G.R. No. L-1571
December 28, 1904
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BASILIO RECAÑO, defendant-appellant.

FACTS:
On the afternoon of July 11, 1903, in California Street, Balanga, Bataan, a quarrel occurred between Pascual Mendoza and Buenaventura Pardillo in front of the house of the defendant, Basilio Recaño. Recaño, who was inside his house at the start of the altercation, came out and intervened by striking Pardillo twice with a bolo, inflicting wounds on Pardillo’s hand and elbow. The motive for Recaño’s intervention was not established. The wounds took thirty-one days to heal, during which Pardillo was unable to work and incurred medical expenses of fifty-four Mexican pesos. The trial court convicted Recaño of lesiones graves under Article 416(2) of the Penal Code and sentenced him to three years, six months, and twenty-one days of prision correccional, plus indemnity and costs. Evidence from two witnesses indicated that Recaño was intoxicated at the time of the incident, though there was no proof he was a habitual drunkard.

ISSUE:
Whether the trial court erred in not considering the defendant’s intoxication as an extenuating circumstance.

RULING:
Yes. Under Article 9(6) of the Penal Code, drunkenness constitutes an extenuating circumstance when the crime is committed in that state, provided the intoxication is not habitual. Following the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Spain, the Court held that Recaño’s non-habitual intoxication at the time of the offense should have been considered as mitigating. Applying this extenuating circumstance under Article 81(2), the minimum penalty for lesiones graves was imposed. Accordingly, the sentence was modified to two years, four months, and one day of prision correccional, with the affirmed orders to indemnify Pardillo and pay costs. The judgment of the Court of First Instance of Bataan was modified to reflect this ruling.