respiatoy Aest& and the antecedent cause "as &,ood Poisonin!
;uspect.& Thee "as no sho"in! that futhe laboatoy tests "ee indeed
conducted to confim :. ElandayOs suspicion that the victim Cante
suffeed fom food poisonin!, and "ithout such confimation, he
suspicion as to the cause of death emains 6ust that N a suspicion.
;econd, :. Elanday e5ecuted befoe the NB7 a s"on statement
D1
in
"hich she had e5plained he findin!s in the post-motem epot, to "it N
1F. =% :id you conduct an autopsy on his cadave9
A% 7 did si, but not as e5haustive as that done by the NB7 Medico-le!al.
1G. =% No", "hat do you "ant to state e!adin! you cetification on the
death of P87?7P B. CANTRE9
A% 7 stated in the cetification and even in the :eath Cetificate about
&,ood Poisonin!&. #hat 7 stated in the :eath Cetificate "as that
CANTRE "as a ;E;PECTE: victim of food poisonin!. 7 didnOt state
that he "as a case of food poisonin!. And in the Cetification, 7 even
ecommended that an e5amination be done to confim that suspicion.
1+. =% #hat !ave you that suspicion of poisonin!9
A% As thee "ee no e5tenal si!ns of fatal in6uies e5cept that of the
contusion o abasion, measuin! as that si.e of a *F centavo coin, 7 based
my suspicion fom the histoy of the victim and fom the police
investi!ation.
14. =% Hou also mentioned in you Cetification that thee "as no intenal
hemoha!e in the cadave. :id you open the body of the cadave9
A% As 7 have aleady stated si, 7 did not conduct an e5haustive autopsy. 7
made an incision on the abdomen and 7 e5ploed the intenal o!ans of
the cadave "ith my hand in seach fo any clottin! inside. But 7 found
none. 7 did not open the body of the cadave.
13. =% Hou mentioned about a contusion you have obseved on the
cadave. #hee "as it located9
A% 'n the left potion of his bac$, si.
21. =% No", is it possible that if somebody be hit by a had ob6ect on that
pat of his body, his ;P?EEN could be in6ued9
A% Hes, si. But that "ould depend on ho" ston! o foceful the impact
"as.
7n contast, :. Mende. descibed in his testimony befoe the RTC
D2
ho"
he conducted the autopsy of the body of the victim Cante, as follo"s N
= #hat specific pocedue did you do in connection "ith the e5humation
of the body of the victim in this case9
A #e opened the head, chest and the abdomen.
= That "as pat of the autopsy you have conducted9
A Hes, si.
= Aside fom openin! the head as "ell as the body of the victim Philip
Cante, "hat othe mattes did you do in connection thee"ith9
A #e e5amined the intenal o!ans.
= #hat in paticula intenal o!ans you have e5amined9
A The bain, the heat, the lun!s, the live, the $idneys, the panceas plus
the intestines.
5 5 5 5
= The cause of death as you have listed hee in you findin!s is listed as
taumatic in6uy of the abdomen, "ill you $indly tell us :octo "hat is
the si!nificance of this medical tem taumatic in6uy of the abdomen9
A #e, medico-le!al offices of the NB7 donOt do "hat othe doctos do as
they ma$e causes of death as intenal hemoha!e "e paticulaly point to
the in6uy of the body li$e this paticula case the in6uy "as at the
abdomen of the victim.
= #ill you tell as :octo "hat paticula potion of the abdomen of the
victim this taumatic in6uy is located9
A Alon! the midline but the dama!ed o!an "as at the left.
= #hat paticula o!an ae you efein! to9
A The spleen, si.
The diffeence in the e5tent of the e5aminations conducted by the t"o
doctos of the body of the victim Cante povides an ade)uate e5planation
fo thei appaent inconsistent findin!s as to the cause of death.
Compain! the limited autopsy conducted by :. Elanday and he
unconfimed suspicion of food poisonin! of the victim Cante, as
opposed to the e5haustive autopsy pefomed by :. Mende. and his
definitive findin! of a uptued spleen as the cause of death of the victim
Cante, then the latte, "ithout doubt, deseves to be !iven cedence by
the couts.
Thid, that the posecution no lon!e pesented :. Elanday befoe the
RTC despite bein! included in its list of "itnesses did not amount to a
"illful suppession of evidence that "ould !ive ise to the pesumption
that he testimony "ould be advese to the posecution if poduced.
D*
As
this Cout aleady e5pounded in the case of)eople v. $umamoy
DD
N
The posecution(s failue to pesent the othe "itnesses listed in the
infomation did not constitute, contay to the contention of the accused,
suppession of evidence. The posecuto has the e5clusive peo!ative to
detemine the "itnesses to be pesented fo the posecution. 7f the
posecution has seveal eye"itnesses, as in the instant case, the
posecuto need not pesent all of them but only as many as may be
needed to meet the )uantum of poof necessay to establish the !uilt of
the accused beyond easonable doubt. The testimonies of the othe
"itnesses may, theefoe, be dispensed "ith fo bein! meely
cooboative in natue. This Cout has uled that the non-pesentation of
cooboative "itnesses "ould not constitute suppession of evidence and
"ould not be fatal to the posecution(s case. Besides, thee is no sho"in!
that the eye"itnesses "ho "ee not pesented in cout as "itnesses "ee
not available to the accused. #e eiteate the ule that the advese
pesumption fom a suppession of evidence is not applicable "hen B2C
the suppession is not "illful< B*C the evidence suppessed o "ithheld is
meely cooboative o cumulative< BDC the evidence is at the disposal of
both paties< and B0C the suppession is an e5ecise of a pivile!e.
Moeove, if the accused believed that the failue to pesent the othe
"itnesses "as because thei testimonies "ould be unfavoable to the
posecution, he should have compelled thei appeaance, by compulsoy
pocess, to testify as his o"n "itnesses o even as hostile "itnesses.
7t "as a 6ud!ment call fo the posecution to no lon!e pesent :.
Elanday befoe the RTC, pehaps believin! that it had aleady pesented
sufficient evidence to meit the conviction of petitione Calimutan even
"ithout he testimony. Thee "as nothin!, ho"eve, peventin! the
defense fom callin! on, o even compellin!, "ith the appopiate cout
pocesses, :. Elanday to testify in cout as its "itness if it tuly believed
that he testimony "ould be advese to the case pesented by the
posecution.
#hile this Cout is in accod "ith the factual findin!s of the RTC and the
Cout of Appeals and affims that thee is ample evidence povin! that
the death of the victim Cante "as caused by his laceated spleen, an
in6uy "hich esulted fom bein! hit by the stone tho"n at him by
petitione Calimutan, this Cout, nonetheless, is at vaiance "ith the RTC
and the Cout of Appeals as to the detemination of the appopiate cime
o offense fo "hich the petitione should have been convicted fo.
Aticle D of the Revised Penal Code classifies felonies accodin! to the
means by "hich they ae committed, in paticula% B2C intentional
felonies, and B*C culpable felonies. These t"o types of felonies ae
distin!uished fom each othe by the e5istence o absence of malicious
intent of the offende N
7n intentional felonies, the act o omission of the offende is malicious. 7n
the lan!ua!e of At. D, the act is pefomed "ith delibeate intent B"ith
maliceC. The offende, in pefomin! the act o in incuin! the omission,
has the intention to cause an in"ury to anothe. 7n culpable felonies, the
act o omission of the offende is not malicious. The in6uy caused by the
offende to anothe peson is &unintentional, it bein! simply the incident
of anothe act pefomed #ithout malice.& BPeople vs. ;aa, FF Phil. 3D3C.
