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Proximate Cause

People v. Reloj, GR No. L-31335, 29 February 1972


FACTS: Pablo Reloj stabbed Justiniano Isagan, Sr. with an ice pick wrapped in a piece of paper outside a cockpit in
Aklan. Afterward, Justiniano was brought to a hospital wherein he was operated upon successfully. However, five
days later, he developed a paralytic ileum, which takes place sometimes in consequence of the exposure of the
internal organs during the operation, which caused his death. The lower court convicted Pablo Reloj of the crime of
murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Pablo Reloj states that the lower court erred in convicting him because Justiniano’s death was caused not by
his stabbing but by the paralytic ileum.

ISSUE: W/N Reloj is guilty of murder.

RULING: YES. Every person is to be held to contemplate and to be responsible for the natural consequences of his
own acts. If a person inflicts a wound with a deadly weapon in such a manner as to put life in jeopardy, and death
follows as a consequence of this felonious and wicked act, it does not alter its nature or diminish its criminality to
prove that other causes cooperated in producing the fatal result. Although the immediate cause of death of Justiniano
was a paralysis of the ileum that supervened five days after the stabbing incident, when he appeared to be on the
way to full recovery, the fact is that the surgery would not have been necessarily performed on Justiniano were it
not for the wound that Reloj inflicted upon him.

People vs Opero G.R. No. L-48796 June 11, 1981


FACTS:

• April 27, 1978 4 am: Salvador Oliver, a GSIS security guard assigned to the House International Hotel at Ongpin
Street, Binondo, Manila, was informed by Demetrio Barcing, another security guard, that he picked up a 3 year-old
girl loitering at the second floor of the building. Rafael Ordona, a janitor, told Oliver that the girl is from Room 314
so Oliver called up Room 314 and when nobody answered, he and Barcing brought the girl to Room 314. When
nobody answered Oliver’s knock, he pushed the door open and smelled foul odor from the room. He covered his
nose with a handkerchief and they entered the room where they saw Liew Soon Ping dead faced down on the bed
with both feet tied, her body is bloated and a towel covered her mouth. Oliver called up the homicide division of the
Manila Police. They saw a small baby crying and trying to get out of a crib near the bed of the dead person.

• They called her wife, Dr. Hong, who was in Cebu. He came back immediately and found their personal effects
worth P30,221 to be missing.

• Diego Opero, Asteria Avila and , Milagros Villegas were picked up by the Samar P.C. and some of the missing
articles.

o Diego Opero: He and Lacsinto subdued the victim by assaulting her, tying up her hands and feet stabbing her and
stuffing her mouth with a piece of pandesal.

o Milagros Villegas: Identified the stolen clothes which were given to her by Opero

o Asteria Avila: she was not a party

• Dr. Angelo Singian finding that the cause of death is the pandesal

• RTC: Diego Opero for robbery with homicide together with Reynaldo Lacsinto and Milagros Villegas (accessory).
Asteria Avila was acquitted.

• Only Diego Opero appealed

o He never intended to kill the deceased, his intention being merely to rob her, for if indeed he had the intention to
kill her, he could have easily done so with the knife, and therefore, his liability should be only for robbery

ISSUE: W/N Diego Opero should only be liable for robbery.


HELD: NO. judgment appealed from being in accordance with law and the evidence, except as to the nonappreciation
of the mitigating circumstance of having no intention to commit so grave a wrong as that committed, which
nevertheless does not call for the modification of the penalty of death as imposed by the lower court, is hereby
affirmed.

• The intention is to prevent the deceased from making an outcry, and so a "pandesal" was stuffed into her mouth,
the mitigating circumstance of not having intended to commit so grave a wrong may be appreciated. The stuffing of
the "pandesal" in the mouth would not have produced asphyxiation had it not slid into the neckline. According to Dr.
Singian, the movements of the victim that caused the "pandesal" to slide into the neckline were, however, attributable
to them for if they did not hogtie her, she could have easily removed the "pandesal" from her mouth and avoided
death by asphyxiation.

• What is important and decisive is that death results by reason or on the occasion of the robbery

• Art. 49 applied only to cases when the crime committed befalls a different person from the one intended to be the
victim

o Art. 49. Penalty to be imposed upon the principals when the crime committed is different from that intended - In
cases in which the felony committed is different from that which the offender intended to commit, the following rules
shall be observed:

1. If the penalty prescribed for the felony committed be higher than that corresponding to the offense which the
accused intended to commit, the penalty corresponding to the latter shall be imposed in its maximum period.

• There still remains one aggravating circumstance to consider, after either one of the two aggravating
circumstances present, that of superior strength and dwelling, is offset by the mitigating circumstance aforesaid. The
higher of the imposable penalty for the crime committed, which is reclusion perpetua to death, should therefore be
the proper penalty to be imposed on appellant

G.R. No. 72964 January 7, 1988

FILOMENO URBANO vs. HON. INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURT AND PEOPLE OF


THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.
FACTS: Marcelino Javier opened the irrigation of a canal by means of cutting grass which caused the flooding of the storage
area of the petitioner. Petitioner got angry and demanded Javier to pay for the soaked palay. Javier refused and a quarrel
between them ensued. Urbano unsheathed his bolo and hacked Javier hitting him on the right hand and left leg. Javier
went to the hospital for the treatment of the wounds. Two weeks after, Javier returned to his farm and tended to his
tobacco plants.

Then, on a fateful day of November 14, Javier was rushed to the hospital. Doctors findings showed that he was suffering
from tetanus infection. The next day, Javier died.

RTC and CA found the petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of homicide. Petitioner raised the case to the SC arguing
that the cause of the death of Javier was due to his own negligence.

ISSUE: WON Urbano’s action was the proximate cause of the death of Javier.

RULING: NO. Pursuant to this provision “an accused is criminally responsible for acts committed by him in violation of law
and for all the natural and logical consequences resulting therefrom. The rule is that the death of the victim must be the
direct, natural, and logical consequence of the wounds inflicted upon him by the accused

The petitioner reiterates his position that the proximate cause of the death of Marcelo Javier was due to his own
negligence, that Dr. Mario Meneses found no tetanus in the injury, and that Javier got infected with tetanus when after
two weeks he returned to his farm and tended his tobacco plants with his bare hands exposing the wound to harmful
elements like tetanus germs.
Consequently, Javier’s wound could have been infected with tetanus after the hacking incident. Considering the
circumstance surrounding Javier’s death, his wound could have been infected by tetanus 2 or 3 or a few but not 20 to 22
days before he died. The medical findings, however, lead us to a distinct possibility that the infection of the wound by
tetanus was an efficient intervening cause later or between the time Javier was wounded to the time of his death. The
infection was, therefore, distinct and foreign to the crime.

And if an independent negligent act or defective condition sets into operation the instances which result in injury because
of the prior defective condition, such subsequent act or condition is the proximate cause.

CA’s decision was SET ASIDE and petioner is ACQUITED of the crime of homicide.

Doctrine: Proximate legal cause is that acting first and producing the injury, either immediately or by setting other events
in motion, all constituting a natural and continuous chain of events, each having a close causal connection with its
immediate predecessor, the final event in the chain immediately effecting the injury as a natural and probable result of
the cause which first acted, under such circumstances that the person responsible for the first event should, as an
ordinarily prudent and intelligent person, have reasonable ground to expect at the moment of his act or default that an
injury to some person might probably result therefrom.

PEOPLE v. FERNANDO ILIGAN Y JAMITO, GR No. 75369, 1990-11-26


Facts: uncle and nepnew, Fernando Iligan and Edmundo Asis, seek a reversal of the decision of the then Court of First
Instance of Camarines Norte, Branch II... convicting them of the crime of murder and sentencing them to suffer the penalty
of reclusion perpetua and to indemnify the heirs of Esmeraldo Quiñones, Jr. in the amounts of P30,000 for the latter's
death and P256,960 representing the victim's unrealized income. About 3:00 a.m., August 4, 1980, at sitio Lico II, barangay
Sto. Domingo,... Fernando Iligan armed with a bolo... intent to kill... hacked Esmeraldo Quiñones, Jr., on his face, thus
causing fatal injuries on the latter's face which resulted to (sic) the death of said Emeraldo Quiñones. January 12, 1981
Fernando Iligan and Edmundo Asis pleaded not guilty to the crime... charged. Fernando Iligan hacked Quiñones, Jr. with
his bolo hitting him on the forehead and causing him to fall... down. August 4, 1980, the body of Quiñones, Jr. was
autopsied at the Funeraria Belmonte The postmortem examination report which is found at the back of the death
certificate reveals that Esmeraldo Quiñones, Jr., who was 21 years old when he died, sustained the following injuries:

"1. Shock and massive cerebral hemorrhages due to multiple fracture of the entire half of the frontal left, temporal,
parietal and occipital bone of the head, with massive maceration of the brain tissue.

"2. Other findings - Incised wound at the right eyebrow, medial aspect measuring about 4 cms. in length, 0.5 cm. in width
and 0.5 cm. in depth, abrasion on the left shoulder and right side of the... neck."

The death certificate also indicates that Quiñones, Jr. died of "shock and massive cerebral hemorrhages due to a vehicular
accident." The defense made capital of the testimony of prosecution witness Dr. Abas to the effect that Quiñones, Jr. died
because of a vehicular accident. Dr. Abas... justified his conclusion by what he considered as tire marks on the victim's left
shoulder and the right side of his neck.[19] He also testified that the incised wound located at the victim's right eyebrow
could have... been caused by a sharp bolo but it was so superficial that it could not have caused the victim's death. Defense
witness Marciano Mago, the barangay captain of Sto. Domingo, also testified that when he went to the scene of the crime,
he saw bits of the brain of the victim scattered across the road where he also saw tire... marks. Quiñones, Sr. testified that
from their house, which was about five... meters away from the road, he saw Fernando Iligan holding a "sinampalok" as
he, together with Edmundo Asis and Juan Macandog, chased someone.

Issues:

WoN Iligan is guilty beyond reasonable doudt for the death of Quiñones?

Ruling: Under Article 4 of the Revised Penal Code, criminal liability shall be incurred "by any person committing a felony
(delito) although the wrongful act done be different from that which he intended." Based on the doctrine that "el que es...
causa de la causa es causa del mal causado" (he who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused),... the
essential requisites of Article 4... are: (a) that an intentional felony has been committed, and (b) that the wrong done to
the aggrieved party be the direct, natural and logical consequence of the felony committed by the offender.
What is material is that by the instrument used in hacking Quiñones, Jr. and the location of the wound, the assault was
meant not only to immobilize the victim but to do away with him as it was directed at a vital... and delicate part of the
body: the head.

The hacking incident happened on the national highway... where vehicles are expected to pass any moment.

Under these circumstances, we hold that while Iligan's hacking of Quiñones, Jr.'s head might not have been the direct
cause, it was the proximate cause of the latter's death.

Proximate legal cause is... defined as "that acting first and producing the injury, either immediately or by setting other
events in motion, all constituting a natural and continuous chain of events, each having a close causal connection with its
immediate predecessor, the final event in the chain... immediately effecting the injury as a natural and probable result of
the cause which first acted, under such circumstances that the person responsible for the first event should, as an
ordinarily prudent and intelligent person, have reasonable ground to expect at the moment of... his act or default that an
injury to some person might probably result therefrom."

[ G.R. No. 134362, February 27, 2002 ]

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. EMELITO SITCHON Y TAYAG,


ACCUSED-APPELLANT
Facts: Emilito Sitchon while under the influence of drugs punished his 2 ½ years old son Macky because of playing with his
feces. The witnesses saw that Sitchon hit the child a wooden stick and smack the head on the wooden wall. The witnesses
also claim that Sitchon continued the beating for one hour and the same brought the child to the hospital which is no
longer moving and already blackened. Sitchon claims that he just intend to punish his son for playing with his feces. And
hit it with a wooden broom. Then he realizes that Macky is having a hard time breading so he rushes it to the hospital.

Issue: WoN accused is guilty of murder of his child

Ruling:That appellant purportedly did not intend to kill the toddler would not exculpate him from liability. Article 4(1) of
the Revised Penal Code provides that criminal liability shall be incurred by any "person committing a felony (delito)
although the wrongful act done... be different from that which he intended."... the rule is found in the doctrine that "el
que es causa de la causa es causa del mal causado" (he who is the cause of the cause is the cause of the evil caused). The
killing in this case was attended by treachery. It is beyond dispute that the killing of minor children who, by reason of their
tender years, could not be expected to put up a defense, is treacherous. The Court does not agree. Article 13 of the
Revised Penal Code provides a list of mitigating circumstances, which work to reduce the accused's penalty. To effectively
alleviate the criminal liability of an accused, a plea of guilt must be made at the first opportunity, indicating repentance
on the part of the accused. It is well-settled that a plea of guilty made after arraignment and after trial had begun does
not... entitle the accused to have such plea considered as a mitigating circumstance. The trial court credited appellant with
the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender. For voluntary surrender to be appreciated,... these elements must
be established: (1) the offender has not been actually arrested; (2) he surrendered himself to a person in... authority or
an agent of a person in authority; and (3) his surrender was voluntary. It is sufficient that the surrender be "spontaneous
and made in a manner clearly indicating the intent of the accused to surrender unconditionally, either because... he
acknowledges his guilt or he wishes to save the authorities the trouble and expense which will necessarily be incurred in
searching for and capturing him. Appellant has failed to adequately prove voluntary surrender. While he claimed that he
"surrendered" to the police on the same day that the victim was killed, he did not detail the circumstances like the time
and place of such surrender. Neither did appellant... state to whom he surrendered. The Court, however, discerns no
intention on the part of appellant to commit so grave a wrong against his victim. Appellant's intention was merely to
maltreat the victim, not to kill him. In view of the attendance of the aggravating circumstance of treachery, the killing of
the victim is qualified to murder, punishable under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code by reclusion perpetua to death.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES VS. PO3 ARMANDO DALAG

G.R. No. 129895, April 30, 2003


Facts: Armando Dalag, a member of the Philippine National Police, was lawfully married to Leah Nolido Dalag. They had
three children. Their marriage was far from idyllic. Their covertures were marred by violent quarrels, with Leah always at
the losing end. Each time the couple had a quarrel, she sustained contusions, bruises and lumps on different parts of her
body.

On August 15, 1996, Armando was drinking when Leah admonished him not to do so. Leah was then banged on the wall
by Armando. Then he pushed and kicked Leah on the left side of her body which caused her to fall on the ground. Even as
Leah was already lying prostrate, Armando continued to beat her up, punching her on the different parts of her body.
Leah then fled to the house of Felia Horilla but Armando ran after her and herded her back to their house. Leah fell again
to the ground and lost her consciousness. The trial court convicted Armando of parricide.

Issue: Whether the trial court correctly convicted the accused.

Held: Yes, the trial court correctly concluded that the injuries sustained by Leah that caused her death were the
consequence of the appellant’s deliberate and intentional acts.

The crime of parricide is defined by Article 246 of the Revised Penal Code thus: Any person who shall kill his father, mother,
or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or any of his ascendants, or descendants, or his spouse, shall be guilty of
parricide and shall be punished by the penalty of reclusion perpetua to death.

The prosecution is mandated to prove the following essential elements: (1) a person is killed; (2) the deceased is killed by
the accused; and (3) the deceased is the father, mother or child, whether legitimate or illegitimate, or a legitimate other
ascendant or other descendant, or the legitimate spouse of the accused. The prescribed penalty for the crime is reclusion
perpetua to death. The key element in parricide of a spouse, the best proof of the relationship between the accused and
the deceased would be the marriage certificate.

Impossible crime Cases


SULPICIO INTOD v. CA, GR No. 103119, 1992-10-21

FACTS:

• February 4, 1979: Sulpicio Intod, Jorge Pangasian, Santos Tubio and Avelino Daligdig went to Salvador Mandaya's house
and asked him to go with them to the house of Bernardina Palangpangan. Thereafter, they had a meeting with Aniceto
Dumalagan who told Mandaya that he wanted Palangpangan to be killed because of a land dispute between them and
that Mandaya should accompany them. Otherwise, he would also be killed.

• February 4, 1979 10:00 pm: All of them armed arrived at Palangpangan's house and fired at Palangpangan's bedroom
but there was no one in the room.

• RTC: convicted Intod of attempted murder based on the testimony of the witness

ISSUE: W/N Intod is guilty attempted murder since it is an impossible crime under Art. 4 (2)

HELD: YES. petition is hereby GRANTED, the decision of respondent Court of Appeals holding Petitioner guilty of Attempted
Murder is hereby MODIFIED. sentences him to suffer the penalty of six (6) months of arresto mayor, together with the
accessory penalties provided by the law, and to pay the costs

• Art. 4(2). CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY. — Criminal Responsibility shall be incurred:

xxx xxx xxx


2. By any person performing an act which would be an offense against persons or property, were it not for the inherent
impossibility of its accomplishment or on account of the employment of inadequate or ineffectual means.

Petitioner contends that, Palangpangan's absence from her room on the night he and his companions riddled it with
bullets made the crime inherently impossible.

