Facts:
On July 27, 2006, in the morning along the
national highway within the vicinity of Brgy. 21, San Marcos, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte,
Reggie Bernardo was charged with a criminal act committed with
intent to kill,
treachery and
evident premeditation, using an illegally possessed firearm, for having shot to death
Efren Calumag y Antonio and having inflicted grazing gunshot wounds (abrasion) upon
Reah B. Calumag. The prosecution presented Reah as its principal witness. Reah testified that around 11:45 a.m., while she was aboard a motorcycle driven by her father Efren, three men riding another motorcycle appeared beside them and shot them several times. Reah and Efren fell; Reah survived and was treated, but Efren eventually died. Reah further stated that while she was being treated at the hospital, she described one assailant to the investigating policemen and told them she could recognize him if she saw him again. A physician, Dr. Ruth Ann Corpuz, issued a medical certificate to Reah and a medico legal report on Efren’s injuries, which the trial court later treated as sufficient to show that Reah’s injuries were not fatal, supporting liability for
attempted murder as to her. On July 29, 2006, after learning that police custody included a person matching the description given by Reah, Reah went to the police station and conducted a police line-up at the provincial jail. During the line-up, Reah pointed to Bernardo as the shooter. Bernardo denied the charge and raised
alibi. He claimed that on July 27, 2006 he was inside the District Jail of Batac, Ilocos Norte because he had been ordered released on July 21, 2006, but asked and was allegedly permitted to remain in jail due to having nowhere to go; he claimed he stayed until July 28, 2006. He narrated that on July 22 he went to Cabugao, Ilocos Sur with permission, and on the day of the incident he washed his clothes and later helped prepare lunch, after which jail guards accompanied him to the Pag-IBIG Office in Laoag City, dropping by Barangay Chairman Pungtilan’s residence to request certification, and that there was no record of him remaining in jail on the day of the crime. The
Regional Trial Court of Laoag City, Branch 14, found Bernardo guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the
complex crime of murder with attempted murder. It gave weight to Reah’s identification, particularly considering that during the attack the other motorcycle was about a meter away and that although Bernardo wore a bull cap, Reah could still see his face except for hair. The RTC rejected the alibi for being unpersuasive and found
treachery qualifying the killing. It imposed
reclusion perpetua and awarded damages in specified amounts to Efren’s heirs and to Reah. The
Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction with modification by deleting the award of
temperate damages. Bernardo appealed, contending that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt and that the damages were not properly awarded.
Issues:
Whether Bernardo’s conviction for the
complex crime of Murder with Attempted Murder and the qualification of the killing by
treachery were supported by proof beyond reasonable doubt, despite his defenses of
denial and
alibi, and whether the awards of damages were correctly modified.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: