[ G.R. No. 45964. April 25, 1939 ] 67 Phil. 529
[ G.R. No. 45964. April 25, 1939 ]
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLEE, VS. RESTITUTO FALLER (ALIAS R. AGUILAR), DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT. D E C I S I O N
AVANCEÑA, C.J.:
Restituto Faller was charged with the crime of damage caused to another’s property maliciously and willfully. (After hearing the evidence, the Court of First Instance of Rizal found that the damage was not caused maliciously and willfully, but through reckless imprudence, and sentenced Restituto Faller, under paragraph 3 of article 365 of the Revised Penal Code, as principal in the crime of damage through reckless imprudence, to pay a fine of P38 and to indemnify the offended party Ramon Diokno in the same amount, with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency. From this decision, an appeal was taken.
In this instance the appellant assigns as sole error of the court the fact that he was sentenced for a crime with which he was not charged, contending that a crime maliciously and willfully committed is different from that committed through reckless imprudence.
The court has not committed this error. The appellant was convicted of the same crime of damage to property with which he is charged. Reckless imprudence is not a crime in itself. It is simply a way of committing it and merely determines a lower degree of criminal liability. The information alleges that the appellant acted willfully, maliciously, unlawfully and criminally. To this information no objection was interposed. Negligence being a punishable criminal act when it results in a crime, the allegation in the information that the appellant also committed the acts charged unlawfully and criminally includes the charge that he acted with negligence.
The appealed judgment is affirmed, with the costs to the appellant. So ordered.
Villa-Real, Imperial, Diaz, and Moran, JJ., concur.
Laurel, J., see concurring opinion