G.R. No. 1944. March 13, 1905

The defendants here were charged with the crime of lesiones menos graves,
defined and punished in article 418 in connection with article 419 of
the Penal Code. The said defendants were tried by the Court of First
Instance of Zamboanga and each was sentenced to be imprisoned for a
period of one year eight months and one day of presidio correccional. The defendants appealed to this court.

The evidence shows that on the night of the 7th of February, 1904,
the defendants did attack and beat one Ildefonso Rodriguez,
vice-president of the pueblo of Zamboanga, which attack and beating
resulted in wounding the said Rodriguez in a manner so that he was
unable to follow his usual occupation for a period of more than eight
days and for a period less than twenty days.

The court, in imposing the sentence of one year eight months and one
day, took into consideration the provisions of article 419 of the Penal
Code. Article 419, among other things, provides that injuries inflicted
on persons holding public rank or authority shall be punished with prision correccional
in its minimum and medium degrees. The record shows that Ildefonso
Rodriguez, the person injured, was vice-president of the pueblo of
Zamboanga, but that at the time the offense complained of here was
committed the regular president of the pueblo of Zamboanga was acting
in such capacity, and therefore the vice- president had no power or
authority to exercise the functions of president of the said pueblo,
and could not, therefore, during the period when the president was
acting, be regarded as a public functionary; he had no more authority
as a public functionary than any other private citizen of the pueblo.
The provisions of article 419, therefore, have no application to the
facts in this case. The penalty should not have been increased by
reason of the fact that the crime was committed against this particular
person, who might at some time during the disability or absence of the
president become president of the pueblo and thereby a public
functionary.

The facts, without considering the circumstance that the crime was
committed against a public functionary, show the defendants to be
guilty of inflicting lesiones menos graves, and should be punished according to the provisions of article 418 of the Penal Code, which provides the punishment of arresto mayor, or panishment, and a fine of from 325 to 3,250 pesetas, in the discretion of the court.

The judgment of the inferior court is therefore reversed and the
defendant is hereby sentenced to be imprisoned for a period of four
months and one day and to pay the costs of both instances. So ordered.

Arellano, C. J., Torres, Mapa, and Carson, JJ., concur.