PEOPLE vs SION GR No.

109617

FACTS
On the night of October 16, 1991, a heated confrontation unfolded in which Cesar Abaoag's brother, Fernando
Abaoag, became the target of aggression. Cesar, lying in his house, heard the commotion and witnessed
Johnny Juquilon throwing a stone at Fernando. The situation took a violent turn when Felipe Sion, in close
proximity to Fernando, stabbed him multiple times with a sharp double-bladed dagger. Cesar attempted to
come to his brother's aid, but Miguel Disu further escalated the situation by throwing a stone at him. Fearing
for his life, Cesar fled and informed Fernando's wife, Felicitas Abaoag, about the dire condition of her husband.
Upon reaching the scene, Felicitas found Fernando in a weakened state, revealing that he had been hit and
identifying his assailants as Felipe Sion, Miguel Disu, Edong Sion, Johnny Juquilon, and Felix Sion. Despite
being rushed to the hospital, Fernando was pronounced dead on arrival.

Subsequently, murder charges were filed against Felipe Sion, Johnny Juquilon, Edong Sion, Felix Sion, Federico
Disu (alias Miguel), and unidentified persons. However, only Felipe Sion and Federico Disu were arrested and
faced trial. The trial court found both appellants guilty of murder, sentencing them to reclusion perpetua.

In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Sion argued that he was entitled to the benefit of the mitigating
circumstance of voluntary surrender. He presented himself to Kagawad Modesto Lagman in the afternoon of
October 17, 1991, who then escorted and surrendered him to the police in the poblacion. Sion contended that
his surrender was voluntary, despite being suspected as one of the perpetrators. The appellee disagreed,
arguing that there was no voluntary surrender because Sion surrendered to a mere barangay "Kagawad" or
Sangguniang Barangay member, not to the police authorities, implying that the former is not a person in
authority. The appellee's stance was based on Section 388 of the Local Government Code of 1991, which
designates the punong barangay, sangguniang barangay members, and member

ISSUE
Whether or not a Barangay Kagawad is a person in authority?

RULING
Yes, under Section 388 of the Local Government Code of 1991 which expressly provides, in part, that "[f]or
purposes of the Revised Penal Code, the punong barangay, sangguniang barangay members, and members of
the lupong tagapamayapa in each barangay shall be deemed as persons in authority in their jurisdictions .
This law expands the definition of a person in authority under the Revised Penal Code, wherein among the
barangay official, only the barangay captain or chairman, now called Punong Barangay, is expressly considered
a person in authority, as provided in Article 152 thereof. Thus, in addition to the Punong Barangay, the
members of the Sangguniang Barangay, or Kagawads, and members of the Lupong Tagapayapa are now
considered not merely as agents of, but as persons, in authority. The Court thereby declared Sion as guilty
beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide and entitled to the mitigating circumstance
of voluntary surrender.

FALLO
WHEREFORE, the challenged decision of Branch 44 (Dagupan City) of the Regional Trial Court of the First
Judicial Region in Criminal Case No. D-10796 is MODIFIED. As modified, appellants FELIPE SION, alias
"JUNIOR" or FELIPE RODRIGUEZ, JR., and FEDERICO DISU, alias "MIGUEL," are hereby declared GUILTY
beyond reasonable doubt, as principals, of the crime of HOMICIDE as defined and penalized in Article 249
of the Revised Penal Code, with the former entitled to the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender, and
applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, they are sentenced, respectively, to suffer an indeterminate penalty
ranging from eight (8) years of prision mayor minimum, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years and eight (8)
months of reclusion temporal as maximum, and an indeterminate penalty ranging from ten (10) years and one
(1) day of prision mayor maximum, as minimum, to seventeen (17) years, four (4) months and one (1) day
of reclusion temporal minimum as maximum, with all the accessory penalties therefor, and subject to the
provisions of Article 29 of the Revised Penal Code. Except as so modified, the rest of the challenged judgment
stands.
Costs against accused-appellants.

Main Take away

The main takeaway is that, according to Section 388 of the Local Government Code of 1991, Kagawads or
Sangguniang Barangay members are considered persons in authority in their respective jurisdictions for the
purposes of the Revised Penal Code. This expands the definition of persons in authority under the Revised
Penal Code, recognizing not only the Punong Barangay (barangay captain or chairman) but also the members
of the Sangguniang Barangay and members of the Lupong Tagapayapa as persons in authority.