Case Digest (G.R. No. 116719)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Patricio Amigo alias Bebot, G.R. No. 116719, January 18, 1996, Supreme Court Third Division, Melo, J., writing for the Court.The prosecution (plaintiff-appellee) charged Patricio Amigo (accused-appellant) initially with frustrated murder by Information alleging that on December 29, 1989 in Davao City he stabbed Benito Ng Suy several times with treachery and evident premeditation but the victim lived because of timely medical assistance; Amigo pleaded not guilty. After the victim later died, the prosecutor filed an amended Information charging murder.
The trial proceeded and the court of first instance found that on December 29, 1989 an automobile collision occurred between the victim’s Ford Fiera and an orange Tamaraw driven by Virgilio Abogada in which Amigo was a passenger. A verbal quarrel ensued; Amigo repeatedly taunted the victim about being Chinese and then produced a five‑inch knife and stabbed Benito multiple times in the chest, abdomen and other areas while bystanders failed to interpose. The victim underwent surgery, was later airlifted to Manila, and ultimately died of sepsis after three weeks of hospitalization.
The trial court convicted Amigo of murder under Article 248, sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, and ordered indemnities and damages (P93,214.70 actual; P50,000 compensatory; P50,000 moral). Amigo appealed, arguing that because Article III, Section 19(1) of the 1987 Constitution had by then abolished the death penalty (and, before Republic Act No. 7659), the proper penalty range for murder without mitigating/aggravating circumstances should be derived downward from reclusion perpetua to the medium period of reclusion temporal (17 years, 4 months, 1 day to 20 years), citing Article 64, par. 1, RPC.
The case reached the Supreme Court by ordinary appeal from the trial court’s conviction. The Court considered prior decisions—most notably People v. Munoz—and the interplay ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did Article III, Section 19(1) of the 1987 Constitution, by prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty, require a re‑distribution of the penalty periods under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code (i.e., convert the statutory ranges so that murder without modifying circumstances is punished by a reduced term of reclusion temporal rather than reclusion perpetua)?
- If Article III, Section 19(1) did not effect such a redistribution, what is the proper penalty for murder committed without attending modifying circumstances when the death penalty is no longer imposable?
- Does the Court have discretion to reduce the imposed penalty on grounds of mercy or...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)