People v. Cahilig
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: The appellant, Dalmacio Cahilig, was charged with homicide. Procedural History: The Court of First Instance of Capiz found the appellant guilty of homicide and sentenced him to six years and one day of prision mayor, as minimum, to twelve years and one day of reclusion temporal, as maximum. The court did not consider the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender. The Appeal: The appellant appealed the decision solely on the ground that the trial court erred in not considering the mitigating circumstance of his voluntary surrender.
Issue(s)
Whether the voluntary surrender of the appellant, made after the issuance of an arrest order and for the purpose of posting bail, constitutes a mitigating circumstance under Article 13(7) of the Revised Penal Code.
Ruling
The Supreme Court modified the appealed judgment. It held that the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender should be taken into account. Considering this circumstance and the appellant's spontaneous plea of guilty, the penalty was reduced to four years of prision correccional, as the minimum, to eight years of prision mayor, as the maximum. The indemnity due to the heirs of the deceased was fixed at P2,000 under Commonwealth Act No. 284. The appealed judgment was affirmed in all other respects.
Ratio Decidendi
On Issue 1: The Supreme Court held that the voluntary surrender of the appellant constitutes a mitigating circumstance under Article 13(7) of the Revised Penal Code. The Court noted that the appellant presented himself at the municipal building five days after the commission of the crime and two days after the issuance of the arrest order. The fact that an arrest order had already been issued does not negate the voluntary nature of the surrender, as the law does not require that the surrender must precede the arrest order. Furthermore, the surrender to post a bond for temporary release was considered tantamount to placing himself at the disposal of the authorities to answer for the crime for which his arrest was ordered. The Court also considered the appellant's spontaneous plea of guilty as another mitigating circumstance. Consequently, the penalty imposable was the one immediately lower than that prescribed by law, which is four years of prision correccional, as the minimum, to eight years of prision mayor, as the maximum. The indemnity was set at P2,000 in accordance with Commonwealth Act No. 284.
Main Doctrine
The Supreme Court held that voluntary surrender to the authorities is a mitigating circumstance under Article 13(7) of the Revised Penal Code, even if an order of arrest had already been issued. The Court clarified that the law does not require the surrender to precede the arrest order, and that surrendering to post bail is considered an act of placing oneself at the disposal of the authorities to answer for the crime.