428 Phil. 769
MELO, J.:
That on or about May 13, 1999, in the City of Manila, Philippines, the said accused being then a private individual and without authority of law, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously kidnap and carry away one ROSELYNN TOLIBAS y AGUADA, a minor, 15 day old baby girl, represented by her mother, ROSITA TOLIBAS y AGUADA, thereby depriving the said ROSELYNN TOLIBAS y AGUADA of her liberty against her will and consent.Upon her arraignment on June 23, 1999, appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges. Trial thereafter followed.
Contrary to law.(p. 5, Rollo.)
On May 13, 1999, around 11:30 in the morning, 12-year old Maria Roselle Tolibas y Aguada and her 15-day old sister, Rosalyn Tolibas, were with their mother, Rosita Tolibas y Aguada, at the Fabella Memorial Hospital on Felix Huertas Street, Sta. Cruz, Manila. Rosita and her daughter Roselle were at the hospital for medical check up and tooth extraction, respectively (TSN dated August 25, 1999, pp. 1-3).On the other hand, the defense presented appellant as its sole witness, who narrated a different version of the incident.
While Rosita was undergoing medical check up inside the hospital, her two daughters waited at the lobby. Roselle was seating on a bench with her 15-day old sister on her lap when the appellant sat beside her. Appellant befriended Roselle and asked her if the baby was a boy or a girl, and Roselle replied that the baby was a girl (Ibid).
After a while, the appellant gave P3.00 to Roselle and asked her to buy ice water. The appellant took the 15-day old baby from Roselle and assured her that she (accused) would take care of her (Roselle’s) sister, while she was buying ice water. Roselle was not able to find ice water for sale and on her way back to the hospital, she saw the accused running away with her baby sister. She chased the appellant and when she caught up with her, the appellant told her that she was running after her (Roselle’s) mother. Roselle did not believe the appellant and she held and pulled the appellant’s skirt to prevent her from getting away with her (Roselle’s) baby sister, but the appellant persisted in running with Roselle holding on to the appellant’s skirt. To slow down the accused, Roselle wrapped her arms around the accused, who struggled and pinched Roselle to free herself from her hug. Roselle shouted for help, thereby attracting the attention of Emerento Torres, a Kagawad of Barangay 311, Zone 21, Sta. Cruz, Manila, who was then resting in front of his house on Felix Huertas Street (Ibid, pp;. 3-4, TSN, dated Oct. 19, 1999, pp. 2-4).
Torres saw the appellant carrying a child and struggling with Roselle, who kept on shouting: “Akina ang kapatid ko, akina ang kapatid ko.” Torres accosted appellant, who told him that she was looking for the mother of the baby she was carrying so that she could return the baby to her, but Roselle begged him to help her because her mother was at the Fabella Memorial Hospital and the accused was getting her baby sister. Torres took the baby from the appellant and entrusted the baby to his wife. Then he led appellant and Roselle to the hospital to look for the mother of the baby. Torres found Rosita at the hospital and she confirmed to him that she was the mother of the baby (Ibid.).
Torres requested the hospital’s security guard to blotter the incident, after which, he turned over the appellant to the police authorities at the WPDC-PNP Headquarters on U.N. Avenue, Manila. The case was investigated by PO3 Renato Guzman, who took down the sworn statements of Roselle, Torres and Rosita, Exhibits “A”, “B” and “C”, respectively (Id.).(pp. 75-77, Rollo.)
WHEREFORE, the Court finds the accused, Teresa Bernardo y Tambien, guilty beyond reasonable doubt of kidnapping and failure to return a minor under Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code and sentences her to suffer reclusion perpetua with all the accessory penalties provided by law and to pay the costs. On the civil liability of the accused, she is ordered to pay the complainant, Rosita Tolibas y Aguada, moral and nominal damages in the sum of P300,000.00 and P50,000.00, respectively, with interest thereon at the legal rate or 6% per annum from this date until fully paid.Aggrieved, appellant now appeals her conviction on the following grounds:(p. 12, Rollo.)
In assailing her conviction, appellant contends that there was no deliberate failure on her part to restore the minor Rosalyn Tolibas to her parents or guardians, stating that the charge filed against her was a mere overreaction on the part of the prosecution witnesses to her act of going out of the hospital to look for the mother of the child. She maintains that Roselle left the baby with her and after waiting for several minutes, she thought it best to look for the mother of Roselyn. This was the reason she went out towards the hospital’s gate. Appellant alleged that it came as a surprise to her when Roselle started crying for help allegedly because appellant was kidnapping Roselle’s baby sister.I
THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN CONVICTING HEREIN APPELLANT OF THE CRIME CHARGE DESPITE FAILURE OF THE PROSECUTION TO PROVE HER GUILT BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT.II
GRANTING ARGUENDO THAT HEREIN APPELLANT IS GUILTY, THE COURT A QUO GRAVELY ERRED IN AWARDING MORAL AND NOMINAL DAMAGES WITH INTEREST.
Article 267. Kidnapping and failure to return a minor — The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who, being entrusted with the custody of a minor person, shall deliberately fail to restore the latter to his parents or guardians.It has two essential elements, namely: (1) the offender is entrusted with the custody of a minor person; and (2) the offender deliberately fails to restore the said minor to his parents or guardians (People vs. Bondoc, 232 SCRA 478 [1997]). In People vs. Ty (263 SCRA 745 [1996]), we stated that the essential element of the crime of kidnapping and failure to return a minor is that the offender is entrusted with the custody of the minor, but what is actually being punished is not the kidnapping of the minor but rather the deliberate failure of the custodian of the minor to restore the latter to his parents or guardians. Indeed, the word deliberate as used in Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code must imply something more than mere negligence — it must be premeditated, headstrong, foolishly daring or intentionally and maliciously wrong.
Article 2219. Moral damages may be recovered in the following and analogous cases:Since the crime committed in this case is kidnapping and failure to return a minor under Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code, the same is clearly analogous to illegal and arbitrary detention or arrest, thereby justifying the award of moral damages. However, taking into consideration the fact that appellant had custody of the child only for a few minutes before being apprehended, we find the amount of P300,000.00 awarded by the trial court to be exorbitant. We therefore reduce such amount to P10,000.00.x x x
(5) Illegal and arbitrary detention or arrest;x x x
Article 2221. Nominal damages are adjudicated in order that a right of the plaintiff, which has been violated or invaded by the defendant, may be vindicated or recognized, and not for the purpose of indemnifying the plaintiff for any loss suffered by him.Nonetheless, given the relatively short duration of the child’s kidnapping, we find the amount of P50,000.00 awarded as nominal damages excessive, and hereby reduce the same to P10,000.00.