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    Bongalon v. People

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    Noreenesse Santos
    The petitioner struck and slapped a minor, Jayson, after petitioner's daughter threw stones and insulted Jayson during a religious procession. The RTC and CA found petitioner guilty of child abuse. However, the Supreme Court held that petitioner was guilty only of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code, not child abuse. The Court found petitioner acted in anger to protect his daughters, without the specific intent to debase or degrade Jayson's dignity required for child abuse. While petitioner inflicted injuries requiring medical care, his actions were at the spur of the moment due to losing self-control, not intended to humiliate or embarrass Jayson.

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    Bongalon v. People

    Uploaded by

    Noreenesse Santos
    240 views2 pages
    The petitioner struck and slapped a minor, Jayson, after petitioner's daughter threw stones and insulted Jayson during a religious procession. The RTC and CA found petitioner guilty of child abuse. However, the Supreme Court held that petitioner was guilty only of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code, not child abuse. The Court found petitioner acted in anger to protect his daughters, without the specific intent to debase or degrade Jayson's dignity required for child abuse. While petitioner inflicted injuries requiring medical care, his actions were at the spur of the moment due to losing self-control, not intended to humiliate or embarrass Jayson.

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    G.R. No. 169533. March 20, 2013

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    The petitioner struck and slapped a minor, Jayson, after petitioner's daughter threw stones and insulted Jayson during a religious procession. The RTC and CA found petitioner guilty of child abuse. However, the Supreme Court held that petitioner was guilty only of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code, not child abuse. The Court found petitioner acted in anger to protect his daughters, without the specific intent to debase or degrade Jayson's dignity required for child abuse. While petitioner inflicted injuries requiring medical care, his actions were at the spur of the moment due to losing self-control, not intended to humiliate or embarrass Jayson.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    240 views2 pages

    Bongalon v. People

    Uploaded by

    Noreenesse Santos
    The petitioner struck and slapped a minor, Jayson, after petitioner's daughter threw stones and insulted Jayson during a religious procession. The RTC and CA found petitioner guilty of child abuse. However, the Supreme Court held that petitioner was guilty only of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code, not child abuse. The Court found petitioner acted in anger to protect his daughters, without the specific intent to debase or degrade Jayson's dignity required for child abuse. While petitioner inflicted injuries requiring medical care, his actions were at the spur of the moment due to losing self-control, not intended to humiliate or embarrass Jayson.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    G.R. No. 169533 Bongalon v.

    People March 20, 2013

    George Bongalon, People of the Philippines,


    petitioner respondent
    Bersamin, J.

    FACTS:
    Jayson Dela Cruz (Jayson) and Roldan, his older brother, both minors, joined the evening procession for
    the Santo Nio at Oro Site in Legazpi City; that when the procession passed in front of the petitioners
    house, the latters daughter Mary Ann Rose, also a minor, threw stones at Jayson and called him sissy;
    that the petitioner confronted Jayson and Roldan and called them names like strangers and animals;
    that the petitioner struck Jayson at the back with his hand, and slapped Jayson on the face; that the
    petitioner then went to the brothers house and challenged Rolando dela Cruz, their father, to a fight, but
    Rolando did not come out of the house to take on the petitioner; that Rolando later brought Jayson to the
    Legazpi City Police Station and reported the incident; that Jayson also underwent medical treatment at the
    Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital; that the doctors who examined Jayson issued two medical
    certificates attesting that Jayson suffered the following contusions, to wit: (1) contusion .5 x 2.5 scapular
    area, left; and (2) +11 cm. contusion left zygomatic area and contusion .5 x 2.33 cm. scapular area, left.
    The petitioner denied having physically abused or maltreated Jayson. He explained that he only talked with
    Jayson and Roldan after Mary Ann Rose and Cherrylyn, his minor daughters, had told him about Jayson
    and Roldans throwing stones at them and about Jaysons burning Cherrylyns hair. He denied shouting
    invectives at and challenging Rolando to a fight, insisting that he only told Rolando to restrain his sons
    from harming his daughters.
    RTC: guilty of child abuse, Violation of Republic Act No. 7610
    CA: affirmed the conviction, but modified the penalty
    Petitioner asserts that he was not guilty of the crime charged; and that even assuming that he was guilty,
    his liability should be mitigated because he had merely acted to protect her two minor daughters.

    ISSUE:
    Is the accused guilty of Child Abuse under R.A. No. 7610 or Physical Injuries under the Revised Penal Code?

    HELD:
    THE ACCUSED IS GUILTY OF PHYSICAL INJURIES UNDER THE REVISED PENAL CODE.
    Sec 10 (a), Art. VI of RA 7610 under which Bongalon was charged states:
    o Sec. 10. Other Acts of Neglect, Abuse, Cruelty or Exploitation and other Conditions Prejducial to the
    Childs Development (a) Any person who shall commit any other acts of child abuse, cruelty or
    exploitation or be responsible for other conditions prejudicial to the childs development including
    those covered by Art. 59 of PD 603, as amended, but not covered by the RPC, as amended, shall suffer
    the penalty of prision mayor in its minimum period.
    Child abuse, on the other hand, is defined by Sec. 3 (b) as maltreatment, whether habitual or not, of the
    child which includes:
    x x x
    (2.) Any acts by deeds or words which debases, degrades, or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of a
    child as a human being;
    xxx
    Not every instance of the laying of hands on a child constitutes child abuse. Only when the laying of hands
    is shown beyond reasonable doubt to be intended by the accused to debase, degrade, or demean the
    intrinsic worth and dignity of the child as a human being should it be punished as child abuse. Otherwise,
    it is punished under RPC.
    G.R. No. 169533 Bongalon v. People March 20, 2013

    In this case, the records showed that the laying of hands on Jayson have been done at the spur of the
    moment and in anger, indicative of his being overwhelmed by his fatherly concern for the personal safety
    of his own minor daughters who had just suffered harm at the hands of Jayson and his companion. With
    the loss of his self-control, he lacked the specific intent to debase, degrade, or demean the intrinsic worth
    and dignity of the child as a human being that was so essential in the crime of child abuse. However,
    considering that Jayson suffered physical injury requiring five to seven days of medical attention, Bongalon
    is liable for slight physical injuries under Art. 266 (1) of the RPC.
    Although we affirm the factual findings of fact by the RTC and the CA to the effect that the petitioner
    struck Jayson at the back with his hand and slapped Jayson on the face, we disagree with their holding that
    his acts constituted child abuse within the purview of the above-quoted provisions. The records did not
    establish beyond reasonable doubt that his laying of hands on Jayson had been intended to debase the
    intrinsic worth and dignity of Jayson as a human being, or that he had thereby intended to humiliate or
    embarrass Jayson. The records showed the laying of hands on Jayson to have been done at the spur of the
    moment and in anger, indicative of his being then overwhelmed by his fatherly concern for the personal
    safety of his own minor daughters who had just suffered harm at the hands of Jayson and Roldan. With
    the loss of his self-control, he lacked that specific intent to debase, degrade or demean the intrinsic worth
    and dignity of a child as a human being that was so essential in the crime of child abuse.

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