Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence


Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1965 > November 1965 Decisions > G.R. No. L-19585 November 29, 1965 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. NAPOLEON C. ORTIZ:




PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[G.R. No. L-19585. November 29, 1965.]

THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. NAPOLEON C. ORTIZ, alias "LEON", Defendant-Appellant.

Solicitor General for Appellee.

Teofilo Guadiz, Jr. and Miguel T. Caguioa, for Defendant-Appellant.


SYLLABUS


1. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE; PLEA OF GUILTY TO A LESSER CRIME AFTER TRIAL HAD BEGUN. — Appellant was charged with murder and frustrated murder. Upon arraignment, he pleaded not guilty. After two witnesses for the prosecution had testified, appellant manifested his willingness to plead guilty to the lesser offenses of homicide and frustrated homicide. Consequently, the Fiscal, with leave of court, amended the information accordingly, and upon new arraignment, appellant entered a plea of guilty to the amended information. Held: The amended information was an entirely new information and no evidence had been presented to prove the charges made therein when appellant entered his plea of guilty. Therefore, he was entitled to have the mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty considered in his favor in connection with the imposition of the corresponding penalty.


D E C I S I O N


DIZON, J.:


Charged in the Court of First Instance of Pangasinan (Criminal Case No. D-1210) with the murder of Alfredo Ducusion and the frustrated murder of the latter’s wife, Virginia Munar, Napoleon C. Ortiz, alias Leon, pleaded not guilty. After two witnesses for the prosecution had testified, said defendant, through counsel, manifested his willingness to plead guilty to the lesser offenses of homicide and frustrated homicide. Consequently the Assistant Provincial Fiscal, with the approval of the court, amended the information accordingly, and upon new arraignment, the said defendant entered a plea of guilty to the amended information.

Thereafter, the defendant, with leave of court, presented as witness the Chief of Police of San Fabian, Pangasinan, to prove the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender. Thereafter, the court, considering the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender, rendered judgment sentencing the accused to an indeterminate penalty of from 6 years and 1 day of prisión mayor to 12 years and 1 day of reclusión temporal for the crime of homicide, and from 6 months and 1 day of prision correccional to 6 years and 1 day of prision mayor for the crime of frustrated homicide; to indemnify the offended party, Virginia Munar, in the sum of P6,000 and to pay the costs.

Court refused to give the defendant the benefit of the mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty because the same was made after the prosecution had already commenced the presentation of its evidence. Claiming that the trial court erred in this respect, the defendant interposed the present appeal.

The only question to be resolved in this appeal is whether or not the lower court erred in not considering in favor of appellant the mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty.

On the strength of our decision in People v. Intal, 101 Phil., 306, We find appellant’s contention — that said mitigating circumstance should have been considered in his favor — to be meritorious.

It is true that, upon the original information for murder and frustrated murder, the trial had already begun. However, when in view of the willingness of appellant to plead guilty for a lesser offense the prosecution, with leave of court, amended said information to make it one for homicide and frustrated homicide, appellant pleaded guilty thereto. That was an entirely new information and no evidence was presented in connection with the charges made therein before appellant entered his plea of guilty. We believe therefor that, as in the Intal case, appellant was entitled to have the mitigating circumstance of plea of guilty considered in his favor in connection with the imposition of the corresponding penalty.

WHEREFORE, the decision appealed from is hereby modified as follows:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library

(a) In the homicide case, the defendant is sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of not less than 2 years, 4 months and 1 day of prisión correccional, nor more than 10 years of prision mayor.

(b) In the case for frustrated homicide, the same appellant is hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of not less than 6 months of arresto mayor, nor more than 2 years, 4 months of and 1 day of prisión correccional.

(c) The carbine used by appellant in committing the offenses charged, with serial number 3215519, Cal. 30 (Irwin-Pedersen) is hereby ordered confiscated.

The appealed judgment is affirmed in all other respects. With costs.

Bengzon, C.J., Bautista Angelo, Concepcion, Reyes, J.B.L., Regala, Makalintal, Bengzon, J.P., and Zaldivar, JJ., concur.




Back to Home | Back to Main




















chanrobles.com





ChanRobles On-Line Bar Review

ChanRobles Internet Bar Review : www.chanroblesbar.com

ChanRobles MCLE On-line

ChanRobles Lawnet Inc. - ChanRobles MCLE On-line : www.chanroblesmcleonline.com






November-1965 Jurisprudence                 

  • G.R. No. L-22697 November 2, 1965 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. DONION TAN Y CUI @ DIONING

  • G.R. No. L-17159 November 23, 1965 - AFAG VETERAN CORPS, INC. v. MARIANO G. PINEDA

  • G.R. No. L-20199 November 23, 1965 - COSMOPOLITAN INSURANCE CO., INC. v. ANGEL B. REYES

  • G.R. No. L-20715 November 27, 1965 - HENRY TIONG, ET AL. v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20910 November 27, 1965 - YAO LONG v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-21138 November 27, 1965 - IN RE: ROBERTO TING TONG v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20915 November 27, 1965 - IN RE: TEOFILO LU v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-15939 November 29, 1965 - ANGELES UBALDE PUIG, ET AL. v. ESTELA MAGBANUA PEÑAFLORIDA, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-16905 November 29, 1965 - ROSARIO OLIVEROS, ET., AL. v. JOSE QUERUBIN

  • G.R. No. L-17027 November 29, 1965 - YU KIMTENG CONSTRUCTION CORP. v. MANILA RAILROAD CO.

  • G.R. No. L-17059 November 29, 1965 - PEDRO MANIQUE, ET AL. v. CEFERINO F. CAYCO, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-17160 November 29, 1965 - PHIL. PRODUCTS CO. v. PRIMATERIA SOCIETE ANONYME POUR

    LE COMMERCE EXTERIEUR: PRIMATERIA (PHIL.) INC.

  • G.R. No. L-17294 November 29, 1965 - CU BIE, ET., AL. v. COURT OF APPEALS

  • G.R. No. L-17312 November 29, 1965 - ARTURO R. TANCO, JR. v. PHILIPPINE GUARANTY CO.

  • G.R. No. L-17406 November 29, 1965 - FINLEY J. GIBBS, ET AL. v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, ET AL.

  • G.R. No. L-17640 November 29, 1965 - VIRGINIA I. VDA. DE LIMJOCO v. DIRECTOR OF COMMERCE

  • G.R. No. L-17884 November 29, 1965 - ADOLFO GASPAR v. LEOPOLDO DORADO

  • G.R. No. L-18669 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: TY BIO GIAO v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-18673 November 29, 1965 - ALEX LO KIONG v. UNITED STATES LINES CO.

  • G.R. No. L-19120 November 29, 1965 - LA MALLORCA v. ARMANDO MERCADO

  • G.R. No. L-19193 November 29, 1965 - FERNANDO O. PALAROAN v. AURORA A. ANAYA, ET., AL.

  • G.R. No. L-19585 November 29, 1965 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. NAPOLEON C. ORTIZ

  • G.R. No. L-19671 November 29, 1965 - PASTOR B. TENCHAVEZ v. VICENTA F. ESCAÑO, ET., AL.

  • G.R. No. L-20160 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: GREGORIO GO v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20281 November 29, 1965 - DOMINGO MALOGA v. VICENTE G. GELLA, ET., AL.

  • G.R. No. L-20342 November 29, 1965 - GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM v. MANILA RAILROAD COMPANY, ET., AL.

  • G.R. No. L-20643 November 29, 1965 - PEOPLE’S HOMESITE & HOUSING CORP. v. MARCIANO BAYLON, ET., AL.

  • G.R. No. L-20764 November 29, 1965 - SANTOS JUAT v. COURT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

  • G.R. No. L-20799 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: JOSE T. UY v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20805 November 29, 1965 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. IGNACIO DESIDERIO

  • G.R. No. L-20819 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: GAN TSITUNG v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20845 November 29, 1965 - MANILA RAILROAD CO. v. LADISLAO MANALANG

  • G.R. No. L-20850 November 29, 1965 - EDWARD J. NELL COMPANY v. PACIFIC FARMS, INC.

  • G.R. No. L-20912 November 29, 1965 - LI TONG PEK v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-20980 November 29, 1965 - PHIL. INTERNATIONAL SURETY CO. v. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

  • G.R. No. L-21017 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: SENECIO DY ONG v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-21192 November 29, 1965 - IN RE: JESUS YAP v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-21217 November 29, 1965 - SERREE INVESTMENT CO. v. COMMISSIONER OF CUSTOMS

  • G.R. No. L-21255 November 29, 1965 - PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK v. JAIME R. NUEVAS

  • G.R. No. L-21316 November 29, 1965 - CEFERINA V. DAVID v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-21447 November 29, 1965 - JOSE REYES, ET., AL. v. FRANCISCO ARCA

  • G.R. No. L-21453 November 29, 1965 - AURORA VILLAMIN SY v. COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION

  • G.R. No. L-21811 November 29, 1965 - SEE GUAN v. COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION

  • G.R. No. L-22040 November 29, 1965 - YU CHI HAN v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-22712 November 29, 1965 - CANDIDO UY alias RICARDO UY v. REPUBLIC OF THE PHIL.

  • G.R. No. L-22778 November 29, 1965 - PEOPLE OF THE PHIL. v. TEOFILO B. BUSLON

  • G.R. No. L-24962 November 29, 1965 - VICE MAYOR ANTONIO C. JARO v. ROSARIO P. ISIDERIO, ET., AL.