Case Digest: Villareal v.

People
G.R. No. 151258: February 1, 2012

ARTEMIO VILLAREAL, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Respondent.

x-----------------------x

G.R. No. 154954

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, v. The HONORABLE COURT OF

APPEALS, ANTONIO MARIANO ALMEDA, DALMACIO LIM, Jr., JUNEL
ANTHONY AMA, ERNESTO JOSE MONTECILLO, VINCENT TECSON, ANTONIO
GENERAL, SANTIAGO RANADA III, NELSON VICTORINO, JAIME MARIA
FLORES II, ZOSIMO MENDOZA, MICHAEL MUSNGI, VICENTE VERDADERO,
ETIENNE GUERRERO, JUDE FERNANDEZ, AMANTE PURISIMA II, EULOGIO
SABBAN, PERCIVAL BRIGOLA, PAUL ANGELO SANTOS, JONAS KARL B.
PEREZ, RENATO BANTUG, JR., ADEL ABAS, JOSEPH LLEDO, and RONAN DE
GUZMAN, Respondents.

x-----------------------x

G.R. No. 155101

FIDELITO DIZON, Petitioner, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

x-----------------------x

G.R. Nos. 178057 & 178080

GERARDA H. VILLA, Petitioner, v. MANUEL LORENZO ESCALONA II, MARCUS

JOEL CAPELLAN RAMOS, CRISANTO CRUZ SARUCA, Jr., and ANSELMO
ADRIANO, Respondents.

SERENO, J.:

FACTS:

In February 1991, seven freshmen law students of the Ateneo de Manila University
School of Law signified their intention to join the Aquila Legis Juris Fraternity (Aquila
Fraternity).

The neophytes, including victim, Lenny Villa, were subjected to initiation rites. After
the second day of initiation rites has ended, accused non-resident or alumni
fraternity members Fidelito Dizon (Dizon) and Artemio Villareal (Villareal) demanded
that the rites be reopened. The head of initiation rites, Nelson Victorino (Victorino),
initially refused. Upon the insistence of Dizon and Villareal, however, he reopened
the initiation rites. The fraternity members, including Dizon and Villareal, then
subjected the neophytes to "paddling" and to additional rounds of physical pain.
Lenny received several paddle blows, one of which was so strong it sent him
sprawling to the ground. The neophytes heard him complaining of intense pain and
difficulty in breathing. After their last session of physical beatings, Lenny could no
longer walk. He had to be carried by the auxiliaries to the carport. Again, the
initiation for the day was officially ended, and the neophytes started eating dinner.
They then slept at the carport.

After an hour of sleep, the neophytes were suddenly roused by Lennys shivering
and incoherent mumblings. Initially, Villareal and Dizon dismissed these rumblings,
as they thought he was just overacting. When they realized, though, that Lenny was
really feeling cold, some of the Aquilans started helping him. They removed his
clothes and helped him through a sleeping bag to keep him warm. When his
condition worsened, the Aquilans rushed him to the hospital. Lenny was pronounced
dead on arrival.

Consequently, a criminal case for homicide was filed against 35 Aquilans.

G.R. No. 151258 Villareal v. People

The instant case refers to accused Villareals Petition for Review on Certiorari under
Rule 45. The Petition raises two reversible errors allegedly committed by the CA in
its Decision dated 10 January 2002 in CA-G.R. No. 15520 first, denial of due
process; and, second, conviction absent proof beyond reasonable doubt. While the
Petition was pending before this Court, counsel for petitioner Villareal filed a Notice
of Death of Party on 10 August 2011. According to the Notice, petitioner Villareal
died on 13 March 2011. Counsel thus asserts that the subject matter of the Petition
previously filed by petitioner does not survive the death of the accused.

G.R. No. 155101 Dizon v. People

Petitioner Dizon sets forth two main issues first, that he was denied due process
when the CA sustained the trial courts forfeiture of his right to present evidence; and,
second, that he was deprived of due process when the CA did not apply to him the
same "ratio decidendi that served as basis of acquittal of the other accused.

G.R. No. 154954 People v. Court of Appeals

This Petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 seeks the reversal of the CAs Decision,
insofar as it acquitted 19 (Victorino et al.) and convicted 4 (Tecson et al.) of the
accused Aquilans of the lesser crime of slight physical injuries. According to the
Solicitor General, the CA erred in holding that there could have been no conspiracy
to commit hazing, as hazing or fraternity initiation had not yet been criminalized at
the time Lenny died.