As stated in At. D, the "on!ful act esults fom impudence, ne!li!ence,
lac$ of foesi!ht o lac$ of s$ill.
D0
7n the Petition at ba, this Cout cannot, in !ood conscience, attibute to
petitione Calimutan any malicious intent to in6ue, much less to $ill, the
victim Cante< and in the absence of such intent, this Cout cannot sustain
the conviction of petitione Calimutan fo the intentional cime of
homicide, as endeed by the RTC and affimed by the Cout of Appeals.
7nstead, this Cout finds petitione Calimutan !uilty beyond easonable
doubt of the culpable felony of reckless imprudence resulting in
homicide unde Aticle DGF of the Revised Penal Code.
Aticle DGF of the Revised Penal Code e5pessly povides fo the
definition of ec$less impudence N
Rec$less impudence consists in voluntaily, but "ithout malice, doin! o
failin! to do an act fom "hich mateial dama!e esults by eason of
ine5cusable lac$ of pecaution on the pat of the peson pefomin! o
failin! to pefom such act, ta$in! into consideation his employment o
occupation, de!ee of intelli!ence, physical condition and othe
cicumstances e!adin! pesons, time and place.
Thee ae seveal cicumstances, discussed in the succeedin! paa!aphs,
that demonstate petitione CalimutanOs lac$ of intent to $ill the victim
Cante, and convesely, that substantiate the vie" of this Cout that the
death of victim Cante "as a esult of petitione CalimutanOs ec$less
impudence. The RTC and the Cout of Appeals may have failed to
appeciate, o had completely oveloo$ed, the si!nificance of such
cicumstances.
7t should be emembeed that the meetin! of the victim Cante and
"itness ;a>ano, on the one hand, and petitione Calimutan and his helpe
Bulalacao, on the othe, "as a chance encounte as the t"o paties "ee
on thei "ay to diffeent destinations. The victim Cante and "itness
;a>ano "ee on thei "ay home fom a din$in! spee in Cossin!
Capsay, "hile petitione Calimutan and his helpe Bulalacao "ee
"al$in! fom the ma$et to Cossin! Capsay. #hile the evidence on
ecod su!!ests that a unnin! !ud!e e5isted bet"een the victim Cante
and Bulalacao, it did not establish that thee "as li$e"ise an e5istin!
animosity bet"een the victim Cante and petitione
Calimutan.6avvphil.net
7n both vesions of the events of 10 ,ebuay 233G submitted by the
posecution and the defense, it "as the victim Cante "ho "as the initial
a!!esso. 8e suddenly punched Bulalacao, the helpe and companion of
petitione Calimutan, "hen they met on the oad. The attac$ of the victim
Cante "as s"ift and unpovo$ed, "hich spued petitione Calimutan
into esponsive action. /iven that this Cout dismisses the claim of
petitione Calimutan that the victim Cante "as holdin! a $nife, it does
ta$e into account that the victim Cante "as consideably olde and
bi!!e, at *G yeas of a!e and "ith a hei!ht of five feet and nine inches,
compaed to Bulalacao, the boy he attac$ed, "ho "as only 2F yeas old
and stood at about five feet. Even "ith his bae hands, the victim Cante
could have hut Bulalacao. Petitione Calimutan sou!ht only to potect
Bulalacao and to stop the assault of the victim Cante a!ainst the latte
"hen he pic$ed up a stone and the" it at the victim Cante. The stone
"as eadily available as a "eapon to petitione Calimutan since the
incident too$ place on a oad. That he the" the stone at the bac$ of the
victim Cante does not automatically imply teachey on the pat of
petitione Calimutan as it is hi!hly pobable that in the midst of the fay,
he the" the stone ashly and impulsively, "ith no e!ad as to the
position of the victim Cante. #hen the victim Cante stopped his
a!!ession afte bein! hit by the stone tho"n by petitione Calimutan,
the latte also desisted fom any othe act of violence a!ainst the victim
Cante.
The above-descibed incident could not have ta$en moe than 6ust a fe"
minutes. 7t "as a vey bief scuffle, in "hich the paties involved "ould
hadly have the time to ponde upon the most appopiate couse of action
to ta$e. #ith this in mind, this Cout cannot concu in the declaation
made by the Cout of Appeals that petitione Calimutan the" the stone at
the victim Cante as a etaliatoy act. 7t "as evidently a s"ift and
spontaneous eaction to an une5pected and unpovo$ed attac$ by the
victim Cante on Bulalacao. That Bulalacao "as aleady able to un a"ay
fom the victim Cante may have escaped the notice of the petitione
Calimutan "ho, unde the pessue of the cicumstances, "as foced to
act as )uic$ly as possible.
The posecution did not establish that petitione Calimutan the" the
stone at the victim Cante "ith the specific intent of $illin!, o at the vey
least, of hamin! the victim Cante. #hat is obvious to this Cout "as
petitione CalimutanOs intention to dive a"ay the attac$e "ho "as, at
that point, the victim Cante, and to potect his helpe Bulalacao "ho
"as, as ealie descibed, much youn!e and smalle in built than the
victim Cante.
DF
/antin! that petitione Calimutan "as impelled by a la"ful ob6ective
"hen he the" the stone at the victim Cante, his act "as committed "ith
ine5cusable lac$ of pecaution. 8e failed to conside that a stone the si.e
of a manOs fist could inflict substantial in6uy on someone. 8e also
miscalculated his o"n sten!th, pehaps una"ae, o even completely
disbelievin!, that he could tho" a stone "ith such foce as to seiously
in6ue, o "ose, $ill someone, at a )uite len!thy distance of ten metes.
;ince it is iefa!able that the stone tho"n by petitione Calimutan at
the victim Cante "as the po5imate cause of the latteOs death, despite
bein! done "ith ec$less impudence athe than "ith malicious intent,
petitione Calimutan emains civilly liable fo such death. This Cout,
theefoe, etains the e"ad made by the RTC and the Cout of Appeals
to the heis of the victim Cante of the amount of PF1,111.11 as civil
indemnity fo his death and anothe PF1,111.11 as moal dama!es.
#8ERE,'RE, the assailed :ecision of the Cout of Appeals in CA-/.R.
CR No. *DD1G, dated *3 Au!ust *112, affimin! the :ecision of the RTC
in Ciminal Case No. 4240, dated 23 Novembe 2334, is heeby
M':7,7E:. Petitione Calimutan is found /E7?TH beyond easonable
doubt of ec$less impudence esultin! in homicide, unde Aticle DGF of
the Revised Penal Code, and is accodin!ly sentenced to impisonment
fo a minimum peiod of 0 months of arresto mayor to a ma5imum
peiod of t"o yeas and one day of prision correccional. Petitione
Calimutan is futhe 'R:ERE: to pay the heis of the victim Cante the
amount of PF1,111.11 as civil indemnity fo the latteOs death and
PF1,111.11 as moal dama!es.
