479 Phil. 53
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
GENERAL APPEARANCE: Body in a state of decomposition.On September 8, 1994, an Information was filed with the Regional Trial Court of Pampanga, Branch 57, charging Chua with murder. The accusatory portion of the Information reads:
HEENT: Caved-in fracture of (L) fronto-parietal area of the skull, caved-in fracture of left lower jaw (+) 6-inch curvilinear abrasion, (longitudinal) on (L) anterior neck, (+) fracture of cervical vertebrae.
CHEST/ABDOMEN: (+) discoloration & bloaching (sic) all over, body in a state of decomposition.
EXTREMITIES: No fracture, all extremities in flexed position.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Cardio-respiratory arrest due to asphyxiation and severe hemorrhage [Fracture of cervical vertebrae, (L) lower jaw & (L) fronto-parietal area of the skull.][9]
That on or about the 28th day of August 1994, in Brgy. San Nicolas II, Municipality of Magalang, Province of Pampanga, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill, qualified by treachery, abuse of superior strength and cruelty, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously assault, attack, box and hit with a piece of wood, a 12-year-old minor Danilo Bondoc y Ponay, without justifiable reason therefor and as a result of the continuous assault on the person of Danilo Bondoc y Ponay by the accused, said Danilo Bondoc y Ponay sustained fatal and serious physical injuries all over his body and accused, thereafter, threw the body of said Danilo Bondoc y Ponay into a hole dug by the accused and covered the same, resulting to the death of said Danilo Bondoc y Ponay shortly thereafter, to the damage and prejudice of the heirs of Danilo Bondoc y Ponay.The appellant, assisted by counsel, was duly arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty.
Contrary to law.[10]
WHEREFORE, finding the accused Vincent Henry Chua guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Murder, the Court hereby sentences him to suffer the penalty of 17 YEARS, 4 MONTHS and 1 DAY OF RECLUSION TEMPORAL, as minimum, to RECLUSION PERPETUA, as maximum, with full credit of his preventive imprisonment.On appeal, the Court of Appeals rendered judgment affirming the judgment of the trial court, but applied Article 63 of the Revised Penal Code and increased the penalty to reclusion perpetua. The appellate court considered the minority of the appellant merely as a generic mitigating circumstance, and concluded that such minority could not be considered a generic and a privileged mitigating circumstance at the same time. The appellate court certified the case to this Court for review, conformably to Rule 124, Section 13 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
As to the civil liability, the accused will indemnify the family of the victim as follows:
- Actual damages in the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (
P50,000.00);- Moral damages in the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (
P50,000.00);- Exemplary damages under Art. 2230 of the Civil Code of an appropriate amount of TWENTY THOUSAND PESOS (
P20,000.00); and- Attorney’s fees in the amount of FIFTEEN THOUSAND PESOS (
P15,000.00).[11]
The appellant asserts that the testimonies of Manabat and Sia are incredible. He contends that he was only seventeen years old when the crime was committed and, as such, he could not have committed the crime alone. He insists that there must have been others who assisted him in electrocuting the victim and in digging a knee-deep hole in which the victim was buried. He laments that the trial court even ignored the fact that Ignacio was convicted of carnapping.[13]I
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DISREGARDING THE FACT THAT THERE WAS A COVER-UP DONE BY THE POLICE AUTHORITIES OF MAGALANG, PAMPANGA, AS TO THE REAL IDENTITIES OF THE CULPRITS.II
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT HOLDING THAT THE VERSION OF THE PROSECUTION AS TO THE ALLEGED INCIDENT IS REPLETE WITH IMPROBABILITIES AND CONTRARY TO HUMAN EXPERIENCE.III
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT HOLDING THAT THE PROSECUTION EYEWITNESSES ARE ACTUATED WITH BAD MOTIVE IN IMPLICATING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT AS THE PERPETRATOR OF THE CRIME AND IN NOT DISCREDITING THE EYEWITNESSES OF THE COMMISSION OF THE CRIME.IV
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN DISREGARDING THE TESTIMONY OF DEFENSE WITNESS RODOLFO LA MADRID.V
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN CONVICTING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT OF THE CRIME OF MURDER.VI
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT CONSIDERING THE MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCE OF VOLUNTARY SURRENDER IN FAVOR OF THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT.VII
THE COURT A QUO ERRED IN ORDERING THE ACCUSED-APPELLANT TO PAYP50,000.00 AS ACTUAL DAMAGES,P50,000.00 AS MORAL DAMAGES,P20,000.00 AS EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ANDP15,000.00 AS ATTORNEY’S FEES.[12]
The revelation of Manabat and Santos were confirmed by Dr. Suzette Yalung, the one who made the autopsy on the cadaver of victim Danilo Bondoc, who testified that the cause of death of the victim was cardio-respiratory arrest and asphyxiation, severe hemorrhage, fracture of cervical vertebrae and left lower jaw and fracture on the left parietal area of the skull, the very injuries testified to by Manabat and Santos were the ones found by Dr. Yalung on the body of the victim confirming the authenticity of the former’s testimony.The Court of Appeals affirmed the findings of the trial court. The well-settled rule is that the findings of facts of the trial court, especially when affirmed by the Court of Appeals, are conclusive on this Court unless the trial court ignored, overlooked or misconstrued facts and circumstances which if considered warrants a revision or reversal of the outcome of the case.[15] We have reviewed the records and find no justification to deviate from the trial court’s findings.
The evidence also disclosed that victim Danilo Bondoc was tortured by the accused when he ran a 110-voltage electric wire in the palm and feet of the victim and that the victim was also mauled causing severe hemorrhage in his body.
Viewing the entire testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution, the Court finds the same to be consistent and corroborated one another, leading this Court to believe the same.
The Court also noted that Francis Ryan Manabat and Rodelito Santos did not waver but stood pat during their cross-examinations.
The Court did not find any motive for Manabat and Santos to pinpoint the accused as the culprit. There is no animosity nor bad blood between Manabat and Santos, on one hand, and the accused, on the other hand. In fact, Manabat and Santos are afraid of the accused because Vincent Henry Chua is a “siga” and “matapang” as per testimony of Rodelito Santos considering the fact that the family of the accused is the owner of the lot where the peryahan is located.[14]
Accused-appellant further denies having inflicted any injuries on the victim. He claims it was impossible for him to beat the boy to death and at the same time dig the small grave where the victim’s body was buried.Fourth. The appellant is not entitled to an acquittal simply because the police investigators did not include Ignacio, Santiago and Estanislao in their investigation, nor charge them, in tandem with the petitioner, for the death of Bondoc. The evidence on record shows that the involvement of Ignacio, Santiago and Estanislao was confined only to the tying of Bondoc’s hands and feet, on suspicion for robbery. When the appellant arrived at the scene, he took sole charge, tortured the victim and buried him alive. The policemen found no basis for charging the other helpers for the death of the victim. In fine, the appellant cannot invoke as basis for his acquittal the minor and inconsequential involvement of the helpers. We affirm the findings and disquisitions of the Court of Appeals on this matter, viz:
The evidence on record does not refute in any manner the capability of the accused to commit such acts of violence. On the contrary, appellant’s destructive behavior does not run counter to his psychological profile brought about by his drug dependency at the time of the incident. The record shows that accused-appellant’s own mother Ma. Antoinette L. Luciano had filed with the Regional Trial Court in Angeles City, a petition for the voluntary commitment of the accused-appellant in a drug rehabilitation center. ……
However, accused-appellant escaped from the Gabay Diwa Rehabilitation Center, thereby causing Ronald P. Balatbat, a psychologist of the said center, to recommend to the Angeles City Regional Trial Court the recommitment of accused-appellant. Acting on said recommendation, said court in its Order dated June 24, 1994, ordered the recommitment of accused-appellant for continuous treatment. But, again, accused escaped for the second time, thereby giving rise to another Recommitment Order dated August 29, 1994. ……
Clearly, on the day of the fatal incident, accused-appellant was a second-time escapee from the drug dependency rehabilitation program he was sentenced to undergo. This is indicative of accused-appellant’s unwillingness to be rehabilitated from his dependency to drugs. Undoubtedly, accused-appellant’s drug dependency was responsible for his violent behavior towards the victim.
