Case Digest (G.R. No. 135963)
Facts:
People of the Philippines v. Norberto Sabado, G.R. No. 135963, November 20, 2000, Supreme Court First Division, Davide Jr., C.J., writing for the Court. The appeal challenges the September 14, 1998 Decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Tayug, Pangasinan, Branch 51 (Judge Ulysses R. Butuyan), which convicted Norberto Sabado of murder under Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua, ordered indemnity of P100,000 to the heirs of the deceased, and imposed costs.The Information (April 19, 1993) charged Sabado with shooting and killing Fernando Madelo on January 15, 1993 at Barangay Sinabaan, Umingan, Pangasinan, alleging evident premeditation, treachery and use of a firearm. When arraigned on July 1, 1997, Sabado pleaded not guilty. After trial, the RTC found the prosecution proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt as to murder (evident premeditation proven; treachery not proven) and rejected Sabado’s defenses, leading to the conviction and sentence that Sabado appealed to the Supreme Court; the appeal was deemed submitted on September 11, 2000 when the Court received the appellee’s brief.
At trial the major factual contest concerned authorship of the shooting. Prosecution witness Robinson Madelo (the victim’s son) testified he was transplanting rice seedlings while his father harrowed the field when appellant approached, ordered the victim to work on an irrigation project, and then shot the victim; the autopsy (Dr. Alex Trinidad) showed a through-and-through gunshot wound entering the lateral right arm and exiting the left 5th intercostal space, with internal hemorrhage and no powder burns, from which the medicolegal officer opined the assailant was more probably on the victim’s right and at a distance of at least one meter. Sabado’s account was different: he claimed Jeremias Madelo (the victim’s brother and appellant’s antagonist) pointed a gun at him, he hid behind Fernando, Jeremias fired and chased him, and he fled the locality and later surrendered in 1997. The RTC found Robinson credible and disbelieved Sabado’s shifting versions; it ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the trial court err in crediting the lone prosecution witness, Robinson Madelo, as to authorship of the killing?
- Did the trial court err in giving weight to Exhibit "D" (class adviser’s certification of Robinson’s absence on January 15, 1993) over Exhibit "1" (principal’s certification of a one-day absence in January 1993 without a specific date)?
- Did the trial court err in finding the qualifying circumstance of evident premeditation?
- Did the trial court err in rejecting appellant’s theory of self-defense (or the alterna...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)