GR 26282; (August, 1976) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-26282 August 27, 1976
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BENITO SATORRE and PAULINO RONDINA, accused-appellants.
FACTS
Accused-appellants Benito Satorre and Paulino Rondina were convicted by the Court of First Instance of Leyte for the crime of double murder and were each sentenced to reclusion perpetua. They appealed the judgment to the Supreme Court. While the appeal was pending, a letter from the Bureau of Prisons was received by the Court, informing it that appellant Paulino Rondina had died on December 11, 1975, in the New Bilibid Prison Hospital due to peptic ulcer bleeding. The Court required the Solicitor General to comment on this information.
The Solicitor General, in his comment, confirmed the death of Rondina after examining the records. He noted a minor discrepancy in the prisoner number cited in the death certificate and a prior letter from Rondina but concluded that the person who died was indeed the appellant. The Solicitor General, citing the precedent in People vs. Alison, recommended the dismissal of the criminal case against the deceased appellant Paulino Rondina.
ISSUE
Whether the death of accused-appellant Paulino Rondina during the pendency of his appeal extinguishes his criminal and civil liabilities.
RULING
Yes. The Supreme Court dismissed the case against the late Paulino Rondina. The legal logic is anchored on Article 89(1) of the Revised Penal Code, which provides that criminal liability is totally extinguished by the death of the convict, as to personal penalties, and as to pecuniary penalties, liability is extinguished when death occurs before final judgment. The Court applied the doctrine established in People vs. Alison, which held that the death of an accused-appellant pending appeal extinguishes both his criminal and civil liability arising from the crime because the judgment of conviction is not yet final.
A final judgment in this context means a judgment that is final and executory, having acquired immutability because no appeal or other remedy was availed of within the reglementary period. Since Rondina’s appeal was still pending resolution at the time of his death, there was no final judgment against him. Consequently, his death extinguished his personal criminal liability, including the penalty of reclusion perpetua. The civil liability for indemnity, being based solely on the criminal offense and not yet finally adjudicated, was also extinguished. The case against his co-accused, Benito Satorre, proceeded separately.