Case Digest (G.R. No. 60764)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Roberto Bardon, G.R. No. 60764, September 19, 1988, Supreme Court Second Division, Paras, J., writing for the Court. The plaintiff-appellee was the People of the Philippines; the accused-appellant was Roberto Bardon (co-accused Ernesto Zapanta and Alfredo Indona were charged but remained at large).In a Second Amended Information dated March 11, 1981, Bardon and two others were charged with murder for the killing of Francisco Roque on or about August 6, 1980. The information alleged that the accused, "conniving and confederating together and mutually helping one another, armed with an ax, knife and stone, with deliberate intent to kill and with treachery and evident premeditation," attacked and inflicted multiple stab and hack wounds upon Roque, causing his instantaneous death.
Only Bardon was apprehended and tried before the Criminal Circuit Court, 14th Judicial District, Cebu City. After trial the court found Bardon guilty of murder, appreciated mitigating circumstances of sufficient provocation and passion and obfuscation, but also found aggravating circumstances of night-time, abuse of superiority and use of a motor vehicle; it sentenced Bardon to reclusion perpetua, ordered indemnity of P12,000 to the heirs, and costs. Bardon appealed, arguing (1) erroneous conviction, (2) that the killing was at most simple homicide rather than murder by treachery, (3) improper appreciation of the aggravating circumstances (night-time, abuse of superior strength, use of a motor vehicle), and (4) erroneous penalty (reclusion perpetua instead of prision mayor in its proper period).
The prosecution presented eyewitness testimony of the victim’s ten-year-old son, Riel Roque, who identified Bardon as the man who stopped a Ford Fiera, alighted with an ax and, together with companions, attacked and fatally struck his father. The necropsy report of Police Medical Examiner Jesus Cerna showed multiple stab wounds and massive hemorrhage consistent with the fatal injuries; other eyewitnesses (e.g., Cornelia Pila) placed the victim and his son at the vicinity of the disturbance earlier that night and heard calls summoning Bardon to subdue the drunken victim. Bardon testified he had been working on the Ford Fiera at the Mobil station and denied participation, asserting that his father-in-law pursued the victim; he also disowned an affidavit said to retract an earlier verbal confession.
The trial court credited the prosecution’s evidence an...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the trial court err in finding Roberto Bardon guilty beyond reasonable doubt of killing Francisco Roque (i.e., is the evidence sufficient and are the identifications credible)?
- Assuming Bardon killed Roque, was the proper classification of the offense murder by treachery rather than simple homicide?
- Were the circumstances of night-time, abuse of superior strength, and use of a motor vehicle properly appreciated as aggravating circumstances?
- Was the sentence of reclusion perpetua proper, or should a lesser p...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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