SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 200302. September 25, 2013.]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, vs. GERRY LIPATA y ORTIZA, appellant.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 25 September 2013 which reads as follows:
G.R. No. 200302: PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee, v. GERRY LIPATA y ORTIZA, appellant.
Before this Court is an appeal assailing the Decision 1 dated 31 May 2011 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-H.C. No. 04461 affirming the Decision 2 dated 23 March 2010 of Branch 85 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, in Criminal Case No. Q-05-136534 convicting Gerry Lipata y Ortiza (appellant) of Murder. This Court has been informed that appellant passed away prior to the promulgation of the CA Decision. 3
Under Section 4 of Rule 111 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, if the accused dies pending resolution of the criminal action, his civil liability ex delicto shall be extinguished. However, actions falling under Articles 32, 33, 34, and 2176 of the Civil Code which have already been instituted or which may be instituted thereafter survive the death of the accused. HcDSaT
[The action] may be continued against the estate or legal representative of the accused after proper substitution or against said estate, as the case may be. The heirs of the accused may be substituted for the deceased without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs.
The court shall forthwith order said legal representative or representatives to appear and be substituted within a period of thirty (30) days from notice.
A final judgment entered in favor of the offended party shall be enforced in the manner especially provided in these rules for prosecuting claims against the estate of the deceased. 4
In People v. Bunay, 5 we held that:
The death of the accused likewise extinguished the civil liability that was based exclusively on the crime for which the accused was convicted (i.e., ex delicto), because no final judgment of conviction was yet rendered by the time of his death. Only civil liability predicated on a source of obligation other than the delict survived the death of the accused, which the offended party can recover by means of a separate civil action. 6 (Emphasis supplied)
In a criminal action, the civil action for the recovery of civil liability arising from the offense charged is deemed instituted with the criminal action unless the offended party waives the civil action, reserves the right to institute it separately or institutes the civil action prior to the criminal action. 7 There was no waiver, reservation, or prior civil action in the present case. Hence, the civil action was deemed instituted together with the criminal action. IDcHCS
When a party to a pending civil action dies, and the claim is not extinguished by such death, the deceased will be substituted by his legal representative or heirs. Section 16 of Rule 3 of the Rules of Civil Procedure provides that:
Sec. 16.Death of party; duty of counsel. — Whenever a party to a pending action dies, and the claim is not thereby extinguished, it shall be the duty of his counsel to inform the court within thirty (30) days after such death of the fact thereof, and to give the name and address of his legal representative or representatives. Failure of counsel to comply with this duty shall be a ground for disciplinary action.
The heirs of the deceased may be allowed to be substituted for the deceased, without requiring the appointment of an executor or administrator and the court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor heirs.
The court shall forthwith order said legal representative or representatives to appear and be substituted within a period of thirty (30) days from notice.
If no legal representative is named by the counsel for the deceased party, or if the one so named shall fail to appear within the specified period, the court may order the opposing party, within a specified time, to procure the appointment of an executor or administrator for the estate of the deceased and the latter shall immediately appear for and on behalf of the deceased. The court charges in procuring such appointment, if defrayed by the opposing party, may be recovered as costs. HCacTI
WHEREFORE, the Court hereby ORDERS counsel for appellant Gerry Lipata y Ortiza: (1) to SUBSTITUTE the legal representatives of the estate of the deceased appellant as party; and (2) to COMMENT on the civil liability of appellant within ten (10) days from receipt of this Resolution.
SO ORDERED. (Brion, J., on leave; Leonen, J., additional member per Special Order No. 1560 dated 24 September 2013)
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) MA. LOURDES C. PERFECTODivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 2-19. Penned by Associate Justice Romeo F. Barza, with Associate Justices Rosalinda Asuncion-Vicente and Edwin D. Sorongon, concurring.
2.CA rollo, pp. 44-55. Penned by Judge Luisito G. Cortez.
3.On 25 October 2012, this Court received the: (1) notice from the Warden stating that appellant passed away; (2) Medical Certificate issued by the East Avenue Medical Center; and (3) Death Certificate of appellant.
4.Section 4, Rule 111 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
5.G.R. No. 171268, 14 September 2010, 630 SCRA 445.
6.Id. at 448.
7.Section 1, Rule 111 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.