Case Digest (G.R. No. L-13968)
Facts:
The People of the Philippines v. Ildefonso Cortez, et al., G.R. No. L-13968. Promulgated October 31, 1962, the Supreme Court En Banc, Makalintal, J., writing for the Court.The prosecution (plaintiff-appellee) charged Alejo Uy (defendant-appellant), Sergio Pataueg, Felix Sacang and Ildefonso Cortez with crimes arising from the death of Librado Pascual. An information for murder was filed on January 11, 1956 in the Court of First Instance of Isabela. After trial, Cortez was acquitted; Pataueg and Sacang were convicted of slight physical injuries; and Uy was found guilty of murder (qualified by treachery) and sentenced to reclusion perpetua, indemnity of P6,000, and one-fourth of the costs. Uy appealed to the Court of Appeals, which forwarded the record to the Supreme Court in view of the penalty imposed.
The factual setting was a public dance on October 24, 1955 in Turod, Reina Mercedes, Isabela. A disturbance developed when some spectators crowded the dancers; an initial pushing incident escalated into a fistfight involving the three residents of Banquero (Pataueg, Sacang and Uy) and members of the Pascual family. Witnesses observed Uy and Sacang armed; Dulay, the master of ceremonies, intervened and tried to restore order. Policeman Pedro Cortes fired a warning shot. The three Banquero residents then rushed to where Librado Pascual stood; Pataueg clubbed Librado on the upper back, Sacang hacked him on the head with a bolo, and Uy, coming from the right, stabbed Librado in the right chest. The assailants fled. Librado was taken to a clinic at Cauayan and admitted at 12:30 a.m.; Dr. Albano found a penetrating chest wound, a contused head wound and an ecchymosis. An operation was performed, an ante-mortem statement (Exh. A) was taken in the presence of medical and police personnel, and Librado died at 1:20 a.m. of internal hemorrhage due to the stab wound.
At trial—about two years after the incident—the defense produced Domingo Paual, who confessed to stabbing the deceased. The trial judge found Paual’s late confession unworthy of credence in light of contradictions and the failure to inform authorities earlier, and relied instead on eyewitness testimony (Jeremias Lungub, Balbino Dulay, Gregorio Santua) and the deceased’s ante-mortem declaration. The trial court convicted Uy of murder qualified by treachery. The Solicitor General argued that treachery was not established because the killing occurred in the course of an ongoing attack, but that the attackers’ numerical and weapons superiority constituted abuse o...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Was the deceased’s ante-mortem statement admissible in evidence?
- Was the stabbing by appellant Uy committed with treachery so as to qualify the crime as murder?
- If treachery is absent, may the Court nonetheless treat abuse of superior strength as an aggravating circumstance (although not alleged in the information) and, on that basis, modify...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)