The defendant was accused of executing, with reckless negligence, an act, which  if done with malice would constitute a grave crime, committed as follows:

"That the said Pedro Eduardo on or about the 16th day of July,  1908, in the city of Manila,  Philippine  Islands, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously, with deliberate premeditation and through reckless negligence, cause the death of and kill one Erisberta Garrido and others, whose names are unknown, in this, to wit:

"That on and for a long time prior to the said 16th day of July, 1908, the said accused, Pedro Eduardo, was patron and master of a small steamer, bark, and seagoing vessel, propelled by steam,  of less than 95 tons  burden, which steamer  was then and there  duly registered and licensed under the name of San Gabriel and was then and there navigating in and making voyages in the waters of the Philippine Islands, between the  port of Manila and Corregidor Island,  lying near the entrance  to the  Bay  of Manila, Philippine Islands; that as  such patron and master the said Pedro Eduardo was then and there  in complete command and control of said vessel and the loading, sailing, departure and navigation of said vessel, San Gabriel, in the harbor of Manila, and on her voyages in the waters of the Philippine Islands;  that on the said 16th day of July, in the said city of Manila,  Philippine Islands,  the  said  Pedro  Eduardo, while so in complete control and command of the said vessel San Gabriel, did then and there,  while said steamer and vessel San Gabriel was lying moored in the harbor of the said city  of  Manila and in the Pasig River in said  city, willfully,  unlawfully,  and knowingly, and with gross  and reckless negligence, greatly overload the said steamer San Gabriel and take and cause  to be taken upon and aboard the said steamer San  Gabriel  passengers and freight far in excess of her carrying  capacity to such an extent as to render her navigation and voyage upon the waters of Manila  Bay, between  the  city of  Manila and Corregidor, unsafe and perilous to the said vessel and to the lives of the passengers and crew thereof; and did further, then and there, while the said steamer San Gabriel was so overloaded, as the said accused, then and there well knew, and when, as the accused then and there well knew, the hull of the said steamer San Gabriel was in an injured state and unable to resist heavy seas and stormy weather, willfully, unlawfully, and in gross violation of harbor regulations and with gross and criminal negligence, take and cause  the  said vessel San Gabriel to be taken from her dock and moorings in the Pasig River in said city of Manila,  and proceed with  said vessel, so, overloaded, on a voyage to  Corregidor Island, lying at the entrance of Manila  Bay, when, as the  said accused well knew, a typhoon and storm was raging over Manila Harbor and  Bay and  the  storm and  typhoon was  threatening to become worse and the said storm was, at the time of the actual sailing of said vessel San Gabriel, as the said accused well knew, of  such violence as to render the voyage of the San  Gabriel exceedingly unsafe and dangerous and when, as the said accused well knew, by reason of all of the aforesaid, the said San Gabriel could not leave her moorings and pass into the waters of Manila Bay and on her voyage to Corregidor  without grave danger and  peril  of  being wrecked, foundered, and sunk at sea and  without grave danger  of the said Erisberta Garrido, a child  of tender years, and others whose names are unknown, who were then and there passengers aboard the said San Gabriel, as the said accused well knew, being shipwrecked with said vessel and drowned; that the said vessel San Gabriel while proceeding and being taken by the said accused, Pedro Eduardo, upon the voyage to Corregidor, as aforesaid,  and while within the  waters of Manila Bay and beyond the harbor limits of the city of Manila, by reason of being so overloaded by the accused, as aforesaid,  and by reason and  because of the unseaworthy condition  of  her hull, as aforesaid, and by reason  of bein& then and there a vessel of less than 96 tons burden, was unable  to resist the severe storm and stress of weather aforesaid and was then and there wrecked, foundered, and sunk in the waters of Manila Bay, whereby said Erisberta Garrido and others whose names are unknown were then and there drowned.

"That the said vessel San Gabriel was unable, by reason of said foundering and shipwreck, to come into any port of the Philippine Islands after she sailed from the said port of Manila, but the said Pedro Eduardo was rescued  and brought to the city of Manila on the 19th day of July, 1908, on the steam launch De la Rama, duly licensed and registered in the Philippine Islands,  under the  laws thereof; and the said Pedro Eduardo is now within the jurisdiction of this court; that all of the acts of negligence aforesaid were committed within the harbor of the city of Manila and within the jurisdiction of the Court  of First Instance of the city of Manila, but the foundering of the vessel at sea and the  death of the  said Erisberta Garrido and others, whose names are unknown,  took  place without the harbor of the city of Manila and within the waters of Manila Bay, navigable waters of  the Philippine Islands and more than 3 miles distant from any land, harbor, or port of the Philippine Islands.

"All contrary to law."

After hearing the  evidence adduced during the trial, the lower court found the defendant guilty, beyond any reason of doubt, of the crime charged in the complaint, and sentenced him to be imprisoned for one year and six months of presidio correccional, and to pay the costs.

From  this  sentence of the lower court the  defendant appealed.  No question is presented to  this court except the question of the sufficiency of the evidence adduced during the trial in the lower court to justify said sentence.