;' 'R:ERE:.
THIRD DI5ISION
@G.R. No. 75'29. No()*r 22, 1990.A
PEOPLE O, THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, (. ,ERNANDO
ILIGAN . 1AMITO, EDMUNDO ASIS . ILIGAN a$9 1UAN
MACANDOG 3a" ;ar:4, Defendants, ,ERNANDO ILIGAN .
1AMITO a$9 EDMUNDO ASIS . ILIGAN, Defendants-Appellants.
Th So;#c#"or G$ra; <or Plaintiff-Appellee.
C%ar R. Ca$o$#Ba9o, <or Defendants-Appellants.
D E C I S I O N ,ERNAN, J.C
7n this appeal, uncle and nephe", ,enando 7li!an and Edmundo Asis,
see$ a evesal of the decision of the then Cout of ,ist 7nstance of
Camaines Note, Banch 77 2 convictin! them of the cime of mude and
sentencin! them to suffe the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to
indemnify the heis of Esmealdo =ui>ones, @. in the amounts of
PD1,111 fo the latteOs death and P*FG,3G1 epesentin! the victimOs
uneali.ed income.
'n 'ctobe *2, 2341, the follo"in! infomation fo mude "as filed
a!ainst ,enando 7li!an, Edmundo Asis and @uan
Macando!%chanobles.com.ph % vitual la" libay
&That on o about D%11 a.m., Au!ust 0, 2341, at sitio ?ico 77, baan!ay
;to. :omin!o, municipality of Iin.ons, povince of Camaines Note,
Philippines, and "ithin the 6uisdiction of the 8onoable Cout, the above
named accused, conspiin! and mutually helpin! one anothe, "ith
teachey and evident pemeditation, one of the accused ,enando 7li!an
amed "ith a bolo Bsinampalo$C and "ith delibeate intent to $ill, did then
and thee "ilfully, unla"fully and feloniously, !an! up and in a sudden
une5pected manne, hac$ed Esmealdo =ui>ones, @., on his face, thus
causin! fatal in6uies on the latteOs face "hich esulted to BsicC the death
of said Esmealdo =ui>ones.
&C'NTRARH T' ?A#.&cala" vitua2a" libay
@uan Macando! "as neve appehended and he emains at la!e. At thei
aai!nment on @anuay 2*, 2342 ,enando 7li!an and Edmundo Asis
pleaded not !uilty to the cime cha!ed. Theeafte, the posecution
pesented the follo"in! vesion of the commission of the
cime.chanobles.com.ph % vitual la" libay
At aound *%11 oOcloc$ in the monin! of Au!ust 0, 2341, Esmealdo
=ui>ones, @. and his companions, Maldy Asis and ,eli5 ?u$ban, "ee
"al$in! home fom baan!ay ;to. :omin!o, Iin.ons, Camaines Note
afte attendin! a baio fiesta dance. 7n font of the icemill of a cetain
Almadones, they met the accused ,enando 7li!an, his nephe",
Edmundo Asis, and @uan Macando!. Edmundo Asis pushed B&"inahi&C
them aside theeby pomptin! Maldy Asis to bo5 him. * ,eli5 ?u$ban
)uic$ly told the !oup of the accused that they had no desie to fi!ht. D
,enando 7li!an, upon seein! his nephe" fall, de" fom his bac$ a bolo
and hac$ed Maldy Asis but missed. Teified, the tio an pusued by the
thee accused. They an fo about half an hou, passin! by the house of
=ui>ones, @. They stopped unnin! only upon seein! that they "ee no
lon!e bein! chased. Afte estin! fo a shot "hile, =ui>ones, @. invited
the t"o to accompany him to his house so that he could chan!e to his
"o$in! clothes and epot fo "o$ as a bus conducto. 0
#hile the tio "ee "al$in! to"ads the house of =ui>ones, @., the thee
accused suddenly eme!ed on the oadside and "ithout a "od, ,enando
7li!an hac$ed =ui>ones, @. "ith his bolo hittin! him on the foehead and
causin! him to fall do"n. F 8oified, ,eli5 ?u$ban and Maldy Asis fled
to a distance of *11 metes, but etuned "al$in! afte they head shouts
of people. Maldy Asis specifically head someone shout &May nadale na.&
G
'n the spot "hee =ui>ones, @. "as hac$ed, Maldy Asis and ,eli5
?u$ban sa" him aleady dead "ith his head busted. + They helped the
bothe of =ui>ones, @. in cayin! him to thei house. 4
That same day, Au!ust 0, 2341, the body of =ui>ones, @. "as autopsied
at the ,uneaia Belmonte in ?abo, Camaines Note by the municipal
health office, :. Macelito E. Abas. The postmotem e5amination epot
"hich is found at the bac$ of the death cetificate eveals that Esmealdo
=ui>ones, @., "ho "as *2 yeas old "hen he died, sustained the
follo"in! in6uies%6!c%chanobles.com.ph
&2. ;hoc$ and massive ceebal hemoha!es due to multiple factue of
the entie half of the fontal left, tempoal, paietal and occipital bone of
the head, "ith massive maceation of the bain tissue.
&*. 'the findin!s A 7ncised "ound at the i!ht eyebo", medial aspect
measuin! about 0 cms. in len!th, 1.F cm. in "idth and 1.F cm. in depth,
abasion on the left shoulde and i!ht side of the nec$.& 3
The death cetificate also indicates that =ui>ones, @. died of &shoc$ and
massive ceebal hemoha!es due to a vehicula accident.&cala"
vitua2a" libay
The defendants denied havin! pepetated the cime. They alle!ed that
they "ee in thei espective houses at the time the cime "as
committed.chanobles la" libay
Accused ,enando 7li!an testified that at aound midni!ht of Au!ust 0,
2341, he left his house to fetch his visitos at the dance hall. 21 Alon! the
"ay, he met his nephe", Edmundo Asis, "hom he pesumed "as dun$.
8e invited his nephe" to accompany him to the dance hall. 8o"eve,
they "ee not able to each thei destination because Edmundo "as bo5ed
by somebody "hom he BEdmundoC sides"iped. 22 7nstead, ,enando
7li!an bou!ht his nephe" home. 2* 'n thei "ay, they "ee oveta$en
by @uliano Mendo.a "hom ,enando 7li!an invited to his house to help
him coo$. 2D Afte bin!in! his nephe" home, ,enando 7li!an and
@uliano Mendo.a poceeded to 7li!anOs house and aived thee bet"een
2%D1 and *%11 oOcloc$ in the monin! of the same day. 20
Edmundo Asis cooboated 7li!anOs testimony. 8e testified that "hile
they "ee "al$in! in font of the Almadones icemill, he sides"iped
someone "hom he did not eco!ni.e because thee "ee seveal pesons
aound. 8e said, &;oy, pae& but the peson to "hom he addessed his
apolo!y bo5ed him on his left face. 8e fell do"n and 7li!an helped him.
?ate, 7li!an accompanied him to his home in ?ico 77. 2F Afte 7li!an and
@uliano Mendo.a had left his house, he slept and "o$e up at +%11 oOcloc$
the follo"in! monin!. 2G
The defense made capital of the testimony of posecution "itness :.
