- Petitioner
- Aniceto Ibabao
- Respondent
- People
- Citation
- G.R. No. L-36957
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- First Division
- Ponente
- Melencio-Herrera, J.
- Decided
- September 28, 1984
Whether failure to lend aid to victim justifies penalty enhancement under Article 365 of Revised Penal Code when not alleged in Information; Motion…
Summary
Petitioner Aniceto Ibabao was convicted of Homicide thru Reckless Imprudence after his jeep fatally struck a person in Davao in 1967. The key legal issue involved whether his failure to stop and render aid warranted penalty enhancement under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended by R.A. 1790. The Supreme Court established important precedent by ruling that failure to lend aid constitutes a qualifying circumstance that must be specifically alleged in the Information to justify penalty enhancement, similar to treachery in murder cases. The Court also rejected a motion for new trial based on witness recantation, emphasizing that recanted testimony is unreliable and dangerous to the judicial process. The final penalty was modified to prision correccional with increased indemnity of P30,000, balancing the criminal law requirements with procedural due process protections.