Facts:

• On June 24, 1999, during the feast of St. John, Fernando "Ondo" Prudente and his friends, including Marlyn Meliston, gathered at the Gantungan swimming pool in Impalutao, Impasugong, Bukidnon.
• Around 5:00 p.m., they sought shelter from a heavy downpour at a store owned by Mr. Salva.
• Jovy Baylin, who had just arrived from his sister's house, was also present.
• Two men, including Edgar Dumadag y Cagadas, were drinking at the store.
• Dumadag offered Ondo a drink, which he declined, saying, "Bay, I am not drinking now."
• Peeved by the refusal, Dumadag followed Ondo, grabbed his right shoulder, and stabbed him in the chest with a stainless knife.
• Ondo's companions rushed him to Bethel Baptist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
• Dr. Leslie Joan M. Arcadio confirmed the cause of death as a stab wound to the right chest.
• Dumadag was arrested on July 4, 1999, and denied knowing Ondo and Jovy Baylin.
• The Regional Trial Court of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Branch 8, found Dumadag guilty of murder, sentencing him to reclusion perpetua and ordering him to pay P50,000 as civil indemnity and P50,000 as moral damages.
• Dumadag appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in convicting him of murder instead of homicide and in disregarding his alibi.

Issue:

• (Unlock)

Ruling:

1. The Supreme Court modified the conviction from murder to homicide.
2. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court'...(Unlock)

Ratio:

• The Supreme Court agreed with the trial court that Dumadag stabbed the victim, based on the credible testimony of eyewitness Jovy Baylin.
• The Court emphasized that the findings of the trial court, which had the advantage of observing the witnesses' demeanor, are accorded high respect.
• Baylin's clear and positive identification of Dumadag as the assailant outweighed Dumadag's weak alibi.
• Dumadag failed to prove it was physically impossible for him to be at the crime scene, as he was only a few kilometers away.
• During the pre-trial conference, Dumadag admitted to being at the scene of the crime, further weakening his alibi.
• The Supreme Court found that the prosecution failed to prove the qualifying circumstance of treachery beyond reasonable doubt.
• Treachery requires that the means of execution give the victim no opportunity to defend himself and that these means were deliberately adopted.
• In this case, the attack was not premeditated but triggered by Dumadag's anger over the victim's refusal to drink.
• Therefore, the C...continue reading