Title
People vs. Aliben
Case
G.R. No. 140404
Decision Date
Feb 27, 2003
Three assailants armed with a bolo and wood attacked and killed Juanito Bongon, Sr., confirmed by witnesses and autopsy; guilt established, reclusion perpetua imposed.
murder
eyewitness testimonies
positive identification

Case Summary (G.R. No. 140404)

Factual Background

The victim was Juanito P. Bongon, Sr. Witnesses placed the fatal assault at about six o'clock in the evening of October 5, 1997. Eyewitnesses Romeo Barsaga and Floserfida Fabricante testified that they saw three persons strike the victim; Barsaga pointed at a man who identified himself in court as Bonifacio Aliben hacking the victim with a bolo while two others later identified as Ronnie Nicolas and Diosdado Nicolas hit the victim with pieces of wood. The victim was carried to the Bicol Regional Hospital and was declared dead on arrival. During medical examination Dr. Rey Millena found multiple severe craniofacial injuries, comminuted skull fractures and an incised wound; his Necropsy Report concluded cause of death as cardio-respiratory arrest due to comminuted skull fractures secondary to traumatic force to the head. Evidence showed that Ronnie Nicolas surrendered to the barangay captain shortly after the incident and that a balisong and a piece of wood were turned over to police.

Trial Court Proceedings

When the case was tried, both sides presented witnesses during pretrial bail proceedings and agreed to submit the case for decision after the presentation. The trial court credited the positive identifications by Barsaga and Fabricante, admitted the dying declaration of the victim, rejected the claim of self-defense, found conspiracy and abuse of superior strength, and found the prosecution had proven guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court sentenced all three accused to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and ordered joint and several indemnity and damages; it granted no mitigating circumstance to Bonifacio Aliben and Diosdado Nicolas, but recognized the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender for Ronnie Nicolas. A motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence was denied, and the accused appealed.

The Prosecution Evidence

The prosecution relied on eyewitness testimony that the three appellants together attacked the victim and on the victim's dying declaration naming Dado and Ronnie as assailants. Several bystanders corroborated that Bonifacio Aliben was seen walking with a bloodstained bolo after the incident. Dr. Rey Millena testified at length about the autopsy findings showing comminuted fractures and brain laceration consistent with blunt force trauma and an incised wound that suggested the use of both blunt and sharp instruments. Police witnesses documented the surrender of Ronnie Nicolas to the barangay captain and the subsequent turnover of physical evidence to the police blotter.

The Defenses and Defense Evidence

All three appellants denied joint participation. Ronnie Nicolas admitted striking the victim but claimed he acted in self-defense after the victim allegedly attacked him with a balisong; he asserted he struck the victim until the aggression ceased and then left. Diosdado Nicolas and Bonifacio Aliben maintained alibi and denial defenses, testifying they were at or near a store where a tong-its game was taking place and insisted that only Ronnie was involved. Defense witnesses described an earlier provocation by the victim in the form of stoning and reported that the victim had been seen wielding a bladed weapon.

Issues on Appeal

The appellants assigned multiple errors, notably that the trial court erred in: finding positive identification from biased and incredible eyewitnesses; admitting and relying on the victim's dying declaration despite alleged medical impossibility of speech; concluding more than one instrument was used; finding conspiracy and abuse of superior strength; rejecting Ronnie's claim of self-defense; and disregarding the alibi and denial defenses of Diosdado and Bonifacio.

The Court's Evaluation of Credibility

The Court affirmed the trial court's appraisal of credibility and gave weight to the eyewitnesses' positive, categorical and consistent identifications. It recognized that different persons react differently to shocking events and that minor lapses in peripheral details did not impeach the material identifications. The Court noted that discrepancies between witnesses on nonessential details were to be expected and did not displace the prosecution's core testimony. The trial judge's superior opportunity to observe deportment was accorded respect; absent clear proof that the judge overlooked or misapplied material facts, the appellate court declined to disturb the credibility findings.

Admissibility and Weight of the Dying Declaration

The Court considered whether the victim's utterance naming "Dado and Ronnie" satisfied the traditional requisites for admissibility of a dying declaration. It held that the declaration related to the cause and surrounding circumstances of the declarant's death, that the declarant was under a consciousness of impending death, that he would have been competent to testify, and that the declaration was offered in a homicide prosecution in which he was the victim. The Court rejected the contention that Dr. Millena's testimony precluded any possibility of speech, noting that other witnesses consistently testified the victim was alive and able to moan and to name his assailants for a brief time before dying. The dying declaration was therefore admissible and entitled to credence.

Multiple Instruments and Forensic Support

The Court examined the autopsy findings and accepted Dr. Millena's opinion that the victim sustained injuries from both blunt and sharp instruments. The comminuted cranial fractures were attributed to blunt force, while a seven-centimeter incised wound could have been caused by a sharp-edged weapon. The Court held that medical findings supported the trial court's conclusion that more than one instrument was used.

Conspiracy, Concerted Action and Aggravating Circumstance

The Court reviewed the evidence of simultaneous and coordinated assault. It explained that in the absence of direct proof a conspiracy may be inferred from mode, manner and concert of action. The eyewitnesses described Bonifacio Aliben hacking the victim with a bolo while Ronnie Nicolas and Diosdado Nicolas struck the victim with pieces of wood, and none of the three intervened to stop the assault. The Court found this concerted action manifested unity of purpose and sustained the trial court's finding of conspiracy. The Court also sustained the finding of the aggravating circumstance of taking advantage of superior strength because the assailants were three in number, armed, and the victim was alone and older, with the assaults occurring simultaneously.

Self-Defense and Its Rejection

The Court applied the tripartite test for self-defense: unlawful aggression, reasonable necessity of the means employed, and absence of sufficient provocation by the defender. It found that even assuming initial unlawful aggression by the victim against Ronnie Nicolas, the aggression had ceased when the victim was immobilized, and yet Ronnie continued to strike. The extent, number and location of injuries, together with medical testimony of fatal cranial trauma and the use of more than one instrument, indicated a determined effort to kill rather than a proportionate defensive response. The Court therefore affirmed the rejection of the claim of self-defense.

Alibi and Denial Addressed

The Court reiterated that alibi must be proved with sufficiently strong evidence to render it physically impossible for the accused to have been at the scene, and that denial and alibi are inherently weak and require corroboration. The Court found that the appellants' accounts placed them at or near the store within the immediate vicinity of the assault, but the positive identifications by eyewitnesses, unaccompanied by any clear and convincing evidence establishing physical impossibility of presence, prevailed over the alibi and denial defenses.

Sentence and Damages

The Court affirmed the conviction of all three appellants for murder and affirmed the principal penalty of reclusion perpetua. It recognized the mitigating circumstance of voluntary surrender in favo

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