G.R. No. 139297 ; February 23, 2004
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, appellee vs. RENATO @ BONG TORRECAMPO y LEYTE and RENE TORRECAMPO y LEYTE, appellants.

FACTS

Jovito Caspillo was found stabbed and decapitated in his rented room in Las Piñas on November 11, 1994. The prosecution presented eyewitnesses Erlinda Escosio and Cherry Francisco. Escosio, a co-tenant, testified she saw appellants Renato and Rene Torrecampo, along with their sister Nora, enter Jovito’s room. She later heard Nora pleading and saw Renato drag Nora away, followed by Rene exiting with a bag. Upon investigating, she discovered Jovito’s body. Francisco, a neighbor, corroborated this, stating she heard Nora cry, “Bakit ninyo siya pinatay?” and saw Rene pull Nora inside the room. She later observed Rene with bloodied hands and clothes leaving the scene.
The appellants, brothers of Nora, presented an alibi. Rene claimed he was at work and only learned of the killing later, while Renato asserted he was at home caring for a sick child. They argued the witnesses were not credible and their identification was unreliable. The Regional Trial Court convicted them of Murder qualified by treachery and sentenced them to death.

ISSUE

Whether the guilt of appellants Renato and Rene Torrecampo for the killing of Jovito Caspillo was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the crime and penalty. The Court found the testimonies of prosecution witnesses Erlinda Escosio and Cherry Francisco credible, consistent, and sufficient to establish appellants’ presence at the crime scene and their participation. Their positive identification, which withstood cross-examination, prevailed over the weak defenses of denial and alibi, which were not physically impossible. The Court ruled that the killing was not proven to be Murder. The Information alleged multiple qualifying circumstances, but the prosecution failed to prove any, particularly treachery. The mere severity of wounds (stab and decapitation) does not automatically equate to treachery absent evidence of the mode of attack ensuring the victim’s defenselessness. Thus, the crime is Homicide under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code, not Murder.
Regarding penalties, the death penalty was improper as the crime was committed in 1994 under R.A. No. 7659 , which required specific qualifying circumstances to be alleged and proven. Since none were proven, the prescribed penalty is reclusion temporal. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, each appellant was sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of twelve (12) years of prision mayor maximum, as minimum, to fourteen (14) years, eight (8) months and one (1) day of reclusion temporal medium, as maximum. They were also ordered to pay the heirs of Jovito Caspillo ₱50,000.00 as civil indemnity, ₱50,000.00 as moral damages, and ₱25,000.00 as temperate damages in lieu of unsubstantiated actual damages.