Public Officers; Infidelity in Custody of Prisoners (1997) During a town fiesta.

A, the chief of police, permitted B, a detention prisoner and his compadre, to leave the municipal jail and entertain visitors in his hous e from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. B returned to the municipal jail at 8:30 p.m. Was there any crime committed by A? SUGGESTED ANSWER: Yes, A committed the crime of infidelity in the custody of a prisoner. Since B i s a detention prisoner. As Chief of Police, A has custody over B. Even if B retu rned to the municipal Jail at 8:30 p.m. A, as custodian of the prisoner, has mal iciously failed to perform the duties of his office, and when he permits said pr isoner to obtain a relaxation of his imprisonment, he consents to the prisoner e scaping the punishment of being deprived of his liberty which can be considered real and actual evasion of service under Article 223 of the Revised Penal Code ( People vs. Leon Bandino 29 Phil. 459). ALTERNATIVE ANSWER: No crime was committed by the Chief of Police. It was only an act of leniency or laxity in the performance of his duty and not in excess of his duty (People vs. Evangelista (CA) 38 O.G. 158). Crimes Against Persons Complex Crime; Homicide w/ Assault-Authority (1995) Pascual operated a rice thresher in Barangay Napnud where he resided. Renato, a resident of the neighboring Barangay Guihaman, also operated a mobile rice thres her which he often brought to Barangay Napnud to thresh the palay of the farmers there. This was bitterly resented by Pascual, One afternoon Pascual, and his tw o sons confronted Renato and his men who were operating their mobile rice thresh er along a feeder road in Napnud. A heated argument ensued. A barangay captain w ho was fetched by one of Pascual's men tried to appease Pascual and Renato to pr event a violent confrontation. However, Pascual resented the intervention of the barangay captain and hacked him to death. What crime was committed by Pascual? Discuss fully. 53 of 86 SUGGESTED ANSWER: Pascual committed the complex crime of homicide with assault upon a person in au thority (Arts. 148 and 249 in relation to Art, 48, RPC). A barangay chairman, is in law (Art. 152), a person in authority and if he is attacked while in the per formance of his official duties or on the occasion thereof the felony of direct assault is committed. Art. 48, RPC, on the other hand, provides that if a single act produces two or m ore grave or less grave felonies, a complex crime is committed. Here, the single act of the offender in hacking the victim to death resulted in two felonies, ho micide which is grave and direct assault which is less grave.