In the alternative, petitioner claims that the ruling of the trial court should have been
upheld, inasmuch as it found that there was conspiracy to inflict physical injuries on
Lenny. Since the injuries led to the victims death, petitioner posits that the accused
Aquilans are criminally liable for the resulting crime of homicide, pursuant to Article 4
of the Revised Penal Code.

G.R. Nos. 178057 and 178080 Villa v. Escalona

Petitioner Villa assails the CAs dismissal of the criminal case involving 4 of the 9
accused, namely, Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and Adriano. She argues that the
accused failed to assert their right to speedy trial within a reasonable period of time.
She also points out that the prosecution cannot be faulted for the delay, as the
original records and the required evidence were not at its disposal, but were still in
the appellate court.

ISSUES:

G.R. No. 151258 Villareal v. People: whether or not the death of Villareal
extinguished his criminal liability

G.R. No. 155101 Dizon v. People: whether or not DIzon was deprived of due
process

G.R. No. 154954 People v. Court of Appeals: whether or not the CA erred in
convicting accused of the lesser offense of slight physical injuries instead of
homicide

G.R. Nos. 178057 and 178080 (Villa v. Escalona): whether or not the CA erred in
dismissing the case for violation of the accuseds right to speedy trial

HELD:

G.R. No. 151258 Villareal v. People

Criminal Law- how criminal liability is extinguished

In a Notice dated 26 September 2011 and while the Petition was pending resolution,
this Court took note of counsel for petitioners Notice of Death of Party.

According to Article 89(1) of the Revised Penal Code, criminal liability for personal
penalties is totally extinguished by the death of the convict. In contrast, criminal
liability for pecuniary penalties is extinguished if the offender dies prior to final
judgment. The term "personal penalties" refers to the service of personal or
imprisonment penalties, while the term "pecuniarypenalties" (las pecuniarias) refers
to fines and costs, including civil liability predicated on the criminal offense
complained of (i.e., civil liability ex delicto). However, civil liability based on a source
of obligation other than the delict survives the death of the accused and is
recoverable through a separate civil action.

Thus, we hold that the death of petitioner Villareal extinguished his criminal liability
for both personal and pecuniary penalties, including his civil liability directly arising
from the delict complained of. Consequently, his Petition is hereby dismissed, and
the criminal case against him deemed closed and terminated.

G.R. No. 155101 (Dizon v. People)

Political Law- The right of the accused to present evidence is guaranteed by no less
than the Constitution itself.

Article III, Section 14(2) thereof, provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel" This constitutional
right includes the right to present evidence in ones defense, as well as the right to
be present and defend oneself in person at every stage of the proceedings.

The trial court should not have deemed the failure of petitioner to present evidence
on 25 August 1993 as a waiver of his right to present evidence. On the contrary, it
should have considered the excuse of counsel justified, especially since counsel for
another accused General had made a last-minute adoption of testimonial evidence
that freed up the succeeding trial dates; and since Dizon was not scheduled to
testify until two weeks later. At any rate, the trial court pre-assigned five hearing
dates for the reception of evidence. If it really wanted to impose its Order strictly, the
most it could have done was to forfeit one out of the five days set for Dizons
testimonial evidence. Stripping the accused of all his pre-assigned trial dates
constitutes a patent denial of the constitutionally guaranteed right to due process.

In criminal cases where the imposable penalty may be death, as in the present case,
the court is called upon to see to it that the accused is personally made aware of the
consequences of a waiver of the right to present evidence. In fact, it is not enough
that the accused is simply warned of the consequences of another failure to attend
the succeeding hearings. The court must first explain to the accused personally in
clear terms the exact nature and consequences of a waiver.

G.R. Nos. 178057 and 178080 (Villa v. Escalona)

Political Law- right to speedy trial is violated when the proceeding is attended
with unjustified postponements of trial, or when a long period of time is
allowed to elapse without the case being tried and for no cause or justifiable
motive.

We do not see grave abuse of discretion in the CAs dismissal of the case against
accused Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and Adriano on the basis of the violation of their
right to speedy trial.

While we are prepared to concede that some of the foregoing factors that
contributed to the delay of the trial of the petitioners are justifiable, We nonetheless
hold that their right to speedy trial has been utterly violated in this case.

The absence of the records in the trial court [was] due to the fact that the records of
the case were elevated to the Court of Appeals, and the prosecutions failure to
comply with the order of the court a quo requiring it to secure certified true copies of
the same. What is glaring from the records is the fact that as early as September 21,
1995, the court a quo already issued an Order requiring the prosecution, through the
Department of Justice, to secure the complete records of the case from the Court of
Appeals. The prosecution did not comply with the said Order as in fact, the same
directive was repeated by the court a quo in an Order dated December 27, 1995.
Still, there was no compliance on the part of the prosecution. It is not stated when
such order was complied with. It appears, however, that even until August 5, 2002,
the said records were still not at the disposal of the trial court because the lack of it
was made the basis of the said court in granting the motion to dismiss filed by co-
accused Concepcion.

