People Vs Boyles

(QUINTOS)
G.R. No. L-15308

May 29, 1964.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,
vs.
ROBERTO BOYLES and PIO MONTES, defendants-appellant.
FACTS: Early in the morning of November 28, 1959, at about 3:00 o'clock, the spouses
Eminiano Bayo and Brigida Misona of Barrio Monte Carlo, Asuncion, Davao, were awakened by
the barking of dogs about their premises. However, the couple were unable to sleep anymore. At
about 5:00 o'clock that same morning, while his wife was breast-feeding one of their children,
Eminiano Bayo decided to start the day and went down the house to prepare their breakfast. As he
opened the door, however, he was surprised to see a man, later identified as Felizardo Soria,
menacingly standing and all set to attack him, and, just as quickly as he could yell a warning to
his wife that there was an intruder in their abode, the man broke through their door, grabbed and
wrestled with Bayo. Brigida ran to the rescue of her husband but Sorias two other companions,
Pio Montes and Roberto Boyles (herein, accused), both armed joined in the attack. In
scuffle, Montes stabbed Bayo in the neck. Brigida then attempted to escape by jumping off the
window but the fall sprained her waist and broke her legs. Montes and Boyles dragged her back
to the house where the group demanded for money. Brigida gave their savings of P100.00. The
three, however, did not content themselves with the money-loot. The trio forcibly brought Brigida
near where her dead husband lay bathe in blood, and completely insensitive to the painful,
terrified anguish of the just-widowed mother, they forced her to lie beside the corpse and there
took turns raping her. After everyone had quenched his lustful thirst, they tied her hands behind
her back and left. Upon the order of their arrest, Montes and Boyles immediately confessed to
the crime but insisted on two mitigating circumstances: admission of guilt and lack of intention to
commit so grave a wrong as that committed.
RTC RULING: On January 27, 1959, Roberto Boyles and Pio Montes were charged in the Court
of First Instance of Davao with the crime of robbery with homicide, the information reciting three
(3) a gravating circumstances, to wit: "1. superior strength, 2. dwelling, and 3. nighttime, the
accused having purposely sought it to facilitate its commission." Subsequently, on March 11,
1959, the information was amended to include a fourth aggravating circumstance, namely, "the
fact of two prior convictions of both accused." Upon assignment, both defendants, duly
represented by counsel de oficio, Atty. Marcial Tupas, pleaded guilty to the charge.
DEFENSE OF THE APPELANTS: Upon their arrests, both appellants readily confessed to the
crime. There is no question whatsoever as to the validity and voluntary execution of the said
documents. They were translated into their dialects and both appellants admit they executed them
upon their own free will and with null awareness of their contents and consequences. The third
man in the group. Felizardo Soria, was still at large when this case was filed. Counsel for the
appellants insists that the proceedings in the lower court have established only two aggravating
circumstances in the commission of the crime, i.e., dwelling and habituality, which are in turn,
however, offset by the two mitigating circumstances borne out by the records of this case, namely,
plea of guilty and lack of intention to commit so grave a wrong. Consequently, it is urged that the
death penalty may not be legally meted pursuant to Article 63, paragraph 2 of the Revised Penal
Code, in relation to paragraph 4 of the same Article.
ISSUE: Whether the accused can invoke the lack of intention to commit a wrong so grave as that
which has been committed as a mitigating circumstance in lessening the penalty for said crime
SC RULING: Article 13 paragraph 3 of the Revised Penal Code states that: [that the offender
had] no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed. The accused argument here lies
in the notion that their primary intention was to rob the Bayos; they never meant to kill. Said
provision in the Revised Penal Code addresses itself to the intention of the offender at the
particular moment of the execution of the criminal act, not his intention during the planning
stage. In the instant case, the original plan was to rob the Bayos but the resistance offered by
Bayo compounded the serious crime of robbery with homicide. Based on the witness testimony,
which was confirmed by the accused, the accused were armed (Montes with a knife while Boyles
held a gun), they ganged up on the victim, used deadly weapons and stabbed him in the neck. At
that precise moment, they did intend to kill the victim and that was the moment which Article 13
(3) refers to. It should also be noted that the weapon used, the force of the blow and the location
of the wound and the manner by which it was delivered, point to the fact that there was an
intention to kill Eminiano Bayo. As such, the extenuating circumstance mentioned in Article 13
(3) of the Revised Penal Code does not apply.
In summary, then, the crime committed was robbery with homicide; aggravated by three (3)
circumstances, namely, dwelling, use of superior force and habituality. Only one mitigating
circumstance, voluntary plea of guilty, is legally assessible in appellants' favor. There is
absolutely neither basis nor justice for this Court to extend unto them the extenuating
circumstance of lack of intent to commit so grave a wrong, the records of this case having
conclusively demonstrated the contrary.

People Vs Boyles

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

People Vs Boyles

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

People Vs Boyles

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

(QUINTOS)

G.R. No. L-15308

You might also like