Abas to the effect that =ui>ones, @. died because of a vehicula accident.
7n ulin! out said theoy, ho"eve, the lo"e cout, in its decision of May
+, 234G, said%6!c%chanobles.com.ph
&The accused, to au!ment thei alibi, have pointed to this Cout that the
Cetificate of :eath have sho"n that the victimOs death "as caused by a
vehicula accident. To this, not"ithstandin!, the Cout cannot !ive cedit
fo some easons. ,ist, the fact of the alle!ed vehicula accident has not
been fully established. ;econd, Esmealdo =ui>ones, ;., BtheC fathe of
the victim, testified that :. Abas told him that if his son "as hac$ed by a
bolo on the face and then un ove the entie head by a vehicleOs tie, then
that hac$in! on the face could not be visibly seen on the head Bt.s.n., pp.
2G-2+, 'ctobe 2D, 2342C Thid, E5hibit T*O Bthe photo!aph of the victim
ta$en immediately afte his body had been bou!ht homeC is a had
evidence. 7t "ill attestly BsicC sho" that the entie head "as not cushed
by any vehicle. 'n the contay, it sho"s that only half of the face and
head, "as dama!ed "ith the "ound statin! on a shap ed!e hoi.ontally.
Thee ae contusions and abasions on the uppe left shoulde and on the
nec$ "hile the body do"n"ads has none of it, "hile on the i!ht
foehead thee is anothe "ound caused by a shap instument. Theefoe,
it is simple, that if the victim "as un ove by a vehicle, the othe half
potion of his head and do"n"ad pat of his body must have been
li$e"ise seiously dama!ed, "hich thee ae none.& 2+
The lo"e cout also found that 7li!anOs !oup conspied to $ill anyone o
all membes of the !oup of the victim to vindicate the bo5in! on the face
of Edmundo Asis. 7t appeciated the a!!avatin! cicumstances of evident
pemeditation and teachey and accodin!ly convicted 7li!an and
Edmundo Asis of the cime of mude and imposed on them the
afoementioned penalty.
7li!an and Edmundo Asis inteposed this appeal pofessin! innocence of
the cime fo "hich they "ee convicted. ,o the second time, they
attibuted =ui>ones, @.Os death to a vehicula accident.
No eye"itnesses "ee pesented to pove that =ui>ones, @. "as un ove
by a vehicle. The defense elies on the testimony of :. Abas, a
posecution "itness, "ho s"oe that the multiple factue on the head of
=ui>ones, @. "as caused by a vehicula accident 24 "hich opinion "as
ealie put in "itin! by the same "itness in the postmotem e5amination.
:. Abas 6ustified his conclusion by "hat he consideed as tie ma$s on
the victimOs left shoulde and the i!ht side of his nec$. 23 8e also
testified that the incised "ound located at the victimOs i!ht eyebo"
could have been caused by a shap bolo but it "as so supeficial that it
could not have caused the victimOs death. *1
Cicumstantial evidence on ecod indeed point to the veacity of the
actual occuence of the vehicula mishap. 'ne such evidence is the
testimony of posecution "itness Maldy Asis that "hen he helped bin!
home the body of =ui>ones, @., he told the victimOs fathe, Esmealdo
=ui>ones, ;. that &befoe Esmealdo =ui>ones B@.C "as un ove by a
vehicle, he "as hac$ed by ,enando 7li!an.& *2 #hen as$ed "hy he
mentioned an automobile, Maldy Asis said that he did not notice any
vehicle aound but he mentioned it &because his B=ui>ones, @.C head "as
busted.& ** 7t is theefoe not fafetched to conclude that Maldy Asis had
actual $no"led!e of said accident but fo undestandable easons he
declined to declae it in cout. :efense "itness Maciano Ma!o, the
baan!ay captain of ;to. :omin!o, also testified that "hen he "ent to the
scene of the cime, he sa" bits of the bain of the victim scatteed acoss
the oad "hee he also sa" tie ma$s. *D
,o its pat, the posecution, thou!h the victimOs fathe, pesented
evidence to the effect that 7li!an authoed the maceation of half of the
victimOs head. =ui>ones, ;. testified that fom thei house, "hich "as
about five metes a"ay fom the oad, he sa" ,enando 7li!an holdin! a
&sinampalo$& as he, to!ethe "ith Edmundo Asis and @uan Macando!,
chased someone. :uin! the second time that he sa" the thee accused,
he head 7li!an say, &:ali, ayos na yan.& *0 8ence, the lo"e cout
concluded that the victimOs head "as &chopped& esultin! in the
splattein! of his bain all ove the place. *F 7t should be emphasi.ed,
ho"eve, that the testimony came fom a biased "itness and it "as
uncooboated.
#hile the factual findin!s of the tial cout ae !eneally !iven due
espect by the appellate cout, an appeal of a ciminal case tho"s it open
fo a complete evie" of all eos, by commission o omission, as may
be imputable to the tial cout. *G 7n this instance, the lo"e cout eed in
findin! that the maceation of one half of the head of the victim "as also
caused by 7li!an fo the evidence on ecod point to a diffeent
conclusion. #e ae convinced beyond peadventue that indeed, afte
=ui>ones, @. had fallen fom the bolo-hac$in! pepetated by 7li!an, he
"as un ove by a vehicle. This findin!, ho"eve, does not in any "ay
e5oneate 7li!an fom liability fo the death of =ui>ones,
@.chanobles.com % vitual la" libay
Ende Aticle 0 of the Revised Penal Code, ciminal liability shall be
incued &by any peson committin! a felony BdelitoC althou!h the
"on!ful act done be diffeent fom that "hich he intended.& Based on
the doctine that &el )ue es causa de la causa es causa del mal causado&
Bhe "ho is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil causedC, *+ the
essential e)uisites of Aticle 0 ae% BaC that an intentional felony has been
committed, and BbC that the "on! done to the a!!ieved paty be the
diect, natual and lo!ical conse)uence of the felony committed by the
offende. *4 #e hold that these e)uisites ae pesent in this case.
The intentional felony committed "as the hac$in! of the head of
=ui>ones, @. by 7li!an. That it "as consideed as supeficial by the
physician "ho autopsied =ui>ones is beside the point. #hat is mateial is
that by the instument used in hac$in! =ui>ones, @. and the location of
the "ound, the assault "as meant not only to immobili.e the victim but to
do a"ay "ith him as it "as diected at a vital and delicate pat of the
body% the head. *3
The hac$in! incident happened on the national hi!h"ay D1 "hee
vehicles ae e5pected to pass any moment. 'ne such vehicle passed
seconds late "hen ?u$ban and Maldy Asis, unnin! scaed and havin!
baely ne!otiated the distance of aound *11 metes, head shouts of
people. =ui>ones, @., "ea$ened by the hac$in! blo" "hich sent him to
the cemented hi!h"ay, "as un ove by a vehicle.