It is likewise noticeable that from December 27, 1995, until August 5, 2002, or for a
period of almost seven years, there was no action at all on the part of the court a
quo. Except for the pleadings filed by both the prosecution and the petitioners, the
latest of which was on January 29, 1996, followed by petitioner Sarucas motion to
set case for trial on August 17, 1998 which the court did not act upon, the case
remained dormant for a considerable length of time. This prolonged inactivity
whatsoever is precisely the kind of delay that the constitution frowns upon.

From the foregoing principles, we affirm the ruling of the CA in CA-G.R. SP No.
89060 that accused Escalona et al.s right to speedy trial was violated. Since there is
nothing in the records that would show that the subject of this Petition includes
accused Ampil, S. Fernandez, Cabangon, and De Vera, the effects of this ruling
shall be limited to accused Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and Adriano.

G.R. No. 154954 (People v. Court of Appeals)

Political Law- No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the
same offense. If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or
acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the
same act.

The rule on double jeopardy thus prohibits the state from appealing the judgment in
order to reverse the acquittal or to increase the penalty imposed either through a
regular appeal under Rule 41 of the Rules of Court or through an appeal by certiorari
on pure questions of law under Rule 45 of the same Rules.

As we have reiterated in People v. Court of Appeals and Galicia, a verdict of

acquittal is immediately final and a reexamination of the merits of such acquittal,
even in the appellate courts, will put the accused in jeopardy for the same offense.

This prohibition, however, is not absolute. The state may challenge the lower courts
acquittal of the accused or the imposition of a lower penalty on the latter in the
following recognized exceptions: (1) where the prosecution is deprived of a fair
opportunity to prosecute and prove its case, tantamount to a deprivation of due
process; (2) where there is a finding of mistrial; or (3) where there has been a grave
abuse of discretion.

The third instance refers to this Courts judicial power under Rule 65 to determine
whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government.

Indeed, we have ruled in a line of cases that the rule on double jeopardy similarly
applies when the state seeks the imposition of a higher penalty against the accused.
We have also recognized, however, that certiorari may be used to correct an
abusive judgment upon a clear demonstration that the lower court blatantly abused
its authority to a point so grave as to deprive it of its very power to dispense justice.
The present case is one of those instances of grave abuse of discretion.

The appellate court relied on our ruling in People v. Penesa in finding that the four
accused should be held guilty only of slight physical injuries. According to the CA,
because of "the death of the victim, there can be no precise means to determine the
duration of the incapacity or medical attendance required. The reliance on Penesa
was utterly misplaced.

On the contrary, the CAs ultimate conclusion that Tecson, Ama, Almeda, and Bantug
were liable merely for slight physical injuries grossly contradicts its own findings of
fact. According to the court, the four accused "were found to have inflicted more than
the usual punishment undertaken during such initiation rites on the person of Villa. It
then adopted the NBI medico-legal officers findings that the antecedent cause of
Lenny Villas death was the "multiple traumatic injuries" he suffered from the initiation
rites. Considering that the CA found that the "physical punishment heaped on Lenny
Villa was serious in nature, it was patently erroneous for the court to limit the
criminal liability to slight physical injuries, which is a light felony.
Article 4(1) of the Revised Penal Code dictates that the perpetrator shall be liable for
the consequences of an act, even if its result is different from that intended. Thus,
once a person is found to have committed an initial felonious act, such as the
unlawful infliction of physical injuries that results in the death of the victim, courts are
required to automatically apply the legal framework governing the destruction of life.
This rule is mandatory, and not subject to discretion.

Attributing criminal liability solely to Villareal and Dizon as if only their acts, in and of
themselves, caused the death of Lenny Villa is contrary to the CAs own findings.
From proof that the death of the victim was the cumulative effect of the multiple
injuries he suffered, the only logical conclusion is that criminal responsibility should
redound to all those who have been proven to have directly participated in the
infliction of physical injuries on Lenny. The accumulation of bruising on his body
caused him to suffer cardiac arrest. Accordingly, we find that the CA committed
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in finding
Tecson, Ama, Almeda, and Bantug criminally liable for slight physical injuries. As an
allowable exception to the rule on double jeopardy, we therefore give due course to
the Petition.