514 Phil. 472
CHICO-NAZARIO, J.:
Appellant [petitioner herein] is charged of (sic) Murder committed as follows:On 24 March 1999, petitioner filed a motion to dismiss on demurrer to evidence[5] arguing that the combination of prosecution's evidence failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt for the killing of Gayutin. As for his alleged illegal possession of firearm for which he was charged in Criminal Case No. 13370,[6] and which case was jointly tried with the murder charge, petitioner maintained that no reliable and independent evidence was presented before the court to prove that a caliber .38 revolver bearing Serial No. 03326 was indeed confiscated from him. The prosecution's lone witness on this matter, P/Senior Inspector Pacaldo, did not personally witness the actual taking of the supposed illegally possessed gun as the same was merely turned over to him by a certain SPO2 Rafols.That on or about the 21st day of November, 1996, at more or less 11:30 in the evening, at Rainbow Lodging and Sing-along Bar, Barangay Poblacion, Municipality of Taytay, Province of Palawan, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the said accused with treachery and evident premeditation and with intent to kill and while armed with a firearm did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and shoot one PO3 RONILO GOOT GAYUTIN, PNP, hitting him on his head that caused multiple skull fracture involving the temporal and occipital bones which was the direct and immediate cause of his death.Upon arraignment, appellant pleaded not guilty to the charge, whereupon trial on the merits commenced.
CONTRARY TO LAW.
The evidence for the prosecution established the following:
On the night of November 21, 1996, PO3 Ronilo Goot Gayutin (Gayutin), together with Napoleon Batoy (Batoy) and Jerry Reyes (Reyes), arrived at Rainbow Sing-Along and Lodging House located at Poblacion, Taytay, Palawan. They ordered beer and started to sing along to the music of the videoke machine. After consuming one bottle of beer, Gayutin joined the group of appellant seated at another table. Batoy went to Room 4 of the Lodging House where they had checked-in.
Moments later, Reyes say Gayutin happily conversing with appellant as the two were long lost friends. Batoy, who came back from Room 4 was introduced by Gayutin to appellant. He saw the two, whom he knew to have been long time friends, happily conversing with each other. After a few minutes, Reyes lost sight of Gayutin and appellant. However, Ricardo Pe (Pe), the owner and operator of the joint, saw them enter the comfort room together. At that moment, Batoy, who had by then rejoined Reyes at their table stood up and proceeded to the comfort room to relieve himself.
Upon entering the comfort room, Batoy saw appellant strangling with his left hand Gayutin while the latter was struggling to free himself. Although their backs were turned against Batoy, the latter was able to recognize appellant's face as he turned for it was illuminated by the comfort room light. Batoy thereafter called for Reyes to pacify the two.
When Reyes saw Batoy waving with a flashlight, he immediately went to the comfort room and saw appellant still strangling Gayutin with his left hand while his right hand was raised up to his waistline as "if holding something." But he could not see what it was as he was positioned behind the two. He tapped the shoulders of appellant and Gayutin. He told appellant twice "Kuya Orly, huwag po, kasamahan po namin yan, bali escort ng Club Noah iyan." Appellant, however, told him to get out if he [did not] want to get involved. He then left as instructed and went straight to the counter and asked the owner to call the police. After 3 or 4 seconds, they heard a gunshot from the comfort room which caused the customers to scamper away. Reyes, who was left inside the Bar, saw appellant come out of the comfort room. Another witness, Zosimo Abis, Jr. (Abis, Jr.) saw appellant come out of the comfort room with bloodstains on his clothing and holding a .45 caliber pistol handgun. Appellant pointed the pistol at Abis, Jr. and his companion. After cocking it several times, one live bullet was ejected from its chamber. After appellant left, Reyes and Abis, Jr. went out of the bar. Reyes joined Batoy in their room. Abis, Jr. proceeded straight to the house of his brother SPO1 Arturo Abis, and reported the incident to him.
When Reyes and Batoy went back inside the bar, they saw the dead, bloodstained body of Gayutin sprawled on the comfort room floor.