Ende these cicumstances, "e hold that "hile 7li!anOs hac$in! of
=ui>ones, @.Os head mi!ht not have been the diect cause, it "as the
po5imate cause of the latteOs death. Po5imate le!al cause is defined as
&that actin! fist and poducin! the in6uy, eithe immediately o by
settin! othe events in motion, all constitutin! a natual and continuous
chain of events, each havin! a close causal connection "ith its immediate
pedecesso, the final event in the chain immediately effectin! the in6uy
as a natual and pobable esult of the cause "hich fist acted, unde such
cicumstances that the peson esponsible fo the fist event should, as an
odinaily pudent and intelli!ent peson, have easonable !ound to
e5pect at the moment of his act o default that an in6uy to some peson
mi!ht pobably esult theefom.& D2 7n othe "ods, the se)uence of
events fom 7li!anOs assault on him to the time =ui>ones, @. "as un ove
by a vehicle is, considein! the vey shot span of time bet"een them, one
unbo$en chain of events. 8avin! ti!!eed such events, 7li!an cannot
escape liability.chanobles la" libay
#e a!ee "ith the lo"e cout that the defense of alibi cannot tun the
tide in favo of 7li!an because he "as positively seen at the scene of the
cime and identified by the posecution "itnesses. D*
But "e disa!ee "ith the lo"e cout "ith e!ads to its findin!s on the
a!!avatin! cicumstances of teachey and evident pemeditation.
Teachey has been appeciated by the lo"e cout in vie" of the
suddenness of the attac$ on the !oup of =ui>ones, @. ;uddenness of
such attac$, ho"eve, does not by itself sho" teachey. DD Thee must be
evidence that the mode of attac$ "as consciously adopted by the
appellant to ma$e it impossible o had fo the peson attac$ed to defend
himself. D0 7n this case, the hac$in! of Edmundo Asis by 7li!an follo"ed
by the chasin! of the tio by the !oup of 7li!an "as a "anin! to the
deceased and his companions of the hostile attitude of the appellants. The
!oup of =ui>ones, @. "as theefoe placed on !uad fo any subse)uent
attac$s a!ainst them. DF
The e)uisites necessay to appeciate evident pemeditation have
li$e"ise not been met in this case. Thus, the posecution failed to pove
all of the follo"in!% BaC the time "hen the accused detemined to commit
the cime< BbC an act manifestly indicatin! that the accused had clun! to
thei detemination to commit the cime< and BcC the lapse of sufficient
len!th of time bet"een the detemination and e5ecution to allo" him to
eflect upon the conse)uences of his act. DG
Absent any )ualifyin! cicumstances, 7li!an must be held liable only fo
homicide. A!ain, contay to the lo"e coutOs findin!, poof beyond
easonable doubt has not been established to hold Edmundo Asis liable as
7li!anOs co-conspiato. Edmundo Asis did not ta$e any active pat in the
infliction of the "ound on the head of =ui>ones, @., "hich led to his
unnin! ove by a vehicle and conse)uent death. As ealie pointed out,
the testimony that he "as cayin! a stone at the scene of the cime hadly
meits cedibility bein! uncooboated and comin! fom an undeniably
biased "itness. 8avin! been the companion of 7li!an, Edmundo Asis
must have $no"n of the fomeOs ciminal intent but mee $no"led!e,
ac)uiescense o appoval of the act "ithout coopeation o a!eement to
coopeate, is not enou!h to constitute one a paty to a conspiacy. Thee
must be intentional paticipation in the act "ith a vie" to the futheance
of the common desi!n and pupose. D+ ;uch bein! the case, his mee
pesence at the scene of the cime did not ma$e him a co-conspiato, a
co-pincipal o an accomplice to the assault pepetated by 7li!an. D4
Edmundo Asis theefoe deseves e5oneation.
Thee bein! no miti!atin! cicumstance, the penalty imposable on 7li!an
is eclusion tempoal medium BAts. *03 and G0, Revised Penal CodeC.
Applyin! the 7ndeteminate ;entence ?a", the pope penalty is that
"ithin the an!e of pision mayo as minimum and eclusion tempoal
medium as ma5imum. #e find insufficient poof to "aant the a"ad of
P*FG,3G1 fo the victimOs uneali.ed income and theefoe, the same is
disallo"ed.cala"nad
#8ERE,'RE, appellant ,enando 7li!an y @amito is heeby convicted
of the cime of homicide fo "hich he is imposed the indeteminate
penalty of si5 BGC yeas and one B2C day of pision mayo as minimum to
fouteen B20C yeas, ei!ht B4C months and one B2C day of eclusion
tempoal medium as ma5imum and he shall indemnify the heis of
Esmealdo =ui>ones, @. in the amount of fifty thousand pesos BPF1,111C.
Appellant Edmundo Asis is heeby ac)uitted of the cime cha!ed a!ainst
him. Costs a!ainst appellant 7li!an.
;' 'R:ERE:.
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila
T87R: :7I7;7'N
G.R. No. 7292& 1a$7ar. 7, 19++
,ILOMENO UR/ANO, petitione,
vs.
HON. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT AND PEOPLE O,
THE PHILIPPINES, espondents
/ET7ERREM, $-., $.,
This is a petition to evie" the decision of the then 7ntemediate
Appellate Cout "hich affimed the decision of the then Cicuit Ciminal
Cout of :a!upan City findin! petitione ,ilomeno Eban !uilty beyond
easonable doubt of the cime of homicide.
The ecods disclose the follo"in! facts of the case.
At about 4%11 o(cloc$ in the monin! of 'ctobe *D, 2341, petitione
,ilomeno Ebano "ent to his icefield at Baan!ay Anonan!, ;an ,abian,
Pan!asinan located at about 211 metes fom the tobacco seedbed of
Macelo @avie. 8e found the place "hee he stoed his palay flooded
"ith "ate comin! fom the ii!ation canal neaby "hich had
oveflo"ed. Ebano "ent to the elevated potion of the canal to see "hat
happened and thee he sa" Macelo @avie and Emilio Efe cuttin! !ass.
8e as$ed them "ho "as esponsible fo the openin! of the ii!ation
canal and @avie admitted that he "as the one. Ebano then !ot an!y and
demanded that @avie pay fo his soa$ed palay. A )uael bet"een them
ensued. Ebano unsheathed his bolo Babout * feet lon!, includin! the
handle, by * inches "ideC and hac$ed @avie hittin! him on the i!ht palm
of his hand, "hich "as used in payin! the bolo hac$. @avie "ho "as
then unamed an a"ay fom Ebano but "as oveta$en by Ebano "ho
hac$ed him a!ain hittin! @avie on the left le! "ith the bac$ potion of
said bolo, causin! a s"ellin! on said le!. #hen Ebano tied to hac$ and
inflict futhe in6uy, his dau!hte embaced and pevented him fom
hac$in! @avie.
7mmediately theeafte, Antonio Efe, Emilio Efe, and ,elipe Efe
bou!ht @avie to his house about F1 metes a"ay fom "hee the incident
happened. Emilio then "ent to the house of Baan!ay Captain Menado
;oliven but not findin! him thee, Emilio loo$ed fo baio councilman
,elipe ;olis instead. Epon the advice of ;olis, the Efes to!ethe "ith
@avie "ent to the police station of ;an ,abian to epot the incident. As
su!!ested by Copoal Toio, @avie "as bou!ht to a physician. The
!oup "ent to :. /uillemo Padilla, ual health physician of ;an
,abian, "ho did not attend to @avie but instead su!!ested that they !o to
:. Maio Meneses because Padilla had no available medicine.
