GR 110100 02; (December, 1996) (Digest)
G.R. Nos. 110100-02 December 11, 1996
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff, vs. ISIDORO PEREZ y GAYETA, FELICISIMO PEREZ y PEREZ, CLARITO PEREZ y PEREZ, JUANITO PEREZ y GAYETA, ROLANDO PEREZ Y PEREZ, defendants.
FACTS
Accused-appellants Isidoro, Felicisimo, Clarito, Juanito, and Rolando Perez were charged with murder for the killings of Arcadio Montalbo, his wife Arsenia (who was 28 weeks pregnant), and his mother Aurelia on November 19, 1990, in Batangas. The prosecution’s case, primarily based on the testimonies of the victims’ young sons Gilbert and George Montalbo, alleged that the appellants, armed with guns and bolos, conspired to attack the family in their home. The brothers testified that they saw Rolando Perez shoot their father Arcadio from behind while he was chopping animal feed. Clarito and Felicisimo then hacked Arcadio. Arsenia was subsequently hacked and shot. When their grandmother Aurelia arrived, she was also killed.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court correctly convicted the appellants of murder and homicide, and whether the Supreme Court should modify the penalties imposed.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but modified the penalty for the killing of Aurelia Montalbo from homicide to murder. The Court upheld the trial court’s factual findings and assessment of witness credibility, noting no reason to deviate from the rule that trial courts are in the best position to evaluate testimonial evidence. The legal logic centered on the proper classification of the crimes based on attendant circumstances. For Arcadio, treachery qualified the killing as murder, as he was shot from behind without any opportunity to defend himself. For Arsenia, evident premeditation, established by the planned nature of the attack, qualified the crime as murder. The Court agreed with the Solicitor General that the killing of Aurelia was also attended by the qualifying circumstance of abuse of superior strength, as she, an elderly woman, was attacked by a group of armed men, thereby elevating the crime from homicide to murder. All murders were aggravated by nighttime, dwelling, and cruelty. Consequently, the penalty for each murder was reclusion perpetua, the supreme penalty in lieu of the constitutionally prohibited death penalty.