January 2012 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions
[G.R. No. 196519 : January 25, 2012]
JEFFREY R. MEDINA v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES
G.R. No. 196519 (JEFFREY R. MEDINA v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES). - Considering the allegations, issues and arguments presented in the appeal, the Court resolves to DENY the appeal for failure to sufficiently show that the Court of Appeals (CA) committed any reversible error in its assailed Resolution dated April 12, 2011 as to warrant the exercise of the Court's appellate jurisdiction. However, the Court finds that the Regional Trial Court's (RTC's) application of the Indeterminate Sentence Law (ISL) to the imposable penalty is incorrect, as the RTC sentenced petitioner Jeffrey R. Medina to suffer imprisonment merely from two (2) years and four (4) months, as minimum, to six (6) years and one (1) day, as maximum. Thus, the penalty should accordingly be modified.
For conviction of homicide, the penalty prescribed by law is reclusion temporal. Since here there is one mitigating (circumstance analogous to sufficient provocation) and no aggravating circumstance, the imposable penalty pursuant to Article 64 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) shall be reclusion temporal in its minimum period (twelve [12] years and one [1] day to fourteen [14] years and eight [8] months). With the application of the ISL, the minimum is one degree next lower to reclusion temporal without considering the mitigating circumstance and that is prision mayor. cralaw
IN VIEW OF THE FOREGOING, the Court ADOPTS the findings and conclusions of law in the Resolution dated April 12, 2011 of the CA in CA-G.R. CR No. 32800 and AFFIRMS said Resolution finding petitioner Jeffrey R. Medina guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Homicide, as defined and penalized under Art. 249 of the RPC, with MODIFICATION in that appellant is sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment from six (6) years and one (1) day of prision mayor, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years and eight (8) months of reclusion temporal, as maximum.
SO ORDERED.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) LUCITA ABJELINA-SORIANO
Division Clerk of Court