People vs Guillen

GR No. L-1477
January 18, 1950

Facts:
Defendant Julio Guillen voted for a presidential candidate who was defeated in the elections held in
1946. Manuel A. Roxas was the successful candidate of the said election. Guillen became disappointed in
President Roxas for allegedly failing to redeem the pledges and fulfill the promises he made during the
election campaign. Hence, he determined to assassinate the President.
During a meeting held at Plaza de Miranda in Quiapo, Manila, where President Roxas delivered a speech,
Guillen buried one hand grenade in a plant pot and hurled another grenade at the President. General
Castaneda saw what happened and kicked away the grenade towards an open space. It exploded in the
middle of a group of persons near the platform, and resulted serious injuries to Simeon Varela, who
later died, and to Alfredo Eva, Jose Fabio, Pedro Carillo and Emilio Maglalang.
The Court of First Instance found Guillen guilty of the crime of murder and multiple frustrated murder.
Hence, the instant petition for review.

Issue:
WON Julio Guillen is guilty of the complex crime of murder and multiple frustrated murder.

Ruling:
The evidence for the prosecution, supported by the brazen statements made by the accused, shows
beyond any shadow of doubt that, when Guillen attended that meeting, carrying with him two hand
grenades, to put into execution his preconceived plan to assassinate President Roxas, he knew fully well
that, by throwing one of those two hand grenades in his possession at President Roxas, and causing it to
explode, he could not prevent the persons who were around his main and intended victim from being
killed or at least injured, due to the highly explosive nature of the bomb employed by him to carry out
his evil purpose.
In throwing hand grenade at the President with the intention of killing him, the appellant acted with
malice. He is therefore liable for all the consequences of his wrongful act; for in accordance with article
4 of the Revised Penal Code, criminal liability is incurred by any person committing felony (delito)
although the wrongful act done be different from that which he intended. In criminal negligence, the
injury caused to another should be unintentional, it being simply the incident of another act performed
without malice.
There can be no question that the accused attempted to kill President Roxas by throwing a hand
grenade at him with the intention to kill him, thereby commencing the commission of a felony by overt
acts, but he did not succeed in assassinating him "by reason of some cause or accident other than his
own spontaneous desistance." For the same reason we qualify the injuries caused on the four other
persons already named as merely attempted and not frustrated murder.
The complex crimes of murder and multiple attempted murder committed by the accused with the
single act of throwing a hand grenade at the President, was attended by the various aggravating
circumstances alleged in the information, without any mitigating circumstance. But we do not deem it
necessary to consider said aggravating circumstances because in any event article 48 of the Revised
Penal Code above-quoted requires that the penalty for the most serious of said crimes be applied in its
maximum period. The penalty for murder is reclusion temporal  in its maximum period to death. (Art.
248.)