Case Digest (G.R. No. 133004)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Generoso Magbanua y Ahit, G.R. No. 133004, May 20, 2004, First Division, Azcuna, J., writing for the Court. Appellant Generoso Magbanua y Ahit was charged in the Regional Trial Court of Davao City, Branch 10, Criminal Case No. 27-442-92, with the murder of Remegio Diaz arising from an incident on June 12, 1992; the RTC rendered a decision dated January 22, 1998 convicting him of murder.The information alleged that on June 12, 1992, at about 3:30 p.m. in Davao City the accused, “with treachery and evident premeditation, armed with a gun and with intent to kill,” shot Diaz at close range causing his instantaneous death. Appellant’s whereabouts were initially unknown; a warrant of arrest was served only on June 13, 1996, and he was arraigned on July 11, 1996, pleading not guilty. Trial followed in the RTC.
Prosecution evidence consisted primarily of the eyewitness testimony of Narciso Balucos and Narciso Rellin, the medico-legal testimony of Dr. Napoleon dela Pena (who performed the autopsy and prepared a Necropsy Report), and the testimony of the victim’s mother, Salustiana Diaz, who produced a close-up photograph of the victim’s face showing a forehead wound. Balucos and Rellin testified that they saw appellant, in the company of about ten companions, approach the victim on a bridge and, after a brief hostile exchange, appellant draw a handgun and shoot the victim twice in the face at very close range; they fled immediately after the shooting.
Dr. dela Pena’s Necropsy Report (dated June 13, 1992 in his notebook but formally issued only in 1996 after a subpoena) described two gunshot wounds with entry points at the occiput and exits near the maxillary area; he testified that the wounds suggested the victim was shot from behind and that the muzzle was more than two feet away. The doctor admitted he only issued the formal report in 1996 by transcribing his notebook entry, and the notebook page bore unexplained alterations. The defense introduced a second, more distant photograph of the corpse (and witnesses who disputed who paid for funeral expenses) and presented appellant’s testimony denying involvement, supported by Paquito Calimpas (who said he heard shots but saw no shooter) and the victim’s son, Richard Diaz.
The RTC credited the eyewitnesses, disbelieved the doctor’s conclusions as unreliable, found treachery present, convicted appellant of murder, and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua with P50,000 indemnity. Appellant appealed to...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Were the testimonies of the prosecution’s eyewitnesses credible and not so inconsistent with their affidavits as to be unbelievable?
- Did the medico-legal findings of Dr. dela Pena, which appeared to contradict the eyewitnesses, prevail over those eyewitness accounts and create reasonable doubt?
- Was the evidence sufficient to convict appellant beyond reasonable doubt?
- Was the killin...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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