Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2008 > July 2008 Resolutions > [G.R. No. 182306 : July 07, 2008] ARTURO RAFANAN AND RODOLFO P. ANICETO V. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES :

Quoted hereunder, for your information,  is a resolution of this Court dated 07 July 2008:

G.R. No. 182306 - Arturo Rafanan and Rodolfo P. Aniceto v. People of the Philippines

RESOLUTION

Before the Court is a petition for review on certiorari on  seeking to nullify the decision of the Court of Appeals (CA) which affirmed with modification the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bauang, La Union, Branch 33.  The RTC ruled as follows:

WHEREFORE, the Court FINDS and DECLARES the accused ARTURO RAFANAN y BASUL GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged and as defined under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code as amended and he is sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of FOUR (FOUR)  months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to FOUR (4) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, FOUR (4) YEARS and  TWO (2) MONTHS of prision correccional as maximum, and to pay the costs.

Likewise, said accused is ordered to pay the following amounts:

1. Php50,000.00 as death indemnity; Php50,000.00  as moral damages; Php20,000.00 as tempered damages and Php1,075,800.00 for loss of earning capacity to the heirs of the deceased Ramon de Vera;
   
   
2. Php6,940.00, as actual damages and loss of earnings to Eva Baldemor;
   
   
3. Php17,894.30, as actual damages to SPO4 Diosda Mirado Mijala;
   
   
4. Php6,312.00, as loss of earnings and additional amount of Php638.00 as actual damages to Nena J. Numos;
   
   
5. Php34,900.00 as actual damages to the repair of the wrecked jeep to SPO2 Victoriano Jarquio.

The dispositive portion of the CA Decision reads:

WHEREFORE, the assailed decision, dated 25 November 2004, is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION as to the indeterminate penalty and the amount of civil indemnity.

Accused-appellant  ARTURO RAFANAN  is hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of 3 years, 6 months and 21 days of prision correccional medium as minimum to 4 years, 9 months and 10 days of prision correccional medium as maximum, and is ordered to indemnify the heirs of Ramon de Vera in the amount of P75,000.00

Considering the allegations, issues and arguments raised in this petition, the Court resolves to DENY the same for failure to sufficiently show reversible error in the assailed decision and to warrant the exercise of this Court's discretionary appellate jurisdiction.

However, there is a need to rectify the penalty imposed both by the RTC and CA.  Number 2, Paragraph 5, Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code provides:

When, by imprudence or negligence and with violation of the Automobile Law (Act No. 3992), the death of a person shall be caused, in which case the defendant shall be punished by prision correccional in its medium periods.

Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the minimum should be anywhere from 4 months and 1 day to 2 years and 4 months; and the maximum should be anywhere from 3 years, 6 months and 21 days to 4 years, 9 months and 10 days, there being no aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

WHEREFORE, the petition is DENIED. The assailed Decision dated March 28, 2008 of the Court of Appeals is AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION that the indeterminate penalty imposed on petitioner should be 1 year and 1 day of prision correccional as the MINIMUM to 3 years, 6 months and 21 days of prision correccional as the MAXIMUM.

SO ORDERED.