G.R. No. 18732 , December 8, 1922
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS vs. SINFOROSO MACALMA

FACTS

The defendant, Sinforoso Macalma, was accused and convicted of the crime of arson for setting fire to the inhabited dwelling house of Rosa Dani in Cabangan, Zambales, on March 10, 1921. The trial court found him guilty under Article 549 of the Penal Code and sentenced him to cadena temporal. The evidence, including his own confession, conclusively established his guilt. However, the information filed against him did not allege that he knew the building was occupied at the time he set the fire.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in convicting the defendant under Article 549 of the Penal Code, which requires knowledge that the building is occupied, when such knowledge was not alleged in the information.

RULING

Yes, the trial court erred. Knowledge that the building is occupied is an essential element of the crime under Article 549 and must be alleged in the information. Since it was not alleged, the defendant could only be convicted under the lesser offense defined in Article 551(1) of the Penal Code, which applies to burning an inhabited building without such knowledge and where the damage does not exceed 6,250 pesetas. The Supreme Court modified the judgment, sentencing the defendant to presidio mayor for ten years and one day, considering the aggravating circumstance of nocturnity, and upheld the indemnity and costs.