• The Revised Penal Code, inspired by the Positivist School, recognizes in the offender his formidability to punish criminal
tendencies in Art. 4(2)

• Legal impossibility occurs where the intended acts, even if completed, would not amount to a crime

• Legal impossibility would apply to those circumstances where

1. the motive, desire and expectation is to perform an act in violation of the law

2. there is intention to perform the physical act

3. there is a performance of the intended physical act

4. the consequence resulting from the intended act does not amount to a crime

o Ex: The impossibility of killing a person already dead

• Factual impossibility occurs when extraneous circumstances unknown to the actor or beyond his control prevent the
consummation of the intended crime – this case

o Ex: man who puts his hand in the coat pocket of another with the intention to steal the latter's wallet and finds the
pocket empty

• United States: where the offense sought to be committed is factually impossible or accomplishment - attempt to
commit a crime; legally impossible of accomplishment - cannot be held liable for any crime.

Jacinto v. People G.R. No. 162540 July 13, 2009 Impossible Crime

NOVEMBER 16, 2018


FACTS: Petitioner, together with two other women, was charged with the crime of Qualified Theft, allegedly committed
as follows: That on or about and sometime in the month of July 1997, in Kalookan City, Metro Manila, and within the
jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, conspiring together and mutually helping one another,
being then all employees of MEGA FOAM INTERNATIONAL INC., herein represented by JOSEPH DYHENGCO Y CO, and as
such had free access inside the aforesaid establishment, with grave abuse of trust and confidence reposed upon them
with intent to gain and without the knowledge and consent of the owner thereof, did then and there willfully, unlawfully
and feloniously take, steal and deposited in their own account, Banco De Oro Check No. 0132649 dated July 14, 1997 in
the sum of P10,000.00, representing payment made by customer Baby Aquino to the Mega Foam Int’l. Inc. to the damage
and prejudice of the latter in the aforesaid stated amount of P10,000.00. The trial court rendered a decision finding the
accused guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged. On appeal, the appellate court affirmed petitioner’s
conviction and her subsequent MR was denied. Hence, this petition.

ISSUE: Whether or not a worthless check can be the object of theft.

RULING: In this case, petitioner unlawfully took the postdated check belonging to Mega Foam, but the same was
apparently without value, as it was subsequently dishonored. Thus, the question arises on whether the crime of qualified
theft was actually produced. The Court must resolve the issue in the negative. The requisites of an impossible crime are:
(1) that the act performed would be an offense against persons or property; (2) that the act was done with evil intent; and
(3) that its accomplishment was inherently impossible, or the means employed was either inadequate or ineffectual. The
fact that petitioner was later entrapped receiving the P5,000.00 marked money, which she thought was the cash
replacement for the dishonored check, is of no moment. The Court held in Valenzuela v. People that under the definition
of theft in Article 308 of the Revised Penal Code, there is only one operative act of execution by the actor involved in theft
─ the taking of personal property of another. There can be no question that as of the time that petitioner took possession
of the check meant for Mega Foam, she had performed all the acts to consummate the crime of theft, had it not been
impossible of accomplishment in this case. The circumstance of petitioner receiving the P5,000.00 cash as supposed
replacement for the dishonored check was no longer necessary for the consummation of the crime of qualified theft. Since
the crime of theft is not a continuing offense, petitioner’s act of receiving the cash replacement should not be considered
as a continuation of the theft. At most, the fact that petitioner was caught receiving the marked money was merely
corroborating evidence to strengthen proof of her intent to gain.

G.R. No. L-1896 February 16, 1950

PEOPLE, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BALMORES defendant-appellant.


Facts:Balmores was found guilty of attempted estafa through falsification of a government obligation. He attempted to
cash in a sweepstakes ticket that was obviously falsified (the ¼ ticket was split into ⅛,and the winning ticket number
written in ink at the bottom left part of the halved ticket). He presented his falsified ticket to a PCSO booth. The PCSO
employee manning the booth saw that the ticket was obviously falsified, and had Balmores arrested. Balmores waived the
right to counsel, and pleaded guilty to the crime of attempted estafa.

Issue:WON Balmores committed an impossible crime.

Held:No; The recklessness and clumsiness of the act of falsification did not make the crime an impossible one under
Paragraph 2 Article 4 of the RPC.1 The alteration of a losing sweepstakes ticket would constitute a crime only if an attempt
to cash it were done, which is what occurred in this case

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