Case Summary (G.R. No. 74433)
Applicable Law
– 1987 Philippine Constitution (abolishing death penalty and commuting existing death sentences to life imprisonment)
– Revised Penal Code, Article 247 (Death or physical injuries under exceptional circumstances)
– Revised Penal Code, Article 48 (Imposition of a single indivisible penalty in complex crimes)
– Revised Penal Code, Article 365 (Liability for physical injuries by simple negligence)
Chronology of Events
On July 15, 1984, Francisco Abarca returned home in Tacloban City to discover his wife Jenny and Khingsley Paul Koh in the act of sexual intercourse. Angered, he procured an unlicensed M-16 rifle from a Philippine Constabulary soldier and returned to shoot Koh during a mahjong game. Koh died instantly. Bullets also struck and wounded neighbors Arnold and Lina Amparado, who required hospitalization and medical treatment.
Trial Court Decision
On March 17, 1986, the Regional Trial Court of Palo, Leyte, found Abarca guilty of the complex crime of murder with double frustrated murder. It imposed the death penalty, ordered indemnities to Koh’s heirs (₱30,000) and to the Amparados (₱20,000), and recommended executive clemency based on grave provocation.
Appellant’s Assignments of Error
I. Conviction for murder instead of application of Article 247, RPC (death under exceptional circumstances).
II. Finding of the qualifying circumstance of treachery.
Solicitor General’s Recommendation
The Solicitor General urged reclassification of the killing as death inflicted under exceptional circumstances, completed with double frustrated murder, thus advocating for a reduced penalty under Article 247 of the Revised Penal Code and maximum reclusion temporal for the frustrated murders.
Supreme Court’s Analysis: Article 247 Applies
- Elements Present. Abarca, a legally married person, surprised his wife in illicit intercourse with Koh and killed the latter immediately thereafter.
- Scope of Article 247. The provision affords an exempting circumstance, reducing liability to destierro or exemption from punishment, rather than defining a distinct crime.
- Temporal Link. Abarca’s hour-long pursuit of Koh remained the proximate result of his passionate outrage at the discovery of infidelity, satisfying the “immediately thereafter” requirement.
Non-Applicability of Treachery
Because death under exceptional circumstances is not a punishable offense but an exempting circumstance, qualifying circumstances such as treachery cannot be applied to elevate or modify the penalty.
Liability for Injuries to the Amparados
– The shots that struck Arnold and Lina Amparado occurred in the course of an act (shooting Koh) that, under Article 247, was not punishable as murder.
– However,
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 74433)
Procedural History
- Appeal from the Regional Trial Court of Palo, Leyte, where appellant Francisco Abarca was convicted and sentenced to death for the complex crime of murder with double frustrated murder.
- Case elevated to the Supreme Court due to imposition of the death penalty; appellant, upon commutation of death sentences to life imprisonment under the new Constitution, elected to pursue his appeal.
- Amended Information charged appellant with murder (of Khingsley Paul Koh) with double frustrated murder (of Lina Amparado and Arnold Amparado).
Facts
- Appellant, a married man, was reviewing for the 1983 bar exams in Manila; during his absence, his wife Jenny began an illicit relationship with Khingsley Paul Koh.
- On July 15, 1984, at their residence in V&G Subdivision, Tacloban City, appellant discovered his wife and Koh in the act of sexual intercourse; Koh produced a revolver, and appellant fled.
- Appellant obtained an unlicensed M-16 rifle from PC soldier Arturo Talbo around 6:30 p.m. and returned to Tacloban.
- Later that evening, appellant found Koh playing mahjong at his usual hangout and fired three shots at Koh, killing him instantaneously.
- Stray bullets struck adjacent room occupants, spouses Arnold and Lina Amparado, inflicting wounds that required hospitalization and surgery.
Trial Court Decision
- RTC found appellant guilty beyond reasonable doubt of murder with double frustrated murder.
- Imposed death penalty; ordered indemnity of ₱30,000 to Koh’s heirs and ₱20,000 to the Amparados.
- Recommended executive clemency based on appellant’s provocation and marital betraya