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L-30269

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Republic of the Philippines

FIRST DIVISION

G.R. No. L-30269 July 19, 1982

EPITACIO BUERANO, petitioner,

RELOVA, J.:

Petitioner Epitacio Buerano was the driver of LTB bus with Plate No. 22-900 which collided with the Mabuhay
Bakery delivery panel bearing Plate No. T-13016 driven by Hipolito Vismonte and owned by Chu Yu in Tanay, Rizal
on September 20, 1957.

On December 3, 1957, the Chief of Police of Tanay, filed with the Municipal Judge of that municipality Criminal Case
No. 251 against herein petitioner for the crime of "Slight and Serious Physical Injuries through Reckless
Imprudence." In said Criminal Case No. 251, the complaint alleged, among other things, "causing by such
negligence, carelessness and imprudence that the said bus, driven and operated by him (petitioner) to collide with
the delivery truck of Mabuhay Bakery owned by Mr. Chu Yu alias Mariano of Tanay, Rizal, bearing Plate No. T-
13016, the result of which the right front side of the said truck (Mabuhay Bakery) was greatly damaged and the
driver, Hipolito Vismonte, including the two (2) helpers, namely, Bonifacio Virtudazo and Sy Tian alias Martin,
suffered physical injuries on the different parts of the body which required medical attention as follows:

Hipolito Vismonte—five (5) days

Bonifacio Virtudazo—ten (10) days

Sy Tian alias Martin—one (1) month

On February 6, 1958, after trial, petitioner was found guilty of slight and less serious physical injuries through
reckless imprudence and sentenced "to suffer imprisonment from one (1) month and one (1) day to two (2) months
and to pay the cost of the suit." He appealed the decision to the Court of First Instance of Rizal where the case was
docketed as Criminal Case No. 7772.

On May 2, 1962, the Court of First Instance of Rizal affirmed the decision of the Municipal Court and sentenced
petitioner to suffer four months of Arresto Mayor and to pay the costs.

In the meantime, the Assistant Provincial Fiscal of Rizal filed against herein petitioner Criminal Case No. 7965 in the
Court of First Instance charging him with the Crime of Damage to property through reckless imprudence. He filed a
Motion to Quash on the ground of double jeopardy in that because he has been previously convicted of the offense
charged, referring to the judgment of conviction by the Municipal Court and the Court of First Instance. Opposition
was filed by the Provincial Fiscal contending that the crime for which petitioner was convicted was for less serious
physical injuries through reckless imprudence, whereas the second case was for damages to property through
reckless imprudence which are distinct offenses. In support thereof, he cited the case of People vs. Estipona, 70
Phil. 513, which held that the two (2) offenses are entirely distinct from one another, punishable under two (2)
different provisions of the code and that more evidence are necessary to sustain the complaint for injuries than
those submitted in the case for damage.

The Court of First Instance denied the motion to quash and, after trial, found petitioner guilty in Criminal Case No.
7965 of the crime of damage to property through reckless imprudence. Petitioner appealed to the Court of Appeals
which sustained the Court of First Instance and sentenced herein petitioner "to pay a fine of P4,387.00 which is
double the amount of damages suffered by the delivery truck with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency; to
indemnify the offended party, the owner of the delivery truck in the amount of P2,193.50, representing the amount of
damages suffered by the said delivery truck, and to pay the costs." The Court of Appeals held that there was no
double jeopardy because —
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... First. Neither in the JP Court nor in the CFI on appeal was the appellant convicted or acquitted of the
offense of Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence or the case against him for that offense
dismissed or otherwise terminated without his express consent. Second. The JP Court which found him
guilty of Slight and Less Serious Physical injuries was not a court of competent jurisdiction to try the
offense of Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence involving P2,193.50 because the imposable
penalty may be three times the aforesaid amount. Third Appellant could not have validly pleaded
before the JP Court to the said offense of Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence. Fourth The
offense of Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence was alleged in the Information in Criminal
Case No. 7965 (the second case) does not include and is not necessarily included in the first charge of
Slight and Less Serious Physical Injuries Thru Reckless Imprudence, as alleged in the Information filed
in Criminal Case No. 7722, the continuation of Criminal Case 251; and Fifth: Appellant was never tried
at all in the JP Court of Tanay in Criminal Case No. 7722 for the crime of Damage to Property Thru
Reckless Imprudence.

We have read the case of People vs. Jose Belga, 53 O.G. (10) 3081, May 31, 1957, cited by appellant,
and are of the opinion that the basic reason relied therein is not found in the case at bar, first because
there were three (3) cases filed in that case, to wit, Criminal Case No. 88, Reckless Imprudence with
Physical Injury; Criminal Case No. 95, Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence, and Criminal
Case No. 96, for Multiple Physical Injuries thru Reckless Imprudence, and accused Jose Belga was
acquitted in the first case No. 88, after due trial charging both physical injuries and damage to property
thru reckless imprudence. In the case at bar, the offense of damage to property thru reckless
imprudence arising out of the collision has not been passed upon or dealt with in both Criminal Case
No. 251, JP Court of Tanay, and in Criminal Case No. 7722 of the CFI, whereas Criminal Case No.
7965, the present case, is solely for damage to property thru reckless imprudence. In fact, appellant
could not have been convicted of Damage to Property Thru Reckless Imprudence under the
Information filed in Criminal Case No. 7722, the first case, for it charges only the offense of Less
Serious Physical Injury Thru Reckless Imprudence. Obvious is the fact that no case for damage to
property thru reckless imprudence was tried in which appellant could be convicted or acquitted or the
case against him dismissed or otherwise terminated without his express consent. Furthermore, under
Sec. 9 of Revised Rule 117, in order for jeopardy to be available as bar, the second offense, Criminal
Case No. 7965, must necessarily include or is necessarily included in the offense charged in the first
case, Criminal Case No. 7722. Considering that the decision of the JP in Criminal Case No. 251 was
vacated and the information filed by the Fiscal in Criminal Case 7722 (the continuation of Criminal
Case 251) charges only the offense of Less Serious Physical Injuries, it is evident that the first offense
does not include the second,nor the second, the first.

This view of the Court of Appeals was inspired by the ruling of this Court in the pre-war case of People vs. Estipona
decided on November 14, 1940. However, in the case of People vs. Buan, 22 SCRA 1383 (March 29, 1968), this
Court, speaking thru Justice J. B. L. Reyes, held that —

Reason and precedent both coincide in that once convicted or acquitted of a specific act of reckless
imprudence, the accused may not be prosecuted again for that same act. For the essence of the quasi
offense of criminal negligence under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code lies in the execution of an
imprudent or negligent act that, if intentionally done, would be punishable as a felony. The law
penalizes thus the negligent or careless act, not the result thereof. The gravity of the consequence is
only taken into account to determine the penalty, it does not qualify the substance of the offense. And,
as the careless act is single, whether the injurious result should affect one person or several persons,
the offense (criminal negligence) remains one and the same, and can not be split into different crimes
and prosecutions.

xxx xxx xxx

... the exoneration of this appellant, Jose Buan, by the Justice of the Peace (now Municipal) Court of
Guiguinto, Bulacan, of the charge of slight physical injuries through reckless imprudence, prevents his
being prosecuted for serious physical injuries through reckless imprudence in the Court of First
Instance of the province, where both charges are derived from the consequences of one and the same
vehicular accident, because the second accusation places the appellant in second jeopardy for the
same offense.

Then Solicitor General, now Justice Felix V. Makasiar, in his MANIFESTATION dated December 12, 1969 (page 82
of the Rollo) admits that the Court of Appeals erred in not sustaining petitioner's plea of double jeopardy and
submits that "its affirmatory decision dated January 28, 1969, in Criminal Case No. 05123-CR finding petitioner
guilty of damage to property through reckless imprudence should be set aside, without costs." He stressed that "if
double jeopardy exists where the reckless act resulted into homicide and physical injuries. then the same
consequence must perforce follow where the same reckless act caused merely damage to property—not death—
and physical injuries. Verily, the value of a human life lost as a result of a vehicular collision cannot be equated with
any amount of damages caused to a motors vehicle arising from the same mishap."

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WHEREFORE, the judgment of conviction in Criminal Case No. CA-G.R. No. 05123-CR is hereby set aside and
petitioner is acquitted of the offense charged therein.

SO ORDERED.

Teehankee (Acting C.J.), Plana and Gutierrez, Jr., JJ., concur.

Makasiar and Melencio-Herrera, JJ., took no part.

Vasquez, J., concur in the result.

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

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