GUEVARRA v.

ALMODOVAR
169 SCRA 476

PARAS, J.:

TOPIC: JURISDITION

FACTS:
John Philipp Guevarra, then 11 years old, was playing with his best friend, Teodoro Amine, Jr. and
other children. They were target-shooting a bottle cap with an air rifle borrowed from a neighbor. In
the course of their game, Teodoro was hit by a pellet on his left collarbone which caused his
unfortunate death. After preliminary investigation, Fiscal acquitted petitioner due to his age and
because the unfortunate event appeared to be an accident. The parents of Teodoro appealed to the
Ministry of Justice, which ordered to file a case against petitioner Guevarra for Homicide through
reckless imprudence.

ISSUE:
1. Whether or not an 11 year old could be charged with the crime of homicide thru reckless
imrpudence
2. Whether or not the court had jurisdiction over the case notwithstanding the fact that it did not pass
thru the barangay lupon.

RULING:
1. Intent and discernment are two different concepts. While they are products of mental processes
within a person, intent refers to the desire of ones act while discernment refers to the moral
significance that a person ascribes to an act. Minors 9 years to 15 years are presumed to be without
criminal capacity, but this presumption may be rebutted if it could be proven that they were capable
of appreciating the nature and criminality of the act, that is, that they acted with discernment.

2. SC mentioned its ruling on a previous case. The jurisdiction of a court over a criminal case is
determined by the penalty imposable under the law for the offense and not the penalty imposed. In
construing Section 2(3) of P.D. 1508, the penalty, which the law defining the offense attaches to the
latter, shall be considered. Hence, any circumstance which may affect criminal liability must not be
considered. As categorically stated in Ebol v. Amin, P.D. 1508 is not jurisdictional.

WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, this petition is hereby DISMISSED for lack of merit
and the Temporary Restraining Order effective 17 September 1986 is LIFTED. Let the case be
remanded to the lower court for trial on the merits. No costs.

SO ORDERED.