FIRST DIVISION
[G.R. No. 250309. September 21, 2022-2021.]
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee,vs. XXX and YYY, 1accused-appellants.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedSeptember 21, 2022, which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 250309 (People of the Philippines v. XXX and YYY). — Before this Court is an appeal 2 filed by accused-appellants XXX and YYY assailing the July 11, 2018 Decision 3 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 09330, which affirmed the April 3, 2017 Joint Decision 4 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), ___________, 5 Branch 8.
The Antecedents
Three separate Informations 6 were filed against XXX and one Information against YYY charging them with Statutory Rape as follows:
For Criminal Case No. FC-08-0232:
On or about the 20th day of December 2007 at more or less 1:30 in the afternoon at ____________________________________________________ Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with AAA, 8 a [six-year-old] minor, by taking advantage of her tender age, to her damages and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW. 9
For Criminal Case No. FC-08-0233:
On or about the 20th day of December 2007 at more or less 1:30 in the afternoon at ____________________________________________________, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with BBB, a [five-year-old] minor, by taking advantage of her tender age, to her damages and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW. 10
For Criminal Case No. FC-08-0234:
That on or about the 20th day of December 2007 at more or less 1:30 in the afternoon at _______________________________________________, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with CCC, a [three-year-old] minor, by taking advantage of her tender age, to her damages and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW. 11
For Criminal Case No. FC-08-0237:
Sometime in the month of December, 2007 at Barangay San Rafael, Municipality of Guinobatan, Province of Albay, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with lewd and unchaste design, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously have carnal knowledge with CCC, a [three-year-old] minor, by taking advantage of her tender age, to her damage and prejudice.
ACTS CONTRARY TO LAW. 12
Ruling of the Regional Trial Court
On April 3, 2017, the RTC rendered its Joint Decision, 13 the decretal portion of which, reads:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, Joint Judgment is hereby rendered as follows:
1. IN CRIMINAL CASE NO. FC-08-0232:
Finding him GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape, defined and penalized under Article 266-A, par. 1(d) in relation to Article 266-B, par. 5 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 and without applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court hereby sentences accused [XXX] to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the complainant "AAA" as civil indemnity ex delicto in the amount [of] P50,000.00 and as moral damages also in the amount of P50,000.00. CAIHTE
Cost against accused [XXX].
SO ORDERED.
2. IN CRIMINAL CASE NO. FC-08-0233:
Finding him GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape, defined and penalized under Article 266-A, par. 1(d) in relation to Article 266-B, par. 5 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 and without applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court hereby sentences accused [XXX] to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the complainant "BBB" as civil indemnity ex delicto in the amount [of] P50,000.00 and as moral damages also in the amount of P50,000.00.
Cost against accused [XXX].
SO ORDERED.
3. IN CRIMINAL CASE NO. FC-08-02334:
Finding him GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape, defined and penalized under Article 266-A, par. 1(d) in relation to Article 266-B, par. 5 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 and without applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court hereby sentences accused [XXX] to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the complainant "CCC" as civil indemnity ex delicto in the amount [of] P50,000.00 and as moral damages also in the amount of P50,000.00.
Cost against accused [XXX].
SO ORDERED.
4. IN CRIMINAL CASE NO. FC-08-0237:
Finding him GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Rape, defined and penalized under Article 266-A, par. 1(d) in relation to Article 266-B, par. 5 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act No. 8353 and without applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court hereby sentences accused [YYY] to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and to pay the complainant "CCC" as civil indemnity ex delicto in the amount [of] P50,000.00 and as moral damages also in the amount of P50,000.00.
Cost against accused [YYY].
SO ORDERED. 14
Aggrieved, XXX and YYY filed an appeal.
Ruling of the Court of Appeals
In the assailed July 11, 2018 Decision, 15 the appellate court affirmed the trial court's conviction with modification increasing the awards for civil indemnity and moral damages to P100,000.00 in each case, and ordering the payment of exemplary damages amounting to P100,000.00 in each case by way of public example and to protect children from sexual abuse. 16
The dispositive portion of the appellate court's Decision reads:
WHEREFORE, the Appeal is hereby DENIED. The Joint Decision dated 3 April 2017 of the Regional Trial Court, ________________________, Branch 8, in Criminal Case Nos. FC-08-0232, 0233, 0234, and 0237, is AFFIRMED WITH MODIFICATIONS in that civil indemnity and moral damages in each of the cases are increased to P100,000.00. Accused-appellants [XXX] and [YYYJ are FURTHER OREDERED to pay exemplary damages, in each of the four cases, in the amount of P100,000.00. All the amounts of damages shall earn interest at the legal rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of finality of this Decision until full payment.
