Facts:
On or about
June 4, 1986, in the
Municipality of Pastrana, Province of Leyte, within the jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court,
Leonardo Francisco alias
“Yoling” and
Estelito Francisco alias
“Boboy” were charged with
murder, allegedly conspiring with
Alex Dacutara to kill
Ricardo Mendoza with deliberate intent to kill,
treachery,
evident premeditation, and
abuse of superior strength, using a
bolo and a
bamboo (patong), which they had provided for the purpose. Upon arraignment, both accused pleaded
not guilty. During the trial,
Alex died on
December 3, 1987, and the case against him was dismissed on
January 12, 1988. The prosecution’s principal witness was
Veronica Mendoza, the
wife of the victim, who testified that at around
4:30 in the afternoon of June 4, 1986, she, the victim, and their children
Jesus and
Richard were walking along a path on their way home from a neighbor’s house; the victim walked slightly ahead while she and the children followed at a distance of about
two arm’s length. She narrated that
Leonardo,
Estelito, and
Alex suddenly appeared behind the victim from the sides of the path lined with coconut trees and tall cogon grass, with
Leonardo and
Alex each armed with
bolos and
Estelito wielding a
bamboo about one meter long; she said Leonardo delivered the first blow to the victim’s back, then Estelito hit the victim at the back of the head with the bamboo, and finally Alex hacked the victim’s back with a bolo, after which the victim fell face down. She stated that she brought her children home and cried for help, and policemen arrived to the scene, including
Benjamin Montanejos, who later interrogated her regarding the killing. According to the testimony of Montanejos, Veronica reported that Leonardo, Estelito, and a certain “Baby” had killed her husband. On
June 7, 1986,
Estelito allegedly surrendered to the mayor of Pastrana and admitted that he and Alex killed Ricardo. The
post-mortem report showed that the cause of death was “
shock secondary to a blow over the head,” and the autopsy doctor testified that among the four wounds inflicted, three were probably caused by sharp-bladed and heavy blunt instruments; the location of the wounds allowed the conclusion that there were two or more assailants who inflicted the wounds while standing right behind the victim, while the fourth was consistent with a contusion from falling. The prosecution proffered as motive that in
October 1985 Leonardo and his parents had challenged the Mendoza spouses for allegedly throwing rat poison into Leonardo’s rice field, although that matter was settled before the barangay captain. The defense of
Leonardo was
alibi: he claimed he was at home on June 4, 1986 entertaining visitors during the barangay fiesta, with
Daynata,
Jose Bigoy,
Ricky Cornista, and
Pacifico Nayan allegedly among his visitors, and that Daynata was the last to leave at about
5:00 p.m., after which Leonardo slept at
6:30 p.m.; he asserted he only learned of the killing the next day. Leonardo also offered a theory that the Mendozas were angry with him because their chickens died after eating rat poison he placed in his rice field, and that Ricardo challenged him to a fight, which led to their confrontation before the barangay captain. As to
Estelito, he admitted participation in the killing but invoked
self-defense and
defense of stranger, claiming that Ricardo challenged Alex to a fight, hacked Alex, and that Estelito then hacked Ricardo while Alex used a piece of wood to strike Ricardo on the head until Ricardo fell. The
Regional Trial Court found Leonardo and Estelito
guilty of murder qualified by treachery, sentenced Leonardo to an indeterminate term of
ten (10) years and one (1) day to
seventeen (17) years and four (4) months, and sentenced Estelito to
six (6) years and one (1) day as minimum up to
twelve (12) years, ten (10) months and twenty (20) days as maximum, and ordered payment of
P30,000.00 indemnity to the heirs of Ricardo Mendoza. The RTC ruled that Leonardo’s
alibi failed against Veronica’s
positive identification and that treachery attended the killing because the victim was attacked suddenly from behind while unarmed and unaware, depriving him of any opportunity to defend himself. Only
Leonardo appealed. The
Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction but
increased the penalty to
reclusion perpetua and increased civil indemnity to
P50,000.00, sustaining Veronica’s credibility despite her relationship to the victim, rejecting alibi for lack of proof of physical impossibility, and finding treachery because of the sudden attack and the attackers’ coming from behind, while the victim was unarmed and had no inkling of the impending assault. Leonardo then appealed to the Supreme Court, principally questioning the credibility and sufficiency of Veronica’s testimony, the existence of treachery, and the propriety of the penalty.
Issues:
Did the evidence establish beyond reasonable doubt that
Leonardo Francisco alias “Yoling” was guilty of
murder qualified by treachery, and was the appellate court correct in affirming the conviction and imposing
reclusion perpetua with
P50,000.00 indemnity?
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: