People of the Philippines vs Jaime Jose GR no. L-28397 71 SCRA 273 Case Digest

People of the Philippines vs Jaime Jose GR no. L-28397

71 SCRA 273

Concept:

Article 1231. Obligations are extinguished:

(1) By payment or performance;

(2) By the loss of the thing due;

(3) By the condonation or remission of the debt;

(4) By the confusion or merger of the rights of creditor

and debtor;

(5) By compensation;

(6) By novation.

Other causes of extinguishment of obligations, such as

annulment, rescission, fulfillment of a resolutory condition,

and prescription, are governed elsewhere in this Code.

Facts:

·         Jaime Jose and George Tillman was acquitted in the crime of robbery but found guilty beyond reasonable doubt in the complex crime of forcible abduction with rape in a criminal case and both are sentenced in the penalty of death but with recommendation to be commuted to life imprisonment

·         Jose and Tillman to pay jointly and severally the amount of P6,000 to Zenaida dela Cruz

·         July 4^th 1966, Jose and Tillman along with John Doe and Roy, Peter and and Richard Roe, armed and with a vehicle abducted Dela Cruz and with carnal knowledge, raped her. (the other four guys are actually unidentified and the whereabouts are unknown, the names were just stated in the facts)

·         The facts has two sides the prosecutor side and the defendant side:
Prosecutor: Dela Cruz whilst riding a golden taxicab driven by Osmundo delacruz (no relation) was forcibly taken by five men in a Mercedes benz and the same five men divested her jewelries. She was then taken to Queen’s Motel where she got raped along with another woman named Araceli Sy.

Defendant side: A man named Crisologo along with his two companions went to Jaime Jose and Tillman to borrow Jose’s mercedez benz but the latter refused stating that him and Tillman are going to party and that they should tag along so that after the party they can go to the bayside. Whilst on the road they were hailed by two women, dela cruz and Sy, and joined them inside the mercedez benz and went to the Queen’s motel. The defendants stated that there was no forcible abduction.

·         The Judge took emphasis and credibility on dela Cruz’s sworn statement.

·         Prosecutor has evidence while the defendants failed to present evidence and their statement is much more improbable.

·         During the pendency of this case, Jose died

Issue: W/ON civil liabilities are extinguished

Held: Yes, the court ruled that accused is relieved in this case of all personal and pecuniary penalties attendant to his crime, his death occurring before rendition of final judgment herein. (The ruling was different in the case of Torrijos vs CA)