G.R. No.

151258 December 1, 2014

ARTEMIO VILLAREAL, Petitioner,
vs.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

FACTS:

In February 1991, seven freshmen law students of the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law signified their intention
to join the Aquila Legis Juris Fraternity (Aquila Fraternity). Hazing was pre-requisite in joining for which Lenny was one of
few who had undergone the process. After the initiation, Lenny’s condition worsened due to the blows he received, the
Aquilans rushed him to the hospital. Lenny was pronounced dead on arrival.

Consequently, a criminal case for homicide was filed against the 35 Aquilans. Four of the accused (Tecson, et. al.) were
found to be guilty of homicide by the trial court but was reduced to crime of slight physical injuries and sentenced to 20
days of arresto menor by the Court of Appeals.  However, upon appeal to the Supreme Court by the Office of the Solicitor
General, the Supreme Court ruled that they should be liable for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide instead.

In Motions for Clarification or Reconsideration, Tecson et. al. clarified the effect of the decision of the Supreme Court to
their criminal liability. According to Tecson et. al., they immediately applied for probation after the CA rendered its
Decision lowering their criminal liability from the crime of homicide, which carries a non-probationable sentence, to slight
physical injuries, which carries a probationable sentence. Hence, they have already been discharged from their criminal
liability and the cases against them closed and terminated by virtue of their granted Applications for Probation for which the
terms therein are already been complied with.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the penalty imposed on Tecson et. al. should have corresponded to that for intentional felonies.

HELD:

 The CA’s ultimate conclusion that Tecson, Ama, Almeda, and Bantug were liable merely for slight physical injuries
grossly contradicts its own findings of fact. According to the court, the four accused "were found to have inflicted more than
the usual punishment undertaken during such initiation rites on the person of Villa." 99 It then adopted the NBI medico-legal
officer’s findings that the antecedent cause of Lenny Villa’s death was the "multiple traumatic injuries" he suffered from the
initiation rites.100 Considering that the CA found that the "physical punishment heaped on [Lenny Villa was] serious in
nature,"101 it was patently erroneous for the court to limit the criminal liability to slight physical injuries, which is a light
felony.
Article 4(1) of the Revised Penal Code dictates that the perpetrator shall be liable for the consequences of an act, even if its
result is different from that intended. Thus, once a person is found to have committed an initial felonious act, such as the
unlawful infliction of physical injuries that results in the death of the victim, courts are required to automatically apply the
legal framework governing the destruction of life. This rule is mandatory, and not subject to discretion.
The CA’s application of the legal framework governing physical injuries – punished under Articles 262 to 266 for
intentional felonies and Article 365 for culpable felonies – is therefore tantamount to a whimsical, capricious, and abusive
exercise of judgment amounting to lack of jurisdiction. According to the Revised Penal Code, the mandatory and legally
imposable penalty in case the victim dies should be based on the framework governing the destruction of the life of a
person, punished under Articles 246 to 261 for intentional felonies and Article 365 for culpable felonies, and not under the
aforementioned provisions. We emphasize that these two types of felonies are distinct from and legally inconsistent with
each other, in that the accused cannot be held criminally liable for physical injuries when actual death occurs. 102
WHEREFORE, the appealed Judgment in G.R. No. 155101 finding petitioner Fidelito Dizon guilty of homicide is hereby
MODIFIED and set aside IN PART. The appealed Judgment in G.R. No. 154954 – finding Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel
Anthony Ama, Renato Bantug, Jr., and Vincent Tecson guilty of the crime of slight physical injuries – is also MODIFIED
and set aside in part. Instead, Fidelito Dizon, Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel Anthony Ama, Renato Bantug, Jr., and
Vincent Tecson are found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide defined and
penalized under Article 365 in relation to Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code.