Accused-appellant’s drug dependency and troublesome behavior was no surprise to the “peryahan” workers. They were aware that the carnival grounds belonged to the family of accused-appellant who resides some fifty (50) meters away from the “peryahan.” The proximity of the carnival grounds to the house of accused-appellant made it easy for him to frequent the place during daytime and nighttime as well. The “peryahan” workers observed accused-appellant as one that displayed a behavior characterized by them as a “bully” or “siga.” Accused-appellant’s drug dependency, reputation and influence deterred the “peryahan” workers, who were mere transients in Magalang, from intervening while accused-appellant was committing the crime. This was further bolstered when accused-appellant, who, after burying the victim, threatened the “peryahan” workers with harm if they would report what had just transpired to the police authorities. This explains why prosecution witnesses Romeo Ignacio and Jaime Estanislao were reluctant in divulging any information relative to the fatal incident while they were still in Magalang, and why they waited until they were relocated to Angeles before going to the police authorities to report the incident.
Prosecution witnesses Francisco Manabat and Rodelito Santos have positively identified accused-appellant as the one who inflicted upon the young victim such bodily harm. Manabat vividly recounted the entire incident from the time the victim was apprehended by the “peryahan” boys at the instance of a woman vendor to the time the accused-appellant took custody of the victim and started beating him which led to his untimely death. Santos who witnessed the accused-appellant struck and hit the victim with a piece of wood on the neck and jaw, causing the victim to fall down, materially corroborated this. The rule is the detailed testimony of a witness in a murder or homicide case acquires greater weight and credibility if it corresponds with the autopsy report.[16]
Anent the first assignment of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred when it totally disregarded and ignored the March 15, 1995 Decision of the Regional Director of the Philippine National Police Command III (PNP RECOM 3) in the administrative case filed by the appellant’s mother, Ma. Antoinette Luciano, against P/Insp. Romeo Layug and SPO4 Leonardo de Leon of the Magalang Police Station, wherein it found as haphazard and irregular the investigation conducted by the aforementioned officers involving the death of Danilo Bondoc.Fifth. The credibility of the testimonies of Manabat and Santos and the probative weight thereof were not affected by their failure to report the terrifying crime they witnessed, nor by the prosecution’s failure to present Ignacio as witness. As the Court of Appeals declared:
We do not subscribe to accused-appellant’s urgings. Precisely, in due course of this case, accused-appellant had moved for a reinvestigation in order “to determine who are the real culprits who killed the 12-yr.-old boy,” which the trial court granted without objection from the prosecution. During the reinvestigation, the statements of the accused-appellant, together with those of his witnesses, namely, Joemar (sic) Basa and Oliver Santos, were all re-evaluated. Thereafter, 1st Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Jesus Y. Manarang stood pat on his finding that a prima facie case for murder exists only with respect to accused-appellant, and recommended that the Information dated September 2, 1994 filed against the accused ought to be maintained.[17]
The facts reveal that the “peryahan” workers were the only witnesses who positively identified the accused-appellant as the one responsible for inflicting the fatal wounds on the victim. The notorious behavior and influential family background of the accused-appellant were among the reasons, which prevented these witnesses from reporting the incident to the police authorities in Magalang. Since they were all transients, they opted to keep their silence until they were able to transfer to Angeles City where the authorities there were informed of the incident. SPO2 Celso de Castro of the Angeles Police even testified that when the case was to be turned over to the Magalang Police, Romeo Ignacio was afraid of accompanying them to the Magalang police station. On the other hand, reporter Jun Sia of the Central Luzon Times testified that when he asked Romeo Ignacio why he reported the incident to the Angeles Police instead of the Magalang Police, the latter replied that accused-appellant was influential in Magalang, Pampanga.In sum, we find the decision of the Court of Appeals finding the appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the death of Danilo Bondoc to be in accord with the evidence on record and current jurisprudence.
