THIRD DIVISION
[G.R. No. 244771. September 30, 2020.]
MAXIMO SAN ANDRES y SANTOS, petitioner, vs.PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondent.
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution dated September 30, 2020, which reads as follows:
"G.R. No. 244771 (Maximo San Andres y Santos v. People of the Philippines). — Before this Court is a Petition for Review on Certiorari filed by Maximo San Andres y Santos (San Andres) questioning the Decision 1 dated May 22, 2018 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No. 38336 which affirmed the ruling of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 82 of Malolos City, Bulacan in Criminal Case No. 366-M-2003 finding San Andres guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Homicide. 2 IAETDc
After a perusal of the records of the case, this Court resolves to deny the petition of San Andres for his failure to sufficiently show any reversible error in the assailed Decision of the CA. Nonetheless, the moral damages awarded by the CA is not in keeping with the recent jurisprudence. As provided for under People of the Philippines v. Jugueta, 3 when the crime committed is homicide, the award of moral damages is P50,000.00. Therefore, We modify the moral damages awarded to such amount. Anent the award of temperate damages in the amount of P25,000.00, the same should also be modified to P50,000.00. The case of People v. Racal4 instructs that when the actual damages proven by receipts during the trial amounts to less than the sum allowed by the Court as temperate damages, the award of temperate damages is justified in lieu of actual damages which is of lesser amount. In this case, the amount of actual damages substantiated by the receipts presented in court amounts only to P23,000.00, 5 while prevailing jurisprudence allows for the recovery of P50,000.00 as temperate damages in favor of the heirs of the victim in homicide or murder cases.
WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The Decision dated May 22, 2018 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 38336 finding Maximo San Andres y Santos GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Homicide and is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of twelve (12) years of prision mayor, as minimum, to seventeen (17) years and four (4) months of reclusion temporal, as maximum is AFFIRMED. The damages awarded however are MODIFIED in that Maximo San Andres y Santos is ORDERED to pay the heirs of Antonio Luna the following amounts:
1) P50,000.00 as civil indemnity;
2) P50,000.00 as moral damages;
3) P50,000.00 as temperate damages; and
4) the damages awarded shall likewise earn the legal interest of six (6%) per annum counted from the date of finality of this judgment until fully paid. CTIEac
SO ORDERED."
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) MISAEL DOMINGO C. BATTUNG IIIDivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Penned by Associate Justices Japar B. Dimaampao, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Manuel M. Barrios and Jhosep Y. Lopez; rollo, pp. 11-19.
2.Id. at 18-19.
3. 783 Phil. 806 (2016).
4.People v. Racal, 817 Phil. 665-686 (2017).
5. Records, p. 157; see Prosecution's Formal Offer of Evidence.