Jalaluddin

Case 38

THE UNITED STATES v. FELICIANO DIVINO

G.R. No. 4490.
December 4, 1908

FACTS: This cause was brought against Feliciano Divino for the crime of lesiones graves, and
appealed by him to this court from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Davao, Moro
Province A girl named Alfonsa, about 13 years of age when the incident happened, was a servant
for Feliciano Divino and his family. Her feet were the focus in this case because it is said that
Feliciano Divino burned her feet, in a very unorthodox and harmful way in a sense, by setting
her feet on fire after applying petroleum to it and tying her down to the floor. 

ISSUE: Whether or not Feliciano Divino can be acquitted because he argued that he acted in
good faith and did not mean any harm to the girl, except to help her get cured.

RULING: The expert testimony offered by the prosecution should be carefully noted — the
burns are supposed to have been caused two years previously — on account of a large ulcer that
she had on the left foot, in a place that showed an old scar; according to the court's remark on
folio 109, said left foot was the most deformed." Medical arguments were brought in the light of
the decision and that a doctor clearly identified that the scars on Alfonsa’s feet were indeed
because of burns and that the wounds became worse on account of Feliciano’s efforts to cure
them. Certainly, it was found certain that the acts of the guilty person do not seem to have been
intended to cause an evil, but rather as a remedy. However, article 568 or the Penal Code clearly
states that a person that undertakes medical assistance to another person is liable for any injuries
resulting from such treatment, and the fact that he acted in good faith and according to the best of
his ability does not relieve him from responsibility, although his ignorance may be considered as
a mitigating circumstance. Feliciano Divino should be, and he is hereby, sentenced for simple
imprudence.