329 Phil. 182
PADILLA, J.:
"That on or about the 26th day of December 1987 at about 6:00 o’clock in the evening at sitio Palanipan, Barangay Barahan, municipality of Sta. Cruz, province of Occidental Mindoro, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, the above-named accused, with intent to kill, with treachery and taking advantage of superior strength, armed with deadly weapons (bolo and balisong) conspiring, confederating and helping one another, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously attack, assault and hack with said weapons one BIENVENIDO DELA CRUZ, thereby inflicting upon the latter fatal wounds which have been the cause of his direct and immediate death."[1]When arraigned, accused-appellants pleaded "Not Guilty."[2] Thereafter, trial on the merits ensued wherein the prosecution and the defense adduced their respective evidence.
"Delia Fetalver, Nelia Denila, Leonora de la Cruz, and Dr. Rodolfo Jovellano testified for the prosecution.The defense on the other hand presented accused-appellants Leodegario Ramos and Nilo Alfaro, their respective wives, Elsita Ramos and Cristina Alfaro, Desabilita Dawis and Raymundo Regudo.
Nelia Denila, principal witness for the prosecution, declared that at about 6:00 o’clock in the evening of December 26, 1987, she and Roberto were inside the yard of Lucero Iniego at sitio Palanipan, Barahan, Sta Cruz, Occidental Mindoro preparing to leave for Barahan when she saw Leodegario Ramos walking with his hand around the shoulder of Bienvenido de la Cruz, together with his two (2) companions; that upon seeing the four, she as well as her son Roberto concealed by the side of a tree for she got afraid because of their loud voices, then she saw Bienvenido de la Cruz being stabbed by Leodegario while Willy Anova was holding the former; that Nilo Alfaro also drew his knife and stabbed Bienvenido dela Cruz who was hit; that Willy Anova similarly unsheathed his bolo and hacked Bienvenido dela Cruz who was hit on his left face, causing the latter to fall on a prone position; that after Bievenido fell to the ground, he was hacked anew on the shoulder; that Oding Ramos then grabbed the bolo from Willy Anova and the former eventually hacked Bienvenido de la Cruz, and finally the malefactors left the scene by crossing An-an River towards the direction of Dayap; that after the culprits had left, she and Roberto went back to their hut at Palanipan; the following morning she ultimately proceeded to Barahan (t.s.n. pp. 8-12, October 24, 1988).
Delia Fetalver told the Court that at about 10:00 o’clock in the morning of December 26, 1987, the three (3) accused went to her house at Barahan, Sta. Cruz, Occidental Mindoro looking for her brother Danny (Danilo) because the latter separated from his wife Thelma Ramos who is the sister of Leodegario Ramos. Willy and Leodegario were both carrying a bolo while Nilo was carrying a knife. Unable to find Danny, they went to the house of her brother Ben and her cousin Delia. Duenas for the same purpose. When they failed to find Danny, Leodegario got Danny’s bicycle from Ben’s house and left a message that they would wait for Danny at his house. (t.s.n. - pp. 11-21, August 15, 1988)
The following morning at about 8:00 o’clock, December 27, 1987, Barangay Captain Sergio Telebrico informed her that her father, Bievenido de la Cruz, was found dead at Palanipan, Barahan, Sta. Cruz, Occidental Mindoro. After seeking the help of Rolly Pajayon, they proceeded to the place where they saw her dead father. She went back to Barahan to report the matter to her mother who directed her son and son-in-law to go to Sta. Cruz to inform the authorities about the death of their father (t.s.n - pp. 21-24, Ibid).
Leonora de la Cruz testified that at about 6:00 o’clock in the evening of December 26, 1987, Leodegario Ramos, Willy Anova and Nilo Alfaro went to her house looking for her son Danilo as well as her husband Bienvenido de la Cruz. She told the trio that Danilo is not around, but her husband is at the side of the river getting some camote which was eaten by wild pigs. After receiving negative replies to their queries, the group left and as they were leaving, Bievenido arrived and when informed that the trio were looking for him, Bienvenido called for them but (they) made no response. Hence, Bievenido followed and approached the three. Leodegario then placed his hand on the shoulder of Bienvenido and the four of them walked away towards Lucero (Leoncio) Iniego’s place. Bievenido failed to return the whole night of December 26. However, the following day about 8:00 A.M., she saw her deceased husband at An-an river (t.s.n. - pp. 6-10, Nov. 24, 1988).
Dr. Rodolfo Jovellano testified relative to the examination he conducted on the remains of Bienvenido de la Cruz and his findings were indicated in the Medico-Legal Certificate (Exhibit "B")."[3]
"WHEREFORE, finding the accused LEODEGARIO RAMOS and NILO ALFARO guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Murder, qualified by treachery, defined and penalized under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code, the Court hereby sentences each of them to an indeterminate penalty of TWELVE (12) YEARS and ONE (1) DAY as minimum to TWENTY (20) YEARS of reclusion temporal as maximum, and to jointly indemnify the heirs of Bievenido de la Cruz the sum of P30,000.00.On appeal to the Court of Appeals, the judgment appealed from was modified as follows:
SO ORDERED."[10]
"Considering our above findings, We recommend that the appealed decision of the lower court in Criminal Case No. Z-445 should be MODIFIED insofar as increasing the imposable penalty to the accused-appellants for the crime of Murder to Reclusion Perpetua, as well as the death indemnity due to the heirs of the victim from P30,000 to P50,000 in accordance with prevailing jurisprudence. The rest of the decision can be AFFIRMED in all respects, with costs against accused-appellants.The case is thus before this Court with accused-appellants raising only one issue namely:
Given Our said findings and recommendation in this appealed case for the imposition of the maximum penalty of Reclusion Perpetua to accused-appellants, this Court without entering judgment, hereby certifies this case to the Honorable Supreme Court for automatic review and this Court’s Division Clerk is hereby directed to elevate the entire record of this case to the Supreme Court (People v. Cruz, 203 SCRA 682)."[11]
"WHETHER OR NOT THE EVIDENCE ADDUCED BY THE PROSECUTION HAS ESTABLISHED PROOF BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT OF THE CRIME OF MURDER AND AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES AS TO JUSTIFY THE IMPOSITION OF THE SEVERE PENALTY OF RECLUSION PERPETUA"[12]The time-honored rule in this jurisdiction is that findings of trial courts on credibility of witnesses deserve respect as they had occasion to observe the deportment of witnesses during trial.[13]
"Nelia Denila gave a vivid and detailed account of how the accused attacked and killed the victim with their bolos and knife. Such account of the incident can only be made by [a] witness who was actually present at the scene during the commission of the offense. Moreover, the testimony of Denila as regards the manner the victim was attacked by the accused and the weapons used by the latter dovetailed with the nature and character of the wounds found on the victim by Dr. Jovellano described as follows:The testimony of Denila is consistent with and corroborated by the testimonies of Leonora dela Cruz and Delia Fetalver, the victim’s wife and daughter respectively, who testified that as early as ten o’clock in the morning of 26 December 1987 the accused-appellants together with accused Willy Anova were looking for Danilo, the victim’s son because Danilo had recently separated from his wife Thelma who was accused Leodegario Ramos’ sister. Delia further testified that all the accused were carrying bladed weapons when they went to her house looking for Danilo while Leonora testified that the accused were specifically looking for Danilo and the victim in the evening when the latter was killed. Moreover, the victim was last seen by Leonora talking to the three (3) accused while walking towards a certain Lucero (Leoncio) Iniego’s place which was in the immediate vicinity where the victim’s body was found on 27 December 1987.
1. Wound hacked 15 cm. left side of the face;
2. Wound stabbed 1.0 cm. 6th ICS anterior axillary line right side;
3. Wound stabbed 5.0 cm. 7th ICS anterior axillary line left side;
4. Wound stabbed 5.0 cm. 7th ICS mid axillary line left side;
5. Hacked wound nape area almost the head from the body;
6. Hacked wound 1 foot extending from the nape down to the shoulder area left."[16]