Case Digest (G.R. No. 154466)
Facts:
Climaco Amora v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 154466, January 28, 2008, the Supreme Court Third Division, Nachura, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner is Climaco Amora; respondent is the People of the Philippines.On June 27, 1993 a fire originated in the building that petitioner used as his residence and as a bakery; the blaze also destroyed nearby houses. The building stood on a lot owned by Adelfa Maslog Tagaytay under a lease previously entered into between her father and petitioner for twenty years at P50.00 monthly; the lease was to expire on July 10, 1993 and Adelfa had informed petitioner on January 4, 1993 that she would not renew the lease.
On January 14, 1993 petitioner procured two fire insurance policies over the building — one from Malayan Insurance Company for P150,000 and another from Makati Insurance Company for P300,000 — amounts substantially in excess of the building’s market value (P52,590 in the 1985 Tax Declaration). Investigators who examined the scene prepared a report concluding that the fire was intentionally set. Witnesses placed petitioner in his residence immediately before the fire and later in a neighbor’s shop during the conflagration.
Petitioner was charged by Information with Destructive Arson under P.D. No. 1613, alleged to have acted with intent of gain to collect the insurance proceeds; he pleaded not guilty. After trial the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 47, Tagbilaran City, found petitioner guilty and imposed an indeterminate sentence of 17 years, 4 months and 1 day to 20 years of reclusion temporal as minimum and maximum respectively. The Court of Appeals (CA), in CA-G.R. CR No. 23853, affirmed the conviction but modified the penalty to an indeterminate term of 12 years, 5 months and 11 days to 18 years, 8 months and 1 day of reclusion temporal. Petitioner filed a Petition for Review on ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was petitioner’s guilt for Destructive Arson proven beyond reasonable doubt? ...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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