GR No. L-36234
February 10, 1981
People of the Philippines, plaintiff-appellee
Vs.
Romeo Corpuz, et.al., appellants
Fernandez, J.:
Facts: All accused, being prisoner of New Bilibid Prison, were charged with murder and
frustrated murder for assaulting and wounding co-prisoners. The trial court sentence
them with Quai-recidivism.
Issue: Whether or not the trial court erred in applying Article 160.
Ruling: Yes. Under the RPC Article 160, the elements of this offense are: 1. The offender
was already convicted by final judgment of one offense; 2. The committed a new felony
before beginning to serve such sentence or while serving the same.
In this case, the Supreme Court found that the trail court erred in applying article
160 on the unfounded assumption that all defendants were serving sentence pursuant to
judgments of conviction which had become final and in the absence of competent
evidence that these defendants have been sentenced by final judgment. It is not proven
that the accused in this case are serving a sentence by final judgment which would
suffice to quality the offense committed with the special aggravating circumstances of
Quasi-Recidivism.