462 Phil. 330
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
That on or about the 7th day of June 1999, in Quezon City, Philippines, the said accused, with intent to kill, qualified by evident premeditation and treachery taking advantage of superior strength, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously commence the commission of the crime of murder directly by overt acts by then and there stabbing one GERY QUEZON y BUO with a fan knife, but the said accused was not able to perform all the acts of execution which would produce the crime of murder as a consequence by reason of some causes, other than by his own spontaneous desistance, that is, said GERY QUEZON y BUO was able to parry the thrust, to the damage and prejudice of the said offended party.He was charged of murder in an Information, the accusatory portion of which reads:
CONTRARY TO LAW.[2]
That on or about the 7th day of June 1999, in Quezon City, Philippines, the said accused, with intent to kill, qualified by evident premeditation and treachery, taking advantage of superior strength, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and feloniously attack, assault and employ personal violence upon the person of SONY QUEZON y BUO, by then and there stabbing the victim with a fan knife, hitting him on the chest, while said victim was sleeping, thereby inflicting upon said SONY QUEZON y BUO serious mortal wound, which was the direct and immediate cause of his untimely death, to the damage and prejudice of the heirs of the said accused.The appellant was arraigned on June 28, 1999, assisted by counsel, and entered a plea of not guilty.
CONTRARY TO LAW. [3]
The prosecution presented Dr. Tomas Suguitan, the medico-legal officer who conducted the autopsy on the body of the victim of the murder case, Sony Quezon y Buo; Gery Quezon y Buo, the prosecution's eyewitness; PO2 Marlon Rivera, the police investigator; Dr. Aida Ico, the medico-legal officer who treated the victim in the attempted murder case, Gery Quezon y Buo; and S/G Rotelo Miro, the security guard of Baliwag Bus Terminal, whose testimonies may be summed as follows:The trial court rendered judgment convicting the appellant of the crimes charged, the decretal portion of which reads:
On June 7, 1999 at 4:00 in the morning, inside the construction site at Annapolis Street, Cubao, Quezon City, Gery Quezon, the victim in the attempted murder case (Crim. Case No. Q-99-84269) and his brother, Sony Quezon, the victim in the murder case (Crim. Case No. Q-99-84270) were sleeping when the accused, Alex Flores, a co-worker of the victims, who slept on the upper portion of the building being constructed, suddenly stabbed the chest of Sony Quezon who was lying on the floor. Thereafter, Gery Quezon, who was sleeping near his brother Sony Quezon heard his brother shouting "Putang ina mo" that awakened him. Before Gery Quezon could help his brother, the accused suddenly stabbed Gery Quezon twice with a batangas knife which the latter was able to parry. The two (2) stabbing thrusts, however, caused injuries on Gery's hands. Thereafter, the accused, Alex Flores, ran while the two brothers, Sony and Gery, gave chase. The two (2) brothers, Gery and Sony, however, failed to catch up with the accused as the latter was running very fast and Sony Quezon suddenly stumbled on the pavement. When Gery Quezon saw his brother stumbling on the pavement, Gery Quezon carried and boarded him to the hospital. At the hospital, Gery Quezon was treated as may be shown from the Medical Certificate (Exhs. "F" to "F-2"), while Sony Quezon was declared dead on arrival. As a result of the incident, Gery Quezon executed a Sworn Statement (Exhs. "G" to "G-2") detailing as to how the stabbing incident took place.
In the meantime, the accused Alex Flores, who ran away from the construction site, was seen in the vicinity of the Baliwag Transit not far from the place of the incident by a tricycle driver who called the attention of security guard, Rotelo Miro, from the bus station. Alex Flores was immediately apprehended by the said security guard. The accused was turned over to the police station for further investigation. Security guard Rotelo Miro later on gave his sworn statement (Exhs. "J" & "J-1") to the police investigator.
Meanwhile, police investigators led by PO2 Marlon Rivera, respondent to the crime scene and found within the vicinity of the place of the incident a balisong or lanseta which the police officer turned over to the Crime Laboratory Services to determine the presence of human blood as evidenced by the Letter-Referral addressed to the PNP Crime Laboratory Services (Exhs. "I" to "I-2").
The body of Sony Quezon was then referred to the PNP Crime Laboratory for autopsy as seen in the Letter-Request dated June 7, 1999 (Exhs. "A" & "A-1") and in connection therewith, Gery Quezon, brother of Sony Quezon, executed a Certificate of Identification and Consent for Autopsy (Exhs. "B" & "B-1").
Dr. Tomas Suguitan, medico-legal officer, then conducted an autopsy on the body of Sony Quezon and placed in writing his findings in Medico-Legal Report No. M-0512-99 (Exhs. "C" to "C-4"), the pertinent findings of which state as follows:Aside from the Medico-Legal Report, Dr. Suguitan likewise prepared a human sketch detailing the locations of the wounds (Exhs. "D" to "D-2") sustained by the victim. Finally, he prepared a Certificate of Death (Exhs. "E" to "E-3") of Sony Quezon which he signed at the dorsal portion....
- Abrasion, frontal region, measuring 0.5 x 0.2 cm., 6.5 cms. right of the anterior midline.
- Stab wound, left mammary region, measuring 1.7 x 0.7 cm., 1.5 cms. from the anterior midline, 8 cms. deep, 119 cms. from the heel, directed posteriorwards, upwards and medialwards, fracturing the sternum at the level of the 3rd rib, piercing the pericardial sac and the ascending aorta.
...
Dr. Suguitan gave the expert opinion that the victim died because of the stab wound on the chest (Exhs. "D" to "D-2") as it penetrated the aorta, a big blood vessel which connected directly to the heart, and the stab wound was caused by a bladed instrument. He further testified that the abrasions might have been caused by a direct contact of the skin with a rough surface and are consistent with falling to the ground.
Gery Quezon, the eyewitness and the victim of the attempted murder case, was himself treated at the East Avenue Medical Center for his wounds by Dr. Aida Ico which medico-legal findings are embodied in the Medico-Legal Certificate issued on June 7, 1999 (Exhs. "F" to F-2"), the pertinent portion of which are hereby quoted as follows:The trial court summarized the evidence of the appellant, thus:... After the investigation of the case and the pieces of evidence already collated, P/Insp. Timoteo Gascon Pacleb made a Letter-Referral (Exhs. "H" to"H-2") addressed to the Office of the City Prosecutor for the conduct of inquest proceedings.[4]
- laceration dorsum, L wrist (4 cms.)
- laceration web bet. thumb & index finger L (4 cms.).
On June 6, 1999 at about 11:00 in the evening, the accused was having a drinking session with Gery, the victim in the attempted murder case, and a certain Rick inside the construction site at Annapolis Street, Cubao, Quezon City. Gery and Rick had a heated argument regarding the liquor that they were drinking. Because there was so much noise, he called Gery's attention and demanded him to be quiet which irritated Gery. Thereafter, he went to the upper floor on the left side while Gery and Rick were left behind. At 4:00 in the morning of the following day, while he was going down near the door, Gery hit him with a piece of wood. After he was hit, he turned around and picked up a piece of wood and both he and Gery were struggling for the possession of a piece of wood. During the struggle, the fan knife of Gery Quezon fell from Gery's waist to the ground which he picked up. While Gery was attacking him, he saw Gery's brother armed with a piece of wood and at that point, the two Quezon brothers hit him with pieces of wood and in defense of himself, the knife he picked up was used by him to repel and prevent the attack of the two (2) brothers which unfortunately hit the chest of Sony Quezon. Thereafter, he ran away and proceeded to the Baliwag Bus Terminal to surrender to the police authorities. Thereat, he was arrested by the security guard and was later brought to the hospital for treatment of the wounds he sustained as shown in the Medico-Legal Certificate dated June 7, 1999 (Exhs. "1" & "1-A" issued by Dr. Enouel Steve C. Battung of the East Avenue Medical Center, which is quoted as follows:...
"Laceration, 2 cms. (L) zygomatic area."...
Aside from the medico-legal certificate, the doctor likewise prepared a diagram (Exhs. "2" to "2-C") indicating the location of the wound.[5]
Q | And what happened to you after you were hit with a piece of wood? | |
A | I turned around and picked up the piece of wood. | |
Q | What part of the body were you hit when you (sic) first hit by Gery? | |
A | My back. (Witness pointing to his back at the left portion of his shoulder.) | |
Q | What happened next after you were able to get a piece of wood? | |
A | We hit each other with a piece of wood that we were holding. | |
Q | After that, what happened next? | |
A | While we were hitting with (sic) each other with the piece of wood, his fan knife fell. | |
Q | After that, what happened next? | |
A | He picked it up. | |
Q | After picking it up, what happened next? | |
A | The two brothers helping (sic) each other in hitting me.[20] |
Q (sic) | The quarrel between Gery and I came ahead and we hit each other with a piece of wood, Your Honor, and after I hit him with a piece of wood on his arm, a knife fell to the ground and his brother Sony approached me and hit me on the check. I picked up the knife and I stabbed Sony on the chest. | |
Q | So when you were hit and you picked up the knife, where was Sony Quezon in relation to you? | |
A | He was seated on the chair inside the place where we were quarreling with his brother, Your Honor. | |
Q | So, what was the position of Sony Quezon when you stabbed him? | |
A | He was seated, Your Honor. | |
Q | Are you sure he was seated? | |
A | He was already standing when I stabbed him, Your Honor. | |
Q | I will ask you again. When he hit you with a piece of wood on the left cheek, you fell? | |
A | Yes, Your Honor. | |
Q | And then you picked up the knife? | |
A | Yes, Your Honor.[21] |
The court does not likewise believe the asseverations of the accused that the brothers Quezon hit him with pieces of wood several times before the accused stabbed Sony and Gery Quezon. For, if this were so, the accused could have suffered hematoma or contusion or at least an injury brought about by the use of a piece of wood. Albeit the accused tried to corroborate his claim of being hit by pieces of wood, he could only show a lacerated wound on the cheekbone which is not even a fatal wound. The lacerated wound could not even be considered a conclusive evidence that it was caused by a piece of wood as the wound could have been caused by the knife during the scuffle between the accused and Gery Quezon that ensued after the accused made two (2) stabbing thrusts on Gery Quezon. Notably, it is the evidence of the prosecution that is credible, consistent, and in accord with the physical evidence. Gery Quezon categorically and candidly testified that it was a knife that was used by the accused in inflicting a single stab wound on Sony Quezon's chest while he was sleeping. The medico-legal findings clearly show that a single penetrating stab wound with a trajectory of posteriorwards, upwards and medialwards at the chest with the use of a knife had caused the death of the victim. Gery Quezon likewise testified that he sustained stab wounds on his hands which he used in parrying the stabbing thrusts of the accused. Said claim is strongly supported by the medico-legal findings to the effect that Gery Quezon's hands sustained stab wounds. Physical evidence is mute but an eloquent manifestation of truth and rates high in the hierarchy of trustworthy evidence (People vs. Nepomuceno, 298 SCRA 450).[22]
COURT: (to the Witness) | ||
Q | So, why do you say that he was stabbed once? | |
A | Because I heard him shouting once and after I heard him shouting once, that was the time that I woke up, Your Honor. | |
Q | But by the time that you woke up, your brother was already stabbed? | |
A | Yes, Your Honor. | |
Q | And that you did not actually see your brother being stabbed once as you have claimed a while ago? | |
A | Yes, Your Honor. | |
ATTY. STA. ANA: (to the Witness) | ||
Q | And when you woke up, according to you, the accused stabbed you? | |
A | Yes, sir, when I woke up he also stabbed me. | |
Q | What was your position when Alex Flores stabbed you? | |
A | I was lying on top of the table with my two hands placed behind my head, sir. | |
Q | How come that you were able to parry the thrust of Alex Flores when both of your hands were pinned by your head? | |
A | When I was awakened, I saw Alex Flores making thrust at me and in the nick of time, I was able to parry his thrust, sir. | |
PROS : (to the Court) | ||
May we request that the vernacular be placed on record "sinangga ko ang saksak niya." | ||
COURT: Granted.[26] |