From an examination of the evidence adduced during the trial, the following facts seem to be proven, beyond peradventure of doubt:

First.  That the defendant, Pedro Eduardo, on the 16th of July,  1908, was  captain  in charge of the launch San Gabriel and had been such captain of said launch from the 13th of April, 1903.

Second. That said launch San Gabriel was a launch constructed of wood, with a gross tonnage of 43.94 tons, and on the 16th  of  July, 1908, was licensed  to carry thirty passengers only, together with a crew composed of eleven persons, composed of one captain, one machinist, four firemen, and five sailors.

Third. That on the said 16th of July, 1908, said launch was  anchored in the Pasig River, in the  city  of  Manila; that the hold was filled with freight and additional freight was  piled upon the deck; that a policeman who was near the place where the said launch was anchored just before the time of raising said anchor, forbade the captain from taking any more freight on  board, because of the then overloaded condition of said launch.

Fourth. That there was on board said launch  at the time it sailed out of the Pasig River into Manila Bay, about one hundred  passengers, more or less, among whom was one Erisberta Garrido, a child of tender years.

Fifth.  That there were no cabins for passengers on said launch, and that all the passengers were required to remain on deck, and that the launch was a single-deck launch.

Sixth.  That at and before the time  (16th of July, 1908) the said launch raised anchor, the ,second storm signal was displayed at the usual place for displaying such signals in the city of Manila, knowledge of which the defendant had.

Seventh. That the defendant had full knowledge of the provisions of the Customs Administrative Circular, No. 436, issued by the Hon.  H. B.  McCoy, Acting Insular Collector of Customs,  which contains  the following precautions  to captains  of vessels when the second  storm signal is displayed:

"Vessels shall strengthen their moorings.  It is deemed advisable that vessels shall send down light yards and masts. Steamers shall be ready to use their engines on short notice. Dangerous for small vessels to be in the bay.  Bancas must not leave the river."

Eighth, That the son of the owner of the vessel, Andres Gabriel, who had  under his control  the  disposition  and direction of  said launch, on the afternoon of the 15th of July, 1908, in view of the  bad condition of the weather, advised the machinist and the said captain, that they should not go out of the river on the following day.

Ninth. That a few days  before the said 16th of July, 1908, the said launch had collided with the stone wall or embankment of the Pasig River with  such force as might have weakened the frame of said launch.

Tenth. That notwithstanding  the instructions of the son of the owner of said  launch given to the defendant not to leave the river on the 16th of July, 1908; and notwithstanding the fact that the  hold was filled with freight and that additional freight was piled upon the single deck of said launch;  and notwithstanding the fact  that the  launch was loaded with one hundred passengers,  more or less,  being more than three times the number which she was permitted to  carry; and notwithstanding  the fact that  the  second storm  signal had  been displayed several hours; and notwithstanding  the fact that the  defendant knew that the second storm  signal had been displayed and was then displayed, he raised anchor and   left  the  Pasig  River and steamed out  into Manila Bay,  where, after two or more hours of sailing in the direction of Corregidor Island, in the face of a severe storm, the said  launch foundered and  one Erisberta Garrido, a child of tender years, and dthers whose names are unknown,  were then and there drowned; that ninety-five of the passengers who were on board the said launch at the time she foundered, and who were struggling in the water at or near the place where the said launch sunk, were rescued by other launches and bancas, which went to  the scene for that  purpose, the bodies of others being found a few days later on the shores of Manila Bay.

The  theory of the prosecution is  that the defendant is criminally liable under the provisions of article 568 of the Penal Code, in its first paragraph.  Said article provides that "he who shall execute through reckless negligence an act that, if done with malice, would constitute  a grave crime, shall be punished with the penalty of arresto mayor in its maximum  degree to prision correccional in  its minimum degree, and with arresto mayor in its minimum and medium degrees if it shall constitute a less grave crime."

The  crime  imputed to the  defendant here is  that he drowned Erisberta Garrido, which would, had it been done with malice, have constituted a grave crime.

The phrase "reckless negligence" is one most difficult to define.  Many courts have attempted to define it.  It seems impossible to  give an  exact definition of what constitutes "reckless negligence."  We do not attempt here to define it  Each case must  depend upon its own facts.  We deem it sufficient, under the facts and circumstances of the present case, to hold that the defendant did, through his  reckless negligence and without due regard for the safety of Erisberta Garrido and the other passengers on board the said launch  San Gabriel, raise the anchor of said  launch  and steam out of the  Pasig River into Manila Bay, in the face of a severe storm, while the boat was overloaded both with freight and passengers, where, by reason  of said negligence and overloading, Erisberta Garrido was drowned.

In our conclusions we have taken into consideration the decisions of the supreme court of Spain of the 7th of March, 1871; the 13th of May, 1874; the 3d of May, 1876; the 23d of December, 1887, and the 18th of October, 1899.

After a full consideration of all of the  facts and circumstances, we are of the opinion and so hold that the evidence shows,  beyond peradventure of doubt, that the defendant is guilty of a violation of the provisions of said article 568 of the Penal Code, and that  the penalty imposed  by the lower court was in accordance with the provisions of law; it is, therefore, hereby affirmed, with costs.  So ordered.

Arellano,  C. J., Torres, Mapa, Carson, Moreland,  and Elliott,  JJ., concur.