Practice question
An offender deliberately adopts fire to kill a particular person inside and accomplishes that purpose. Another offender separately kills first and then burns the structure as concealment. A party says both invariably receive the same absorption treatment because fire appears in both. Which is correct?
- Every use of fire has an identical legal role.
- Distinguish fire as the killing means from a separate later concealment act.
- The chronology and purpose are legally meaningless.
- The earlier killing is automatically unproved.
- A fire always establishes the same single offense regardless of facts.
Legal references
- People v. Malngan, G.R. No. 170470, September 26, 2006, en banc main decision, arson and resulting death: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/1/43138
- People v. Sota, G.R. No. 203121, November 29, 2017, main decision, reaffirming objective-based arson/killing classification: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri2017/nov2017/gr_203121_2017.html
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