Peralta v. People

FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. 246992. August 14, 2019.]

RUSSEL SALVADOR PERALTA AND EDMUND ESTRADA, petitioners,vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.

NOTICE

Sirs/Mesdames :

Please take notice that the Court, First Division, issued a Resolution datedAugust 14, 2019which reads as follows:

"G.R. No. 246992(Russel Salvador Peralta and Edmund Estrada v. People of the Philippines)

After review of the records, the Court resolves to DENY the petition for failure to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in its October 30, 2018 Decision 1 and April 15, 2019 Resolution, 2 as to warrant the exercise of the Court's discretionary appellate jurisdiction.

The Court, however, finds that the penalty imposed and the awards of damages must be modified. In this case, Russel Salvador Peralta and Edmund Estrada (petitioners) committed the crime of Slight Physical Injuries with a prescribed penalty of arresto menor ranging from eleven (11) to twenty (20) days in its medium period. Since the maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed one (1) year, the provisions of the Indeterminate Sentence Law find no application and petitioners should be meted a straight penalty of arresto menor in its medium period. 3 As there were neither mitigating nor aggravating circumstances, petitioners must suffer a straight penalty of fifteen (15) days of arresto menor.

As to damages, the Municipal Trial Court in Cities of Malolos, Bulacan (MTCC) awarded moral damages in the amount of P10,000.00, which was affirmed by the Regional Trial Court of Malolos City, Bulacan, Branch 21 (RTC) and the CA. Recent jurisprudence, however, states that an award of P5,000.00 moral damages is appropriate for less serious, as well as slight physical injuries. 4 Thus, the moral damages awarded must be reduced to P5,000.00.

On the other hand, the MTCC awarded exemplary damages in the amount of P5,000.00, which was also affirmed by the RTC and the CA. Nevertheless, Article 2230 of the Civil Code states that in criminal offenses, exemplary damages may be imposed when the crime was committed with one or more aggravating circumstances. As no aggravating circumstance was committed in the crime of Slight Physical Injuries, the award of exemplary damages must be deleted.

In addition, the legal rate of six percent (6%) per annum is imposed on all the monetary awards for damages from the date of finality of this Resolution until fully paid. 5

WHEREFORE, the October 30, 2018 Decision and the April 15, 2019 Resolution of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 40875 are AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. Russel Salvador Peralta and Edmund Estrada are hereby found GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of Slight Physical Injuries under Article 266 (1) of the Revised Penal Code. They are each sentenced to suffer a straight penalty of fifteen (15) days of arresto menor and ORDERED to pay P4,000.00 as actual damages and P5,000.00 as moral damages, with the legal rate of interest of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of finality of this Resolution until fully paid.

SO ORDERED."

Very truly yours,

(SGD.) LIBRADA C. BUENADivision Clerk of Court

 

Footnotes

1.Rollo, pp. 22-33; penned by Associate Justice Remedios A. Salazar-Fernando with Associate Justice Franchito N. Diamante and Associate Justice Ma. Luisa C. Quijano-Padilla, concurring.

2.Id. at pp. 34-35.

3. See Paman v. People, 813 Phil. 139, 148 (2017).

4.Yap v. People, G.R. No. 234217, November 14, 2018.

5. See People v. Laurio, 695 Phil. 1, 15 (2012).