People v.
Cesar (Tagle) Ruling: As a complex crime, the penalty for the more serious crime should be
G.R No. L-26185| March 13, 1968 | Judge | Article 64
PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE: People of the Philippines
ACCUSED-APPELLANT: Wilforiano Cesar alias Junior
Doctrine:
TC: Found guilty of the complex crime of direct assault upon a person in authority
with homicide, with a special or privileged mitigating circumstance of minority
and spontaneous plea of guilty. Sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of from 12
years and 1 day of reclusion temporal, as minimum, to 14 years, 8 months and 1
day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. With all the accessory penalties provided
by law, and to pay damages to the heirs of the deceased in the amount of P7,500.00.
Credited 1/2 of his preventive imprisonment from March 10, 1966, until this
decision becomes final.
Issue: Whether or not the lower court erred in the imposition of correct penalty,
considering circumstance of minority and the plea of guilty.
Facts:
1. On March 1966, Wilforiano Cesar (student of St. Anthony's Academy in Bohol)
went out to buy a notebook from a store where he met his friend who offered
him tuba. He drank two glasses and returned to his classes. He was able to attend
his classes and remember the subjects. After classes, he stood by the flagpole
where he met and stabbed with a knife Segundo Sarce Jr., (Acting Principal
Teacher). Sarce died and Cesar fled.
2. The policemen went to the house of Cesar. Cesar’s father told them that he was
going to look for his son and surrender him. While accused's father was putting on
his trousers, a knife fell from his trousers' pocket. The father said that it was the
knife that Cesar had used. They found Cesar at the house of his grandfather. The
accused was brought to the municipal jail and locked therein.
3. Cesar was charged with direct assault with murder. Upon arraignment, the
accused pleaded not guilty. However, on the date set for trial on the merits, he
pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of direct assault with homicide.
4. Cesar proved that he was born on May 27, 1948. Hence, he was only 17 yrs,
9months, and 12 days old on the date of the commission of the crime.
5. Cesar was convicted of a complex crime *see TC ruling above.
imposed, the same to be applied in its maximum period. The more serious crime is
homicide punishable by reclusion temporal.
In this case, following circumstance was considered: the privileged mitigating
circumstance of minority and the ordinary mitigating circumstance of plea of
guilty. Under Art. 64, par. 5 of the RPC, the penalty imposable is the penalty
next lower to that prescribed by law. Under Art. 71, Revised Penal Code, the
penalty next lower to reclusion temporal is prision mayor. Because of the complex
nature of the crime committed by accused-appellant, the penalty of prision mayor is
to be applied in its maximum period. However, having in his favor the ordinary
mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty without any offsetting aggravating
circumstance, applying Art. 64, par. 2, the penalty of prision mayor max.
should be imposed in its min. range.
The lower court erred in the imposition of the correct penalty — despite its proper
appreciation of mitigating circumstance of minority and plea of guilty— because it
applied first the imposable penalty to its maximum degree and then imposed the
penalty immediately inferior to it.
The proper method is to start from the penalty imposed by the RPC, i.e., reclusion
temporal; then apply the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority and
determine the penalty immediately inferior in degree, i.e., prision mayor; and finally
apply the same in its max. degree but within the min. range thereof because of the
ordinary mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty. Prision mayor being the max. of
the indeterminate sentence, the min. of the indeterminate penalty is within the range
of the penalty next lower to it as prescribed by the Revised Penal Code, i.e., prision
correccional.
Dispositive: WHEREFORE, the judgment appealed from is hereby modified as to
the personal penalty so as to sentence the accused to an indeterminate penalty of not
less than six (6) years of prision correccional to not more than ten (10) years and
eight (8) months of prision mayor; in all other respects, the judgment is hereby
affirmed. No costs. So ordered.