Thereafter, SPO1 Arturo Abis arrived and immediately conducted an investigation. He found the body of Gayutin prostrate on the pavement on the floor of the comfort room with one bullet wound at the back of his head. He found a broken slug of an undetermined caliber inside the comfort room, a live bullet of a caliber .45 pistol outside the door of the comfort room and an empty bullet shell of the same caliber outside the bar. He likewise saw bloodstains on the wall of the comfort room. He then took pictures of the physical evidence. From the testimonies of witnesses, he learned that appellant gunned down Gayutin.
The following day, November 22, [1996], at the PNP Police Station of Roxas, Palawan, P/Senior Inspector Leopoldo Pacaldo, the Chief of Police, received an order from the Provincial Director of Palawan, directing him to arrest appellant who allegedly shot Gayutin to death. He then instructed his deputy to check all the vehicles coming from Taytay and to look for and arrest appellant who might be on board. Later, his men came back together with appellant. Inside his office, one of the policemen noticed that something was bulging on appellant's waistline so he asked the latter whether he has a firearm to surrender to which appellant asked for a receipt. Thereafter, Pacaldo received a radio call from the Provincial Director instructing him to personally escort appellant to the Provincial Headquarters. Before leaving, Pacaldo instructed his deputy to take over and the chief investigator to prepare the receipt. When he came back, SPO2 Rafols gave him the gun confiscated from appellant, a caliber .38 revolver with Serial Number 03326. Appellant was given a copy of the receipt. They then boarded a jeep going to the Provincial Headquarters.
Pacaldo admitted that his men were not armed with a warrant of arrest when they brought appellant to the police station; that appellant was not provided with a lawyer. Although he did not personally see the actual turn over of the gun to SPO2 Rafols, he was sure that it was the gun confiscated from the appellant.
Dr. Eduardo Cruz, the Municipal Health Officer of Taytay, Palawan conducted an autopsy on November 22, 1996. He found out that Gayutin died of a single gunshot wound on his head, the bullet entering the back thereof and the slug breaking into two with the first having exited at the side of the head just below the right ear and the other exiting at the right temple. The bullet wound caused the instantaneous death of Gayutin.
For the defense, the evidence established the following;
At about 11:30 in the evening of November 21, 1996, appellant was drinking a bottle of beer inside a sing-along bar at Taytay, Palawan. Gayutin approached him and exchanged pleasantries. Gayutin introduced him to a certain Napoleon Batoy. Thereafter, he excused himself and went to the comfort room. Gayutin likewise went to the comfort room and they again exchanged pleasantries. After urinating, appellant left Gayutin behind along with two other persons inside the comfort room. When he went back to his table, he heard a gunshot and the people inside the bar scampered away. He also ran away and went home.
After the November 21, 1996 incident, no one from the Taytay Police Station arrested or questioned him. Neither did they inform him that he was a suspect in the shooting of Gayutin.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Court finds accused Orlando Solis Ungsod guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Homicide and, there being no mitigating nor aggravating circumstance and applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, hereby imposes upon the accused the penalty of imprisonment from twelve (12) years and one (1) day to fourteen (14) years and eight (8) months.Petitioner seasonably filed his notice of appeal. However, in the decision now assailed before us, the Court of Appeals sustained the trial court's finding with respect to petitioner's guilt as well as the award of damages but modified the period of his imprisonment, thus:
Accused Orlando Solis Ungsod is directed to pay the surviving spouse of victim PO3 Ronilo Goot Gayutin the amount of P50,000.00 as civil indemnity and, as no claim for actual damages was made as the same was reimbursed by the Philippine National Police (PNP), to pay said surviving spouse the amount of P50,000.00 as moral damages and the amount of P25,000.00 as attorney's fees.[10]
WHEREFORE, foregoing premises considered, the Decision dated January 15, 2000 is hereby AFFIRMED with MODIFICATION. Appellant is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment from 6 years and 1 day of prision mayor as minimum, to 14 years and 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum. The award of damages is likewise affirmed.[11]With the subsequent denial of his motion for reconsideration, petitioner is now before this Court raising the following issues for our resolution:
Petitioner argues that the Court of Appeals erred in adopting the eight attending circumstances enumerated above and that assuming them to be true, still, the combination of these circumstances does not support a finding of guilt against petitioner. The fact that petitioner was seen by Batoy and Reyes strangling Gayutin before the gunshot was heard does not readily point to petitioner as the one who inflicted the fatal shot in the absence of proof that he was armed with a caliber .45 revolver at that time.There is no question that petitioner's conviction by the trial court was based purely on circumstantial evidence, to wit:
- Whether or not the facts constituting the circumstantial evidence found by the trial court and adopted by the court a quo [sic] to be present are sufficient to support the conviction of the petitioner; and
- Whether or not the award of attorney's fees and moral damages were correct.[12]
(a) On the night of November 21, 1996 at around 11:00 o'clock in the evening, both the accused and the victim, PO3 Ronilo Goot Gayutin, were at the Rainbow Lodging and Sing-along Bar in Barangay Poblacion, Taytay, Palawan;
(b) The accused and Gayutin were seen by Jerry Reyes and Napoleon Badoy inside the comfort room of that establishment and Gayutin was being strangled by Ungsod with his left hand, while the two were struggling with each other. The right hand of the accused was in his waistline (TSN, April 13, 1998, pp. 7, 15);
(c) When Jerry Reyes tried to pacify the two, the accused told him, "kung ayaw ninyong madamay lumabas kayo" (TSN, April 13, 1998, p. 7; March 23, 1998, pp. 11-12);
(d) A moment later, a gunshot was heard from inside the comfort room occupied by the accused and Gayutin (TSN, April 13, 1998, p. 8; March 23, 1998, p. 12);
(e) The accused immediately left the bar, and Jerry Reyes, Napoleon Badoy and Ricardo Pe (owner of the bar) looked inside the comfort room and found that Gayutin had been shot to death and was sprawled on the floor of the comfort room (TSN, March 23, 1998, p. 14; April 13, 1998, p. 10; June 9, 1998, p. 9);
(f) SPO1 Arturo Abis who arrived at the bar that same night found a slug and holster and one live ammo of a caliber .45 gun inside the comfort room where Gayutin's body was found (TSN, March 2, 1998, pp. 24-25);
(g) The accused is a [licensed] holder of a pistol, Remington, Caliber .45 with serial number 1762897 (Certification, Exh. "U");
(h) Dr. Eduardo Cruz, who made the autopsy report, stated that the victim died instantaneously of Neurogenic shot underlying a gunshot wound in the head. The slug exited from two points of exit (TSN, March 30, 1998, p. 9).
. . . No general rule can be laid down as to the quantity of circumstantial evidence which in any case will suffice. All the circumstances proved must be consistent with each other, consistent with the hypothesis that the accused is guilty, and at the same time inconsistent with the hypothesis that he is innocent, and with every other rational hypothesis except that of guilt.In this case, we hold that the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution warrants the finding of guilt of petitioner. Under Rule 133, Section 4, of the Rules of Court, it is stated that there is sufficiency in circumstantial evidence when: 1) there is more than one circumstance; 2) the facts from which the inferences are derived are proven; 3) the combination of all the circumstances is such as to produce a conviction beyond reasonable doubt. The circumstances earlier enumerated upon which the conviction of petitioner was anchored satisfactorily meet the requirements of the rules.
It has been said, and we believe correctly, that the circumstances proved should constitute an unbroken chain which leads to one fair and reasonable conclusion which points to the accused, to the exclusion of all others, as the guilty person. From all the circumstances, there should be a combination of evidence which in the ordinary and natural course of things, leaves no room for reasonable doubt as to his guilt. Stated in another way, where the inculpatory facts and circumstances are capable of two or more explanations, one of which is consistent with innocence and the other with guilt, the evidence does not fulfill the test of moral certainty and is not sufficient to convict the accused.[17]