Afte @avie "as teated by :. Meneses, he and his companions etuned
to :. /uillemo Padilla "ho conducted a medico-le!al e5amination. :.
Padilla issued a medico-le!al cetificate BE5hibit &C& dated ;eptembe
*4, 2342C "hich eads%
T' #8'M 7T MAH C'NCERN%
This is to cetify that 7 have e5amined the "ound of Macelo @avie, *1
yeas of a!e, maied, esidin! at Baan!ay Anonan!, ;an ,abian,
Pan!asinan on 'ctobe *D, 2341 and found the follo"in!%
2 -7ncised "ound * inches in len!th at the uppe potion of the lesse
palma pominence, i!ht.
As to my obsevation the incapacitation is fom B+-3C days peiod. This
"ound "as pesented to me only fo medico-le!al e5amination, as it "as
aleady teated by the othe docto. Bp. 44, 'i!inal RecodsC
Epon the intecession of Councilman ;olis, Ebano and @avie a!eed to
settle thei diffeences. Ebano pomised to pay P+11.11 fo the medical
e5penses of @avie. 8ence, on 'ctobe *+, 2341, the t"o accompanied by
;olis appeaed befoe the ;an ,abian Police to fomali.e thei amicable
settlement. Patolman Toio ecoded the event in the police blotte
BE5hibit AC, to "it%
555 555 555
Enty N F33S*+ 'ct (41S21D'8S Re enty N F3* on pa!e *F+ both
paties appeaed befoe this ;tation accompanied by b!y. councilman
,elipe ;olis and settled thei case amicably, fo they ae nei!hbos and
close elatives to each othe. Macelo @avie accepted and !anted
fo!iveness to ,ilomeno Ebano "ho shoulde BsicC all the e5penses in
his medical teatment, and pomisin! to him and to this 'ffice that this
"ill neve be epeated anymoe and not to habou any !ud!e a!ainst
each othe. Bp. 4+, 'i!inal Recods.C
Ebano advanced P011.11 to @avie at the police station. 'n Novembe D,
2341, the additional PD11.11 "as !iven to @avie at Ebano(s house in the
pesence of baan!ay captain ;oliven.
At about 2%D1 a.m. on Novembe 20, 2341, @avie "as ushed to the
Na.aeth /eneal 8ospital in a vey seious condition. #hen admitted to
the hospital, @avie had loc$6a" and "as havin! convulsions. :.
Edmundo E5conde "ho pesonally attended to @avie found that the
latte(s seious condition "as caused by tetanus to5in. 8e noticed the
pesence of a healin! "ound in @avie(s palm "hich could have been
infected by tetanus.
'n Novembe 2F, 2341 at e5actly 0%24 p.m., @avie died in the hospital.
The medical findin!s of :. E5conde ae as follo"s%
:ate :ia!nosis
22-20-41 A:M7TTE: due to tismus
adm. at :K TETANE;
2%D1 AM ;till havin! fe)uent muscle spasm. #ith diffi-
UDF, 0*2 culty openin! his mouth. Restless at times. ,ebile
22-2F-41 Refeed. Novaldin 2 amp. in6. 7M. ;udden cessa-
tion of espiation and 8R afte muscula spasm.
1* inhalation administeed. Ambo ba! esuscita-
tion and cadiac massa!e done but to no avail.
Ponounced dead by :a. Cabu!ao at 0%24 P.M.
PMC done and cadave bou!ht home by ela-
tives. Bp. 211, 'i!inal RecodsC
7n an infomation dated Apil 21, 2342, ,ilomeno Ebano "as cha!ed
"ith the cime of homicide befoe the then Cicuit Ciminal Cout of
:a!upan City, Thid @udicial :istict.
Epon aai!nment, Ebano pleaded &not !uilty.& Afte tial, the tial cout
found Ebano !uilty as cha!ed. 8e "as sentenced to suffe an
indeteminate pison tem of fom T#E?IE B2*C HEAR; of prision
mayor, as minimum to ;EIENTEEN B2+C yeas, ,'ER B0C M'NT8;
and 'NE B2C :AH of reclusion temporal, as ma5imum, to!ethe "ith the
accessoies of the la", to indemnify the heis of the victim, Macelo
@avie, in the amount of P2*,111.11 "ithout subsidiay impisonment in
case of insolvency, and to pay the costs. 8e "as odeed confined at the
Ne" Bilibid Pison, in Muntinlupa, Ri.al upon finality of the decision, in
vie" of the natue of his penalty.
The then 7ntemediate Appellate Cout affimed the conviction of Ebano
on appeal but aised the a"ad of indemnity to the heis of the deceased
to PD1,111.11 "ith costs a!ainst the appellant.
The appellant filed a motion fo econsideation andSo ne" tial. The
motion fo ne" tial "as based on an affidavit of Baan!ay Captain
Menado ;oliven BAnne5 &A&C "hich states%
That in 2341, 7 "as the baio captain of Baio Anonan!, ;an ,abian,
Pan!asinan, and up to the pesent havin! been e-elected to such position
in the last baan!ay elections on May 2+, 234*<
That sometime in the fist "ee$ of Novembe, 2341, thee "as a typhoon
that s"ept Pan!asinan and othe places of Cental ?u.on includin! ;an
,abian, a to"n of said povince<
That duin! the typhoon, the sluice o contol !ates of the Bued ii!ation
dam "hich ii!ates the icefields of ;an ,abian "ee closed andSo
contolled so much so that "ate and its flo" to the canals and ditches
"ee e!ulated and educed<
That due to the loc$in! of the sluice o contol !ates of the dam leadin!
to the canals and ditches "hich "ill bin! "ate to the icefields, the
"ate in said canals and ditches became shallo" "hich "as suitable fo
catchin! mudfishes<
That afte the stom, 7 conducted a pesonal suvey in the aea affected,
"ith my secetay Pefecto @aavata<
That on Novembe F, 2341, "hile 7 "as conductin! suvey, 7 sa" the late
Macelo @avie catchin! fish in the shallo" ii!ation canals "ith some
companions<
That fe" days thee afte,o on Novembe lF, l341, 7 came to $no" that
said Macelo @avie died of tetanus. Bp. DD, RolloC
The motion "as denied. 8ence, this petition.
7n a esolution dated @uly 2G, 234G, "e !ave due couse to the petition.
The case involves the application of Aticle 0 of the Revised Penal Code
"hich povides that &Ciminal liability shall be incued% B2C By any
peson committin! a felony BdelitoC althou!h the "on!ful act done be
diffeent fom that "hich he intended ...& Pusuant to this povision &an
accused is ciminally esponsible fo acts committed by him in violation
of la" and fo all the natual and lo!ical conse)uences esultin!
theefom.& BPeople v. Cadenas, FG ;CRA GD2C.
The ecod is clea that Macelo @avie "as hac$ed by the petitione "ho
used a bolo as a esult of "hich @avie suffeed a *-inch incised "ound on
his i!ht palm< that on Novembe 20, 2342 "hich "as the **nd day afte
the incident, @avie "as ushed to the hospital in a vey seious condition
and that on the follo"in! day, Novembe 2F, 2342, he died fom tetanus.
Ende these cicumstances, the lo"e couts uled that @avie(s death "as
the natual and lo!ical conse)uence of Ebano(s unla"ful act. 8ence, he
"as declaed esponsible fo @avie(s death. Thus, the appellate cout said%
The claim of appellant that thee "as an efficient cause "hich supevened
fom the time the deceased "as "ounded to the time of his death, "hich
coves a peiod of *D days does not deseve seious consideation. Tue,
that the deceased did not die i!ht a"ay fom his "ound, but the cause of
his death "as due to said "ound "hich "as inflicted by the appellant.
;aid "ound "hich "as in the pocess of healin! !ot infected "ith tetanus
"hich ultimately caused his death.
:. Edmundo E5conde of the Na.aeth /eneal 8ospital testified that the
victim suffeed loc$6a" because of the infection of the "ound "ith
tetanus. And thee is no othe "ay by "hich he could be infected "ith
tetanus e5cept thou!h the "ound in his palm Btsn., p. +4, 'ct. F, 2342C.
Conse)uently, the po5imate cause of the victim(s death "as the "ound
"hich !ot infected "ith tetanus. And the settled ule in this 6uisdiction is
that an accused is liable fo all the conse)uences of his unla"ful act.
BAticle 0, pa. 2, R.P.C. People v. Red, CA 0D './. F1+*< People v.
Conel +4 Phil. 024C.
Appellant(s alle!ation that the po5imate cause of the victim(s death "as
due to his o"n ne!li!ence in !oin! bac$ to "o$ "ithout his "ound
bein! popely healed, and lately, that he "ent to catch fish in dity
ii!ation canals in the fist "ee$ of Novembe, 2341, is an aftethou!ht,
and a despeate attempt by appellant to "i!!le out of the pedicament he
found himself in. 7f the "ound had not yet healed, it is impossible to
conceive that the deceased "ould be ec$less enou!h to "o$ "ith a
disabled hand. Bpp. *1-*2, RolloC
The petitione eiteates his position that the po5imate cause of the death
of Macelo @avie "as due to his o"n ne!li!ence, that :. Maio Meneses
found no tetanus in the in6uy, and that @avie !ot infected "ith tetanus
"hen afte t"o "ee$s he etuned to his fam and tended his tobacco
plants "ith his bae hands e5posin! the "ound to hamful elements li$e
tetanus !ems.
The evidence on ecod does not clealy sho" that the "ound inflicted by
Ebano "as infected "ith tetanus at the time of the infliction of the
"ound. The evidence meely confims that the "ound, "hich "as aleady
healin! at the time @avie suffeed the symptoms of the fatal ailment,
someho" !ot infected "ith tetanus 8o"eve, as to "hen the "ound "as
infected is not clea fom the ecod.
7n Vda. de ;ataclan, et al. v. edina B21* Phil. 2242C, "e adopted the
follo"in! definition of po5imate cause%
555 555 555
... A satisfactoy definition of po5imate cause is found in Iolume D4,
pa!es G3F-G3G of Ameican @uispudence, cited by plaintiffs-appellants
in thei bief. 7t is as follo"s%
... &that cause, "hich, in natual and continuous se)uence, unbo$en by
any efficient intevenin! cause, poduces the in6uy, and "ithout "hich
the esult "ould not have occued.&And moe compehensively, &the
po5imate le!al cause is that actin! fist and poducin! the in6uy, eithe
immediately o by settin! othe events in motion, all constitutin! a
natual and continuous chain of events, each havin! a close causal
connection "ith its immediate pedecesso, the final event in the chain
immediately effectin! the in6uy as a natual and pobable esult of the
cause "hich fist acted, unde such cicumstances that the peson
esponsible fo the fist event should, as an odinaily pudent and
intelli!ent peson, have easonable !ound to e5pect at the moment of his
act o default that an in6uy to some peson mi!ht pobably esult
theefom.& Bat pp. 24F-24GC
The issue, theefoe, hin!es on "hethe o not thee "as an efficient
intevenin! cause fom the time @avie "as "ounded until his death
"hich "ould e5culpate Ebano fom any liability fo @avie(s death.
#e loo$ into the natue of tetanus-
The incubation period of tetanus, i.e., the time bet#een in"ury and the
appearance of unmista>able symptoms, ranges from D to EF days.
Bo#ever, over @A percent of patients become symptomatic #ithin 6C
days. A short incubation period indicates severe disease, and #hen
symptoms occur #ithin D or G days of in"ury the mortality rate
approaches 6AA percent.
Non-specific pemonitoy symptoms such as estlessness, iitability, and
headache ae encounteed occasionally, but the commonest pesentin!
complaints ae pain and stiffness in the 6a", abdomen, o bac$ and
difficulty s"allo"in!. As the po!esses, stiffness !ives "ay to i!idity,
and patients often complain of difficulty openin! thei mouths. 7n fact,
tismus in the commonest manifestation of tetanus and is esponsible fo
the familia desciptive name of loc$6a". As moe muscles ae involved,
i!idity becomes !eneali.ed, and sustained contactions called isus
sadonicus. The intensity and se)uence of muscle involvement is )uite
vaiable. 7n a small popotion of patients, only local si!ns and symptoms
develop in the e!ion of the in6uy. 7n the vast ma6oity, ho"eve, most
muscles ae involved to some de!ee, and the si!ns and symptoms
encounteed depend upon the ma6o muscle !oups affected.
-eflex spasm usually occur #ithin DC to HD hours of the first symptom, an
interval referred to as the onset time. As in the case of the incubation
peiod, a shot onset time is associated "ith a poo po!nosis. ;pasms ae
caused by sudden intensification of affeent stimuli aisin! in the
peiphey, "hich inceases i!idity and causes simultaneous and
e5cessive contaction of muscles and thei anta!onists. ;pasms may be
both painful and dan!eous. As the disease po!esses, minimal o
inappaent stimuli poduce moe intense and lon!e lastin! spasms "ith
inceasin! fe)uency. Respiation may be impaied by layn!ospasm o
tonic contaction of espiatoy muscles "hich pevent ade)uate
ventilation. 8ypo5ia may then lead to ievesible cental nevous system
dama!e and death.
ild tetanus is characteri9ed by an incubation period of at least 6C days
and an onset time of more than F days. Tismus is usually pesent, but
dyspha!ia is absent and !eneali.ed spasms ae bief and mild.
Modeately sevee tetanus has a some"hat shote incubation peiod and
onset time< tismus is ma$ed, dyspha!ia and !eneali.ed i!idity ae
pesent, but ventilation emains ade)uate even duin! spasms. The
citeia fo sevee tetanus include a shot incubation time, and an onset
time of +* hs., o less, sevee tismus, dyspha!ia and i!idity and
fe)uent polon!ed, !eneali.ed convulsive spasms. B8aison(s Pinciple
of 7ntenal Medicine, 234D Edition, pp. 2110-211F< Emphasis suppliedC
Theefoe, medically spea$in!, the eaction to tetanus found inside a
man(s body depends on the incubation peiod of the disease.
7n the case at ba, @avie suffeed a *-inch incised "ound on his i!ht
palm "hen he paied the bolo "hich Ebano used in hac$in! him. This
incident too$ place on 'ctobe *D, 2341. Afte ** days, o on Novembe
20, 2341, he suffeed the symptoms of tetanus, li$e loc$6a" and muscle
spasms. The follo"in! day, Novembe 2F, 2341, he died.