What is more apparent is the fact that Romeo Ignacio and Jaime Estanislao were so afraid to appear at the preliminary investigation after having identified accused-appellant and given their respective statements on September 1, 1994. Nevertheless, the prosecution was able to present other witnesses in the persons of Francis Manabat and Rodelito Santos who initially refused to testify against the accused-appellant because they too were afraid of him. Then again, the two finally changed their minds and thereafter testified as a consequence of their desire to give justice to the victim.
A witness’ unwillingness to volunteer information regarding a particular crime due to fear of reprisal is common enough that it has been judicially declared as not affecting a witness’ credibility. Neither substantive nor procedural law requires any person witnessing a crime to immediately report the matter to the proper authorities or to give his statement thereon. Furthermore, the delay in reporting what a witness knows about a crime does not by itself render his testimony unworthy of belief if such delay has been adequately explained. It has, likewise, been held that a witness’ failure to volunteer information to law enforcement officers does not necessarily impair a witness’ credibility, and part of the reason for this is the reticence and fear of some people of getting involved in a criminal case.
Accused-appellant asserts that the trial court’s acquiescence of both the testimonies of Francis Manabat and Rodelito Santos which it later found credible as against that of defense witness Rodolfo La Madrid’s rejected testimony was unfair since both testimonies were belatedly given.
The threats to the lives of Francis Manabat and Rodelito Santos were apparent because their “kubols” were constructed on the land owned by the family of the accused-appellant whose place of residence was just a few meters away from the fence of the carnival grounds. On the other hand, Rodolfo La Madrid was not actually threatened by anyone from testifying, not even Romeo Ignacio, who, less than a week after the incident, left for Angeles City with his other fellow “peryahan” workers. By reason thereof, this Court agrees with the lower court when it found no cogent reason to give credibility to the belated testimony of Rodolfo La Madrid.
This Court finds no credence in accused-appellant’s argument that witnesses Francis Manabat and Rodelito Santos, who are related in some manner with Jaime Estanislao and Romeo Ignacio, were actuated by improper motive in testifying against appellant.
It would be very difficult to accept the averment of the defense that prosecution witnesses Francisco Manabat and Rodelito Santos, who were only 14 and 19 years old, respectively, when they testified, maliciously pointed to accused-appellant as the perpetrator of such a serious crime. Being of tender age, these two could not have survived a gruelling direct and cross-examination without being detected or exposed, had they decided to use their imagination in trying to render a detailed account of a murder. Not only did their testimonies stand the ultimate test of cross-examination but were also in consonance with the other evidence of the prosecution. It has been repeatedly held that when the issue is one of credibility of witnesses, appellate courts will generally not disturb the findings of the trial court. It is clear that the two had no other motive but to render justice to the victim and that of his family.[18]
- Upon a person under fifteen but over nine years of age, who is not exempted from liability by reason of the court having declared that he acted with discernment, a discretionary penalty shall be imposed, but always lower by two degrees at least than that prescribed by law for the crime which he committed.
- Upon a person over fifteen and under eighteen years of age, the penalty next lower than that prescribed by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period.
[23] People vs. Delim, 396 SCRA 386 (2003).
- When the penalty prescribed for the crime is composed of two indivisible penalties, or of one or more divisible penalties to be imposed to their full extent, the penalty next lower in degree shall be that immediately following the lesser of the penalties prescribed in the respective graduated scale.