[G.R. No. 5098.

October 29, 1909]

THE UNITED STATES, Plaintiff-Appellee,

vs
VENANCIO MONASTERIAL ET. AL., defendants-Appellants

Facts:

On July 21, 1908 at about 9 p.m., Fruto Payoyo was passing through one of
the streets of the town Ligao, Albay Province, coming from the house of Jose
Nieves, and was attacked by certain Aurelio Monasterial and Venancio
Monasterial for the reason that Payoyo had told the father of the attackers
that they had been hiring out the carabaos belonging to their said father, to
which the latter denied. Payoyo got fractured arm on the said incident which
prevented him from working, and it took more than ninety days to heal. It
turned out that Payoyo could never use his said arm as freely as he did
before he was injured. With this, a complaint was filed on August 19, 1908,
charging Aurelio and Venancio with the crime lesiones graves.

Issue:

Whether or not Aurelio and Venancio were responsible of the said crime
committed and should be charged with lesiones graves.

Held:

Yes.

Under the Revised Penal Code, lesiones graves is a criminal responsibility

where two individuals, acting in common accord and mutually assisting each
other, attack a third person, one after the other and within a few seconds, if
not simultaneously, they are criminally responsible for the unlawful injury
caused by their acts, inasmuch as each of them took a direct and material
part in the aggression with the common intent of injuring the attacked
person.

In this case, if Aurelio and Venancio had not attacked or maltreated Payoyo,
the latter would not have suffered fracture of an arm which required not less
than ninety days to heal, owing to complications that ensued; persons who
are responsible for an act constituting a crime are also liable for all the
consequences arising therefrom and inherent therein, other than those due
to incidents entirely foreign to the act and executed, or which originate
through the fault or carelessness of the injured person, which are exceptions
to the rule not arising in the present case.

Therefore, Aurelio and Venancio Monasterial are both responsible of the said
crime and should be charged with lesiones graves.