G.R. No. 126859 - Al-Ghoul vs. Court of Appeals

On October 7, 1990, at around 7 o’clock in the evening, Jojo Belmonte left his residence at Purok IV, Barangay Alac, San Quintin, Pangasinan, to buy cigarettes from a nearby store.
Before Jojo could purchase cigarettes, Doro Nitcha (a relative of the accused-appellant) arrived. He made an accusatory remark in the vernacular (“You are one of them”) and initiated a physical altercation with Jojo.
In the ensuing fight, Jojo fought back as the struggle intensified.

During the scuffle, additional Sibayan family members—May Villarica (also referred to as Lydia), Joselito, Agustin, and Marcelina (Nenet)—arrived at the scene in an attempt to pacify the situation.
Their intervention proved futile when Doro Nitcha refused to be calmed; the fight continued until Victoria Corpuz (also known as Baby), Doro’s sister, intervened by dragging him away and taking him home.
Meanwhile, the Sibayan relatives, including May, proceeded towards their home situated in front of the store.

Shortly after the Sibayan group had started leaving, appellant Florestan Nitcha (brother of Doro) arrived at the sari-sari store wielding a firearm.
He shouted threatening words in Tagalog (“Walanghiya kayo, putangina ninyo, papatayin ko kayong lahat!”), thereby escalating the situation further.
Immediately after his proclamation, he fired his .38 caliber gun; the bullet struck May Villarica Sibayan at the back of her head, exiting through the middle of her forehead.
A subsequent attempt to shoot Joselito Sibayan resulted in a miss.
May, although initially given first aid at Eastern Pangasinan District Hospital, died en route to a larger hospital in Dagupan City.

After the incident, appellant Florestan Nitcha went to his mother’s house and then proceeded to the police station in San Quintin, Pangasinan, where he surrendered with his service firearm.
An indictment for murder was filed against him based on the factual matrix, including the positive identification by the People’s witnesses.
During trial, witnesses including Jose Belmonte, Agustin Sibayan, and Joselito Sibayan testified that they saw the accused firing the gun.
The defense contended that the shot could have been fired by one of the companions of Jojo Belmonte; however, the court found such alternative theory unconvincing given the coherent and detailed testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.

Accused-appellant, facing the severe prospect of reclusion perpetua and additional damages to be paid to the victim’s heirs, raised several procedural objections on appeal.
His counsel enumerated a dozen alleged errors, which included challenges to the credibility of prosecution witnesses, claims of hearsay testimony, procedural irregularities such as bias of the trial judge, alleged illegality of arrest and detention, and the absence of preliminary investigation.
Case precedents on the admissibility of testimony (notably from People vs. De La Cruz and others) were discussed to counter the defense’s contentions.

Whether the evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that accused-appellant fired the shots which resulted in the death of May Villarica Sibayan.
Whether the alternative theory advanced by the accused—that another individual (one of Jojo Belmonte’s companions) fired the gun—had any credibility in light of the eyewitness testimonies.
Whether the allegations of procedural irregularities, including (a) purported hearsay testimony from a Witness heard in absentia, (b) denial of due process arising from alleged judicial bias, (c) illegality of the accused’s arrest and detention, and (d) lack of preliminary investigation, have merit and affected the trial’s outcome.
Whether the failure of the defense’s cross-examination of certain witnesses negated the hearsay claims.
Whether the imputation of the qualifying circumstance of treachery (required for a conviction of murder) was proper or whether the facts instead point to homicide.