SO ORDERED. 17
Drawing their last straw, XXX and YYY resorted to an appeal 18 to this Court. However, pending appeal of their conviction, both XXX and YYY died. In particular, YYY died on March 20, 2018 as per the death report of the New Bilibid Prison Hospital. 19 Meanwhile, XXX also died on November 3, 2021, as per the notice of death issued by the National Bilibid Prison Hospital. 20
Article 89 of the Revised Penal Code is instructive on the effects of the death of the accused on his or her criminal liability pending appeal. It provides:
Art. 89. How criminal liability is extinguished. — Criminal liability is totally extinguished:
1. By the death of the convict, as to the personal penalties, and as to pecuniary penalties, liability therefor is extinguished only when the death of the offender occurs before final judgment;
As further explained by the Court in People v. Amistoso: 21
1. Death of the accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguishes his criminal liability as well as the civil liability based solely thereon. As opined by Justice Regalado, in this regard, "the death of the accused prior to final judgment terminates his criminal liability and only the civil liability directly arising from and based solely on the offense committed, i.e., civil liability ex delicto in senso strictiore. DETACa
2. Corrollarily, the claim for civil liability survives notwithstanding the death of accused, if the same may also be predicated on a source of obligation other than delict. Article 1157 of the Civil Code enumerates these other sources of obligation from which the civil liability may arise as a result of the same act or omission:
a) Law
b) Contracts
c) Quasi-contracts
d) . . .
e) Quasi-delicts
3. Where the civil liability survives, as explained in Number 2 above, an action for recovery therefor may be pursued but only by way of filing a separate civil action and subject to Section 1, Rule 111 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal Procedure as amended. This separate civil action may be enforced either against the executor/administrator or the estate of the accused, depending on the source of obligation upon which the same is based as explained above.
4. Finally, the private offended party need not fear a forfeiture of his right to file this separate civil action by prescription, in cases where during the prosecution of the criminal action and prior to its extinction, the private-offended party instituted together therewith the civil action. In such case, the statute of limitations on the civil liability is deemed interrupted during the pendency of the criminal case, conformably with provisions of Article 1155 of the Civil Code, that should thereby avoid any apprehension on a possible privation of right by prescription.
Given the foregoing, it is clear that the death of the accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguishes his criminal liability, as well as his civil liability ex delicto. Since the criminal action is extinguished inasmuch as there is no longer a defendant to stand as the accused, the civil action instituted therein for recovery of civil liability ex delicto is ipso facto extinguished, ground as it is on the criminal case. 22
In this case, YYY and XXX died pending resolution of their appeal before this Court. Pursuant to Article 89 of the RPC, their criminal liabilities are totally extinguished upon their death, as well as the civil liabilities exclusively based thereon. Consequently, Criminal Case Nos. FC-08-0232, FC-08-0233, FC-08-0234, and FC-08-0237 filed against YYY and XXX before the RTC of ____________, Branch 8, should be dismissed by reason of their death.
WHEREFORE, Criminal Case Nos. FC-08-0232, FC-08-0233, FC-08-0234, and FC-08-0237 filed against XXX and YYY before the Regional Trial Court of _________________________ are DISMISSED on account of accused-appellants' demise and are declared CLOSED and TERMINATED.
The letter dated March 4, 2022 of CSO4 Cesar T. Grecia, Chief, Admin., Inmate Documents and Processing Division, NBP, Muntilupa City, informing the Court that accused-appellant XXX died on November 3, 2021, with attached certified machine copy of notice of death issued by the New Bilibid Prison Hospital, is NOTED; and the counsel for the accused-appellants is directed to IMMEDIATELY SUPPLY the necessary information to the Philippine Statistics Authority for the issuance of the death certificates, and the Philippine Statistics Authority, thru its Legal Service, is directed to IMMEDIATELY SUBMIT to this Court the certified true copies of accused-appellants XXX and YYY's death certificates.
SO ORDERED." Gesmundo, C.J., on official business.
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court
By:
MARIA TERESA B. SIBULODeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Initials were used to identify the accused-appellant pursuant to the Supreme Court Amended Administrative Circular No. 83-2015 dated September 5, 2017 entitled "Protocols and Procedures in the Promulgation, Publication, and Posting on the Websites of Decisions, Final Resolutions, and Final Orders using Fictitious Names/Personal Circumstances."
2. Rollo, p. 15.
3. Id. at 3-14. Penned by Associate Justice Japar B. Dimaampao (now a Member of this Court) and concurred in by Associate Justices Manuel M. Barrios and Jhosep Y. Lopez (now a Member of this Court).
4. CA rollo, pp. 53-81. Penned by Acting Presiding Judge Edgar L. Armes.
5. Geographical location is blotted out pursuant to Supreme Court Amended Administrative Circular No. 83-2015.
6. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0232), p. 2; Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0233), p. 1; Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0234), p. 2.
7. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0237), p. 2.
8. "The identity of the victim or any information which could establish or compromise her identity, as well as those of her immediate family or household members, shall be withheld pursuant to Republic Act No. 7610, An Act Providing for Stronger Deterrence and Special Protection against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination, Providing Penalties for its Violation, and for Other Purposes; Republic Act No. 9262, An Act Defining Violence Against Women and Their Children, Providing for Protective Measures for Victims, Prescribing Penalties Therefor, and for Other Purposes; and Section 40 of A.M. No. 04-10-11-SC, known as the Rule on Violence against Women and their Children, effective November 15, 2004." (People v. Dumadag, 667 Phil. 664, 669 [2011]).
9. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0232), p. 2.
10. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0233), p. 1.
11. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0234), p. 2.
12. Records (Crim. Case No. FC-08-0237), p. 2.
13. CA rollo, pp. 53-81.
14. Id. at 79-81.
15. Rollo, pp. 3-14.
16. Id. at 13.
17. Id. at 14.
18. Id. at 15.
19. Id. at 25 and 26.
20. Id. at 39-40.
21. 716 Phil. 825 (2013), citing People v. Bayotas, 306 Phil. 266 (1994).
22. Id. at 829-830.