Case Digest (G.R. No. 43530)
Facts:
People of the Philippine Islands appealed from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Iloilo which found Aurelio Lamahang guilty of attempted robbery and sentenced him to two years and four months of prision correccional and an additional ten years and one day of prision mayor as an habitual delinquent, with accessory penalties and costs. At early dawn on March 2, 1935, policeman Jose Tomambing found the accused using an iron bar to break a board and unfasten another on the wall of Tan Yu’s store while the owner and another were sleeping inside, and arrested him before entry was effected.
Issues:
- Did the facts constitute attempted robbery?
- If not, was the proper charge attempted trespass to dwelling, and what penalty should be imposed?
Ruling:
The Court reversed the conviction for attempted robbery and found the accused guilty of attempted trespass to dwelling committed by force. The Court sentenced him to three months and one day of arresto mayor with accessory penalties and costs, applying two aggravating circumstances (nighttime and former convictions) and one mitigating circumstance (lack of instruction), and denied credit for preventive imprisonment under Article 29.
Ratio:
The Court held that an attempt requires overt acts that have a direct, logical, and necessary relation to a specific, concrete offense so that the intent to commit that offense is clear from the acts. Acts susceptible of an innocent as well as a criminal interpretation cannot sustain an attempted or frustrated felony; here the evidence showed only forced entry for which the presumption of the owner’s prohibition justified conviction for trespass under Article 280 of the Revised Penal Code. The penalty for attempt is two degrees lower under Article 51, and sentencing was adjusted for aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Doctrine:
- An attempt exists only where overt acts directly aimed at the execution of a specific crime disclose the criminal objective beyond reasonable doubt.
- Acts susceptible of double interpretation cannot by themselves sustain a finding of attempted or frustrated crime.
- Forceful entry into another’s dwelling constitutes trespass under Article 280 of the Revised Penal Code.
- The penalty for an attempted felony is imposed two degrees lower under Article 51.
- Credit for preventive imprisonment is not allowable under Article 29.
- Nighttime and prior convictions are aggravating circumstances, and lack of instruction may be mitigating.