Facts:
Accused-appellant
Emelito Sitchon y Tayag was charged before the
Regional Trial Court of Manila with
murder for beating to death the two-year old son of his common-law wife,
Mark Anthony Fernandez y Tabora, on or about
June 12, 1996, in
the City of Manila. Appellant pleaded not guilty. Before he was to testify in his own defense on
June 4, 1998, he
admitted that he killed the victim and
changed his plea to guilty. Five witnesses for the prosecution testified, namely
Lilia Garcia, a neighbor; the victim’s eight-year old brother
Roberto Fernandez;
PO3 Paul Dennis Javier, the investigating officer;
Dr. Manuel Lagonera, medico-legal officer of the
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); and
Felicisima Francisco, a forensic chemist of the NBI. Garcia and Roberto identified appellant as the person who assaulted the child; Garcia testified that from a distance of less than three arms length she witnessed appellant beat the boy for about one hour using a piece of wood and banged the child’s head against a wooden wall, after which appellant carried the boy down the house to take him to the hospital where the child was already black and no longer moving. Roberto testified that the victim had scattered feces in the house and that appellant, whom Roberto called “Kuya Chito,” beat the child with a belt, a hammer, and a 2x2 piece of wood, while Roberto could not help because he was afraid appellant would also beat him. Javier testified that after learning from a hospital that the child was admitted and later found dead, he inspected appellant’s house at
2001 Batangas Street, Tondo, Manila, where he saw human feces and fresh blood, and he recovered the broken wooden sticks, the steel hammer, and a bloodstained white T-shirt, which the police linked to the beating. Javier further stated that they searched for appellant and later that afternoon learned that appellant surrendered to Station 3; the following day a staff member of the television program
Magandang Gabi Bayan turned over a brown belt allegedly used to beat the victim, which Roberto had given to the staff member. Dr. Lagonera conducted the postmortem examination on June 12, 1996 at 4:40 p.m. and found multiple injuries on the head, anterior chest, and extremities, with the lungs showing
patchy and confluent consolidations, concluding that the victim died of
bilateral pneumonia secondary to multiple blunt traversal injuries or complication of the lungs due to said injuries. Felicisima Francisco’s forensic findings showed that human blood was positive on the steel hammer and that the wooden sticks and T-shirt were positive for human blood, with blood reactions of
Group A. Appellant’s defense testimony, though offered after his plea change, acknowledged that he killed the child, attributing it to an alleged “accidental” act committed while he was under the influence of
shabu, marijuana, and Valium 10, and claiming he did not realize the beating’s severity until he saw the child sprawled on the floor and breathing with difficulty. Appellant stated that he brought the child to a hospital the same day and that he surrendered to the police, and he denied using a hammer or banging the child’s head against the wall. On July 3, 1998, the trial court convicted appellant of
murder and sentenced him to the
death penalty, awarding civil damages and death compensation. On automatic review, the Court held that the elements supported guilt beyond reasonable doubt but modified the qualifying and aggravating circumstances, ultimately reducing the penalty.
Issues:
Whether appellant’s killing of the two-year old victim should be qualified as murder by reason of
treachery and whether the presence of
evident premeditation or
cruelty and the treatment of appellant’s drug addiction as an aggravating circumstance were legally justified.
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: