Facts:
On 29 October 2004, in the Municipality of Abuyog, Province of Leyte,
Manuel Corpuz hacked and fatally wounded
Romana P. Arcular and
Leonila C. Histo using a long bladed weapon locally known as a
“sundang.” The prosecution alleged that Manuel acted with
deliberate intent to kill, with
treachery and
abuse of superior strength, and that the hack wounds were the
direct and proximate cause of each victim’s death. Criminal Case No. 2389 concerned the killing of Romana, a woman aged seventy-four years, while Criminal Case No. 2390 concerned the killing of Leonila, a woman aged sixty-four years. The informations were filed on 18 January 2005, and Manuel, assisted by counsel, was arraigned on 3 May 2005 and pleaded not guilty. At trial, the prosecution presented four witnesses—
Pedro Dejaresco,
Leonilo Bongalan (Leonilo),
Teodoro Queri-queri (Teodoro), and
Dr. Amelia C. Gacis (Dr. Gacis)—to establish that at around 2:00 p.m. Leonila told Leonilo she would go to her farm; later, at around 4:00 p.m., Leonilo went to the farm and saw Manuel hacking both Leonila and Romana with a bolo; Romana was hit in the right nape and Romana was hit in the left nape, and both fell to the ground. Leonilo then ran to the barangay captain,
Juaquinito Poliquit (Juaquinito), reported the incident and that Manuel was the assailant, and the parties proceeded to the police station; the victims were later brought to the chapel and autopsied at the Rural Health Unit. Dr. Gacis testified that each victim sustained a fatal hack wound and described the injuries, including fractures of underlying bone in Romana’s case, and laceration in Leonila’s case, and stated it was possible that the assailant used a sharp-bladed weapon such as a bolo or sundang. Manuel’s defense was
alibi and
denial. He testified that on 29 October 2004 at around 4:00 p.m. he was in Barangay Capilian, Abuyog, Leyte, working in a rice field he was hired to cultivate and plow, and that he arrived at his house in Barangay Maitom only at around 5:30 p.m. He also claimed he learned of the deaths only after his apprehension. His wife,
Annabelle Corpuz, corroborated that he plowed Nestor’s rice field until around 5:00 p.m., and that she was cooking lunch at the time, with their house in Barangay Maitom about 200 meters away from Nestor’s house. The defense introduced a police blotter reflecting that at the time of reporting the suspect was still unknown and that Leonilo saw the dead bodies without indicating that he actually witnessed the hacking. The RTC found Manuel guilty beyond reasonable doubt of
two counts of Murder
and imposed reclusion perpetua
per count. It gave credence to Leonilo’s eyewitness testimony, citing his prior familiarity with Manuel, the incident’s occurrence in broad daylight, and the absence of improper motive. The RTC also found the aggravating circumstance of abuse of superior strength
. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed with modification, holding that Manuel offered no sufficient reason to disturb the RTC’s credibility findings and that treachery
and abuse of superior strength
qualified the killings to murder. The CA modified damages by increasing exemplary damages
and adding temperate damages
, and it imposed reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole**. Manuel appealed to the Supreme Court, insisting that the prosecution failed to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Issues:
Whether the trial and appellate courts erred in convicting
Manuel Corpuz for the deaths of
Romana Arcular and
Leonila Histo despite the prosecution’s failure to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: