PEOPLE OF TH E PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs.
ROGELIO BAYOTAS y CORDOVA, accused-appellant
G.R. No. 102207. September 2, 1994
FACTS:
Rogelio Bayotas, accused and charged with Rape, died on February 4, 1992 due to cardio respiratory arrest. The Solicitor General then submitted a comment stating that the death of the accused does not excuse him from his civil liability (supported by the Supreme Court’s decision in People vs Sendaydiego). On the other hand, the counsel of the accused claimed that in the Supreme Court’s decision in People vs Castillo, civil liability is extinguished if accused should die before the final judgement is rendered.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the death of the accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguish his civil liability.
RULING:
The Court decided on this case through stating the cases of Castillo and Sendaydiego.
In the Castillo case, the Court said that civil liability is extinguished only when death of the accused occurred before the final judgement. Judge Kapunan further stated that civil liability is extinguished because there will be “no party defendant” in the case. There will be no civil liability if criminal liability does not exist. Further, the Court stated “it is, thus, evident that… the rule established was that the survival of the civil liability depends on whether the same can be predicated on the sources of obligations other than delict.
In the Sendaydiego case, the Court issued Resolution of July 8, 1977 where it states that civil liability will only survive if death came after the final judgement of the CFI of Pangasinan. However, Article 30 of the Civil Code could not possibly lend support to the ruling in Sendaydiego. Civil liability ex delicto is extinguished by the death of the accused while his conviction is on appeal. The Court also gave a summary on which cases should civil liability be extinguished, to wit:
Death of the accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguishes his criminal liability as well as the civil liability based solely thereon. Therefore, Bayotas’s death extinguished his criminal and civil liability based solely on the act complained of.
