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People vs. Paraiso, 319 SCRA 422
Facts: Roland Paraiso was found guilty of the special complex crime of Robbery w
ith Homicide and sentencing him to suffer the penalty of death. Confederating wi
th John Doe he entered the house of Lolita Alipio Tigley, and stole several item
s and on the occasion thereof, with intent to kill, dragged Tigley inside a room
, and thereafter assaulted, attacked and stabbed the latter on the different par
ts of the body which caused her death shortly thereafter.
Issues:
1. WON Paraiso was guilty of the special complex crime of robbery with h
omicide.
Yes. The essential elements of the special complex crime of Robbery with Homicid
e (Art. 249, RPC) are: (1) the taking of personal property with the use of viole
nce or intimidation against a person; (2) the property thus taken belongs to ano
ther; (3) the taking is characterized by intent to gain or animus lucrandi; and,
(4) on the occasion of the robbery or by reason thereof, the crime of homicide
which is therein used in a generic sense, was committed. The evidence for the pr
osecution showed that appellant and his companion, with a gun and a knife, took
possession of personal properties belonging to the victim, with intent to gain,
and on the occasion thereof, the victim was killed.
2. WON aggravating circumstances were rightly appreciated
No. Dwelling and abuse of superior strength may be appreciated but not disregard
of respect due the offended party on account of her sex.
Dwelling. Dwelling aggravates a felony where the crime was committed in the dwel
ling of the offended party, if the latter has not given provocation or if the vi
ctim was killed inside his house. Here, robbery was committed in the house of th
e victim without provocation on her part. In robbery with violence and intimidat
ion against persons, dwelling is aggravating because in this class of robbery, t
he crime may be committed without the necessity of trespassing the sanctity of t
he offended partys house. Dwelling is considered aggravating primarily because of
the sanctity of privacy the law accords to human abode. He who goes to anothers
house to hurt him or do him wrong is more guilty than he who offends him elsewhe
re.
Abuse of superior strength. While abuse of superior strength may be considered w
hen there is an inequality of comparative force between the victim and the aggre
ssor, there must, nonetheless, be a situation of strength notoriously selected a
nd made use of by the latter in the commission of the crime. What should be cons
idered is whether the aggressors took advantage of their combined strength in or
der to consummate the offense. Abuse of strength is present not only when the of
fenders enjoy numerical superiority, or there is a notorious inequality of force
s between the victim and the aggressor but also when the offender uses a powerfu
l weapon which is out of proportion to the defense available to the offended par
ty. Here, the victim was totally helpless in the face of two (2) perpetrators wh
o were armed with a gun and a knife.
Disregard of respect due to sex. However, the aggravating circumstance of disreg
ard of the respect due to the victim by reason of her sex cannot be appreciated.
This aggravating circumstance can be considered only in crimes against persons
and honor. The special complex crime of Robbery with Homicide is a crime against
property not against persons. Moreover, nothing appears in the record that appe
llant deliberately intended to offend or insult the age or sex of the offended p
arty. Moreover, such an aggravating circumstance would be absorbed by the aggrav
ating circumstance of abuse of superior strength.
Judgment: Penalty of reclusion perpetua to death is composed of 2 indivisible pe
nalties. Applying Art. 63, RPC, penalty that should be imposed is death which is
the maximum provided for by law in the absence of any mitigating circumstance t
o offset the aggravating circumstances of dwelling and abuse of superior strengt
h. These aggravating circumstances need not be alleged in the information since
they are mere generic aggravating circumstances which have the effect of increas
ing the penalty to the maximum period which is death. But in accordance with Sec
. 25 of R.A. 7659, amending Art. 83 of the RPC, upon finality of this decision,
certified true copies thereof, as well as the records of this case, are forthwit
h forwarded to the Office of the President for possible exercise of the pardonin
g power.