Dear PAO,

My uncle was convicted for the crime of acts of lasciviousness by the court, but he was able to timely file an appeal. During the pendency of his appeal, my uncle suddenly died from a heart attack.

What are the implications of his death to the liabilities that may be imposed against him arising from the crime charged?

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

Please be informed of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of People vs. Maylon, GR 240664, June 22, 2020, penned by Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, which discussed the following:

“1. Death of the accused pending appeal of his conviction extinguishes his criminal liability [,] as well as the civil liability [,] based solely thereon.

“As opined by Justice Regalado, in this regard, ‘the death of the accused prior to final judgment terminates his criminal liability and only the civil liability directly arising from and based solely on the offense committed, i.e., civil liability ex delicto in senso strictiore.’

“2. Corollary, the claim for civil liability survives notwithstanding the death of accused, if the same may also be predicated on a source of obligation other than delict.

“Article 1157 of the Civil Code enumerates these other sources of obligation from which the civil liability may arise as a result of the same act or omission:

“a) Law

“b) Contracts

“c) Quasi-contracts x x x

“e) Quasi-delicts

“3. Where the civil liability survives, as explained in Number 2 above, an action for recovery therefor may be pursued but only by way of filing a separate civil action and subject to Section 1, Rule 111 of the 1985 Rules on Criminal Procedure as amended.

“This separate civil action may be enforced either against the executor/administrator or the estate of the accused, depending on the source of obligation upon which the same is based as explained above.

“4. Finally, the private offended party need not fear a forfeiture of his right to file this separate civil action by prescription, in cases where during the prosecution of the criminal action and prior to its extinction, the private-offended party instituted together therewith the civil action.

“In such case, the statute of limitations on the civil liability is deemed interrupted during the pendency of the criminal case, conformably with provisions of Article 1155 of the Civil Code, that should thereby avoid any apprehension on a possible privation of right by prescription.” (Emphasis supplied)

As provided in the aforementioned jurisprudence, the death of the accused during the pendency of his appeal will terminate his criminal liability inasmuch as there is no longer a defendant to stand as the accused, and criminal liability is personal and cannot be substituted. As such, the civil liability arising from the crime charged is likewise extinguished.

However, all other civil liability which arises from other sources of obligation, such as law, contracts, quasi-contracts, and quasi-delicts, will survive and may be proceeded against the estate of the accused.

In the case of your uncle, both his criminal and civil liability arising from the crime of acts of lasciviousness are extinguished upon his death. Nonetheless, other liabilities may survive his death, but only if the surrounding circumstances of his case show that there are other sources of obligation other than the crime itself.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. Please be reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated on.

Editor’s Note: Dear PAO is a daily column of Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]