G.R. No. 28447 , September 13, 1928
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. VICENTE ALVAREZ, defendant-appellant.

Ponente: Chief Justice Avanceña

FACTS

The defendant-appellant, Vicente Alvarez, is the stepfather of the offended party, Carlos Caponong, and they lived together. On the night of May 19, 1927, due to some differences, Alvarez took Caponong’s suitcase containing clothes to an orchard near a well. There, he removed the clothing from the suitcase, set the clothes on fire, and burned most of them, causing damage valued at P110. The suitcase itself was not burned. Alvarez was charged with and convicted of the crime of arson under Article 557 of the Penal Code by the trial court.

ISSUE

Whether the act committed by the appellant constitutes the crime of arson or malicious mischief, and if the latter, whether his relationship to the offended party exempts him from criminal liability.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision. The act did not constitute arson but the crime of malicious mischief under Article 558 of the Penal Code, as the value of the burned property did not exceed 625 pesetas and the burning was done in an orchard near a wellcircumstances that excluded any danger of the fire spreading. Furthermore, applying Article 567 of the Penal Code, the appellant, as a stepfather (an ascendant by affinity) of the offended party, is exempt from criminal liability for the crime of malicious mischief. He remains civilly liable for the damage caused. The Court acquitted the appellant, without prejudice to a separate civil action, and ordered the costs de oficio.