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Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Manila
EN BANC
G.R. No. 24532 December 11, 1925
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee,

vs.
MATEO BERSABAL, defendant-appellant.
Lutero and Lutero for appellant.

Attorney-General Jaranilla for appellee.
ROMUALDEZ, J.:
This prosecution was commenced by the following information:
That on or about May 8, 1925, in the municipality of Pototan, Iloilo, the above named defendant did
intentionally, maliciously, criminally and treacherously and with cruelty, strike Pablo Cordoba with a bolo with
which he was provided, inflicting a wound on the right side of the latter and cutting off afterwards his two arms
and legs as a result of which he died; and in order to conceal his crime, the defendant set fire to the house
where the act had taken place, which was completely burnt, the body of said Pablo Cordoba having
consequently been reduced to coal. Contrary to law.
After trial, the Court of First Instance of Iloilo sentenced the defendant to cadena perpetua, and to indemnify the
heirs of the deceased in the sum of P1,000, with the accessories provided by law and the costs. From this judgment,
the defendant appeals through his counsel, assigning as errors the finding of the trial judge that the crime in
question was committed by the defendant, his holding that its commission was attended by the circumstance of
treachery, and that the acts alleged in the information were performed, and in not finding that there exists
reasonable doubt.
We find it sufficiently proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is the person responsible for the death
of Pablo Cordoba, as well as of the arson alleged in the information. We find in the record no sufficient ground for
doubting the veracity of the witnesses for the prosecution, who affirmed having witnessed the act. On the other
hand, one cannot overlook the natural interest of the witness Laurencia Panes, as mother of the defendant, when
explaining the death of the deceased in a manner favorable to her son and exempting him from liability by saying
that it occurred without the latter's intervention. Moreover, the trial judge who saw, heard and observed her while she
was testifying, did not find her worthy of credit.
The evidence shows that the appellant treacherously assaulted Pablo Cordoba and caused his death, and
afterwards set fire to; the house where the crime had taken place, which was completely burnt down.
Such a criminal act was not in any manner whatsoever justifiable, and we do not find any merit in the assignments
of error.
The information charges two crimes, — murder and arson, — which cannot be considered as a complex crime,
because neither was a necessary means for committing the other, nor is this a case of one single act constituting
two or more crimes. Article 89 of the Penal Code is, therefore, not applicable here. lawphil.net
In view of the fact that it was not proven that after Pablo Cordoba had fallen to the ground, he was still alive when
the defendant continued to attack him, cutting off his extremities, it seeming, on the contrary, to be inferred from the
evidence of the prosecution that said Cordoba was then already without life, the aggravating circumstance of cruelty,
that is the act of increasing the pain of the offended party, cannot be taken into account, but that of the defendant
being stepson of the deceased can. (Art. 10, No. 1, Penal Code; decision of the supreme court of Spain of July 26,
1877; I Viada's Penal Code, question V under article 10, No. 1.)lawphi1.net
This aggravating circumstance is compensated by the mitigating one consisting in the lack of instruction of the
defendant considered by the trial court.
As to the arson, the information does not allege the value of the house in question, nor that it was inhabited; neither
is there any evidence of its value. This, however, does not mean that the act is not punishable, which must be
punished under article 557 of the Penal Code, case No. 1. We, therefore, find the defendant guilty of the crime of
arson punished by said legal provision, with the compensation of the above-mentioned circumstances, and for this
reason the penalty to be imposed for the crime of arson is the medium degree of the penalty, which, in the instant
case, is from 3 months and 11 days to 4 months and 20 days.
Wherefore, the judgment appealed from is modified, and the appellant sentenced for the crime of murder to the
penalty of cadena perpetua, with the accessories provided by article 55 of the Penal Code, and to indemnify the
heirs of the deceased in the sum of P1,000; and for the crime of arson, to 3 months and 11 days of arresto mayor,
with the accessories provided by article 61 of the Penal Code, with the costs against the appellant. So ordered.
Avanceña, C.J., Johnson, Street, Malcolm, Ostrand, Johns, and Villa-Real, JJ., concur.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

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Today is Thursday, October 17, 2024

Republic of the Philippines

G.R. No. 24532 December 11, 1925

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee,

Lutero and Lutero for appellant.

This prosecution was commenced by the following information:

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

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