GR 131151; (August, 1999) (Digest)
G.R. No. 131151 , August 25, 1999
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EDGAR LOPEZ y EMOYLAN, accused-appellant.
FACTS
Accused-appellant Edgar Lopez y Emoylan was charged with Murder for the hacking death of Bonifacio David on December 19, 1994, in Dasmariñas, Cavite. The prosecution’s case was built on circumstantial evidence. Witnesses Jeffrey Seriño and Wilfredo Hisim testified that they saw appellant, the victim, and another companion having a drinking spree in the evening. When the witnesses left, the victim and the other companion were asleep, but appellant was still awake. Later that night, the witnesses saw appellant hurriedly leaving the sleeping quarters, his white pants bloodied, and climbing over the gate. They then found the victim’s bloodied body with hack wounds on the neck in the same quarters. Appellant was later apprehended with barangay officials and NBI agents. The trial court convicted appellant of Murder, qualified by treachery and evident premeditation, and sentenced him to death.
ISSUE
Whether the circumstantial evidence is sufficient to sustain appellant’s conviction, and if so, whether the crime committed is Murder or Homicide.
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed appellant’s conviction but modified the crime from Murder to Homicide. The Court held that the combination of proven circumstances—(1) appellant was last seen with the awake and drinking victim; (2) he was seen fleeing the crime scene with bloodied pants; (3) the victim’s body was found where appellant fled from; and (4) his subsequent arrest—satisfied the requisites for conviction based on circumstantial evidence. These circumstances were consistent with guilt and inconsistent with innocence. However, the qualifying circumstances of treachery and evident premeditation were not proven. Treachery was absent because the attack was not shown to be deliberate and without risk to the appellant, and evident premeditation was not established by evidence of planning or preparation. Thus, appellant is guilty only of Homicide. The penalty is reclusion temporal. Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law and considering no aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the penalty is imposed in its medium period. The civil indemnity of P50,000.00 is affirmed.