7f, theefoe, the "ound of @avie inflicted by the appellant "as aleady
infected by tetanus !ems at the time, it is moe medically pobable that
@avie should have been infected "ith only a mild cause of tetanus
because the symptoms of tetanus appeaed on the **nd day after the
hac$in! incident o more than 6C days afte the infliction of the "ound.
Theefoe, the onset time should have been more than six days. @avie,
ho"eve, died on the second day fom the onset time. The moe cedible
conclusion is that at the time @avie(s "ound "as inflicted by the
appellant, the sevee fom of tetanus that $illed him "as not yet pesent.
Conse)uently, @avie(s "ound could have been infected "ith tetanus afte
the hac$in! incident. Considein! the cicumstance suoundin! @avie(s
death, his "ound could have been infected by tetanus * o D o a fe" but
not *1 to ** days befoe he died.
The ule is that the death of the victim must be the direct, natural, and
logical consequence of the #ounds inflicted upon him by the accused.
BPeople v. Cadenas, supaC And since "e ae dealin! "ith a ciminal
conviction, the poof that the accused caused the victim(s death must
convince a ational mind beyond reasonable doubt. The medical findin!s,
ho"eve, lead us to a distinct possibility that the infection of the "ound
by tetanus "as an efficient intevenin! cause late o bet"een the time
@avie "as "ounded to the time of his death. The infection "as, theefoe,
distinct and foei!n to the cime. BPeople v. Rellin, ++ Phil. 21D4C.
:oubts ae pesent. Thee is a li$elihood that the "ound "as but the
remote cause and its subse)uent infection, fo failue to ta$e necessay
pecautions, "ith tetanus may have been the proximate cause of @avie(s
death "ith "hich the petitione had nothin! to do. As "e uled in anila
%lectric &o. v. -emoquillo, et al. B33 Phil. 224C.
&A pio and emote cause cannot be made the be of an action if such
emote cause did nothin! moe than funish the condition o !ive ise to
the occasion by "hich the in6uy "as made possible, if thee intevened
bet"een such pio o emote cause and the in6uy a distinct, successive,
unelated, and efficient cause of the in6uy, even thou!h such in6uy
"ould not have happened but fo such condition o occasion. 7f no dan!e
e5isted in the condition e5cept because of the independent cause, such
condition "as not the po5imate cause. And if an independent ne!li!ent
act o defective condition sets into opeation the instances "hich esult in
in6uy because of the pio defective condition, such subse)uent act o
condition is the po5imate cause.& B0F C.@. pp. 3D2-3D*C. Bat p. 2*FC
7t stains the 6udicial mind to allo" a clea a!!esso to !o scot fee of
ciminal liability. At the vey least, the ecods sho" he is !uilty of
inflictin! sli!ht physical in6uies. 8o"eve, the petitione(s ciminal
liability in this espect "as "iped out by the victim(s o"n act. Afte the
hac$in! incident, Ebano and @avie used the facilities of baan!ay
mediatos to effect a compomise a!eement "hee @avie fo!ave
Ebano "hile Ebano defayed the medical e5penses of @avie. This
settlement of mino offenses is allo"ed unde the e5pess povisions of
Pesidential :ecee /.R. No. 2F14, ;ection *BDC. B;ee also People v.
Cauncho, 2*+ ;CRA 2GC.
#e must stess, ho"eve, that ou discussion of po5imate cause and
emote cause is limited to the ciminal aspects of this athe unusual case.
7t does not necessaily follo" that the petitione is also fee of civil
liability. The "ell-settled doctine is that a peson, "hile not ciminally
liable, may still be civilly liable. Thus, in the ecent case of)eople v.
-ogelio Ligon y *ria, et al. B/.R. No. +0102, @uly *3, 234+C, "e said%
555 555 555
... #hile the !uilt of the accused in a ciminal posecution must be
established beyond easonable doubt, only a pepondeance of evidence is
e)uied in a civil action fo dama!es. BAticle *3, Civil CodeC. The
6ud!ment of ac)uittal e5tin!uishes the civil liability of the accused only
"hen it includes a declaation that the facts fom "hich the civil liability
mi!ht aise did not e5ist. BPadilla v. Cout of Appeals, 2*3 ;CRA FF3C.
The eason fo the povisions of aticle *3 of the Civil Code, "hich
povides that the ac)uittal of the accused on the !ound that his !uilt has
not been poved beyond easonable doubt does not necessaily e5empt
him fom civil liability fo the same act o omission, has been e5plained
by the Code Commission as follo"s%
The old ule that the ac)uittal of the accused in a ciminal case also
eleases him fom civil liability is one of the most seious fla"s in the
Philippine le!al system. 7t has !iven use to numbeless instances of
miscaia!e of 6ustice, "hee the ac)uittal "as due to a easonable doubt
in the mind of the cout as to the !uilt of the accused. The easonin!
follo"ed is that inasmuch as the civil esponsibility is deived fom the
ciminal offense, "hen the latte is not poved, civil liability cannot be
demanded.
This is one of those causes "hee confused thin$in! leads to unfotunate
and deploable conse)uences. ;uch easonin! fails to da" a clea line of
demacation bet"een ciminal liability and civil esponsibility, and to
detemine the lo!ical esult of the distinction. The t"o liabilities ae
sepaate and distinct fom each othe. 'ne affects the social ode and the
othe, pivate i!hts. 'ne is fo the punishment o coection of the
offende "hile the othe is fo epaation of dama!es suffeed by the
a!!ieved paty. The t"o esponsibilities ae so diffeent fom each othe
that aticle 242D of the pesent B;panishC Civil Code eads thus% &Thee
may be a compomise upon the civil action aisin! fom a cime< but the
public action fo the imposition of the le!al penalty shall not theeby be
e5tin!uished.& 7t is 6ust and pope that, fo the puposes of the
impisonment of o fine upon the accused, the offense should be poved
beyond easonable doubt. But fo the pupose of indemnity the
complainin! paty, "hy should the offense also be poved beyond
easonable doubt9 7s not the invasion o violation of evey pivate i!ht to
be poved only by a pepondeance of evidence9 7s the i!ht of the
a!!ieved peson any less pivate because the "on!ful act is also
punishable by the ciminal la"9
&,o these easons, the Commission ecommends the adoption of the
efom unde discussion. 7t "ill coect a seious defect in ou la". 7t "ill
close up an ine5haustible souce of in6ustice-a cause fo disillusionment
on the pat of the innumeable pesons in6ued o "on!ed.&
The espondent cout inceased the P2*,111.11 indemnification imposed
by the tial cout to PD1,111.11. 8o"eve, since the indemnification "as
based solely on the findin! of !uilt beyond easonable doubt in the
homicide case, the civil liability of the petitione "as not thoou!hly
e5amined. This aspect of the case calls fo fulle development if the heis
of the victim ae so minded.
#8ERE,'RE, the instant petition is heeby /RANTE:. The )uestioned
decision of the then 7ntemediate Appellate Cout, no" Cout of Appeals,
is REIER;E: and ;ET A;7:E. The petitione is AC=E7TTE: of the
cime of homicide. Costs de oficio.
;' 'R:ERE:.